Day One of Shooting...DONE.

Hi, I'm Marie. I'm a senior acting major in the CFA at BU, and I play the part of Katelyn in Res. Life. I just got back from day one of shooting and I am EXHAUSTED. (As I'm sure we ALL are...my day went from 730am-6pm, but the crew was there earlier and stayed later!). I was so impressed with the size of the crew and with how specific each person's job is. They were such a team, and I was very happy to be a part of it. My training has been in theatre, so I am not used to being on a film set. I am very curious about each person's job, the "lingo" used during filming, and basically all of the steps involved in the process of film making.

Today I was very aware of the differences between acting on camera and acting onstage. I didn't realize how much time is needed to do such a short scene! There are so many different angles to capture and details to keep consistent. I have a responsibility to hit my mark, keep my hands in the same position each time we reset, and to stay quiet when the director says "cut" so that more can get accomplished. Play preparation and film preparation are both tedious, intense and rewarding. But in different ways. A lot of the day on set for a film (for an actor, anyway) is waiting, being patient, and repeating lines over and over and over again. It is tedious in a different way than theatre rehearsals, which are tedious because they are almost always physically and emotionally gruelling and because they are full of experimentation and exploration of the text. The rehearsal process for a play feels much longer and the rehearsals usually happen in a rehearsal room that is different from the "location" of performance (ie: the stage). However, with film the location is crucial...so most of the rehearsals happen there, on the day of the shoot. We get there, rehearse quickly and then immediately "perform." There is something nice about the repetition in film making because it gives me many opportunities to play with the scene, to find new things, to "perfect" it, in a sense.

Today was long, but being in the same room with the actors in crew for 10 hours means that bonding happens quickly. I feel like I'm getting closer to people as we learn how to work together. Basically, today was full of new experiences and I am learning how to apply what I know about theatre to this new experience with film. Meeting new people has been great and I'm enjoying it all so far.

I should go to bed soon because tomorrow is another LONG day of shooting. That's all for now. Thanks to everyone who was there today. Congrats and good work:)