Getting Ready for our Final Exam
BY JACOB FELIX, MESA, AZ — Studying like the night before finals. I think this past few months I’ve prepared more for this project than anything else in my life. I’ve read the script inside and out (which I thought was a very good story) and thoroughly studied the scene descriptions. I’ve also been reading several books on film and aesthetics, I’ve even enjoyed reading these books. I’ve never really been a reader until now.
We’ve been working on some hands-on stuff. On Friday, Robby, Jabbes and I worked on assembling a camera crane which went together pretty easily. We're trying to make sure we can get it to Zambia and back again as easily as possible. We also started working on our low-budget steadicam. We got plans for the $14 steadicam (Robby blogged about that a few days ago). A few us said we were going to build one. The other night, I went to the hardware store and picked up the parts. Yesterday, at work, I put it together on my lunch break. I borrowed my uncle's camcorder and just practiced shooting with it. It works pretty good.
We're now just about two weeks from departure, I can't believe its just around the corner. I’m very excited, and anxious to get started filming. I think most of the crew feels the same way. I know from now until then, I'll keep reading, practicing, and studying everything I can. I think everyone else is doing the same thing. We all want to do our best work. So, we're cramming for "final exam" in Zambia.