7 reasons why I'm loving this
So I've been gushing a lot. And I've had it pointed out to me that not everyone enjoys sitting on set all day as much as I do. Movie sets are famously unglamourous and boring. And of course there are downsides to everything that I don't get into, because why dwell on the negative? E.g. after the night shoots I'm speckled with mosquito bites; I'm the only person on the set who doesn't make movies for a living and sometimes (often) I feel like a huge idiot; at times it's just plain physically uncomfortable to stand or sit for hours on end, etc.
But I love watching all the takes. At the end of an 11 hour day we may end up with 2 minutes of finished product. That's a lot of set up time, then filming several takes of the same short scene, resetting cameras, filming the same scene again from a different angle, resetting, filming again, etc. We may hear the same lines repeated 30-50 times in a day. Why doesn't this get old for me? Especially as I don't have a specific role in the work to distract me? I've come up with a few possible reasons.
- I'm in England in the summer. People would pay good money to hang out on an English estate all day, and we get to do it for work!
- I love being outside. I love weather that allows me to be outside for most of each day. I just feel great in fresh air and natural light. It's been good for my soul.
- This is a really great group of people. Everyone keeps gushing about the fab crew. I am inexperienced in the ways of crews, but even I can tell that. And I'm told the mood of a set trickles down from the top. When you've got confident, professional, yet relaxed and low maintenance director and stars, that sets a great atmosphere for everyone else. I think we've got that.
- Frankly, it ain't hard to please me lately. I've been mostly housebound for the greater part of the past year and a half. Twins pregnancy. Bedrest. Newborn twins. Infant twins in winter. Long winter. And now...I'm outside! And I'm talking to PEOPLE! Adult people! If I were a dog, my tail would be wagging so hard all the time I'd get a tail sprain. ANd I'd be some kind of bouncy, tongue-drooly, ears up breed. Probably a mutt.
- We're filming my book and my screenplay. So it must be said, I'm probably horribly vain. I must love to hear my words spoken over and over. I must not get tired of what I preceive to be my own cleverness. How embarrassing. I could probably spin this to make it sound better--how about: "When I write a book, I'm creating a world I'd like to live in, and watching the making of the movie of my book is the closest to entering that world." Yeah, that's probably true too, but I can't ignore the whole love-my-own-words idea either.
- I WANT to love my experience. I've sacrificed to be here. My family has sacrificed to let me come. I have great motivation to enjoy every day and not waste a moment.
- Have I mentioned there are treats?