LOST in LA

Update:7.3.09 Sorry I called it GEEKing products, It is in fact gReeking (with an R). Thanks to Kara for posting in my comments so I would notice the error of my ways (an Err-Or, what Err-Or?)



*Written Thursday 6.25.09*
I know its been a while since I have updated. And I know the last time didn't really have much to do about LA and what I am doing here. So (hopefully) this one will make up for lost time.

Things to read about in this post (and so I can keep myself on track):

*that's a WRAP! <- we wrapped the show I was working on!

*LOST in LA <- How watching 4 hrs of TV can actually inspire me

*Bangerang, Peter <- Being on set actually allows me to be MYSELF

*Leave the keys in the car <- Stories from the industry

*don't look at them <- I actually got to sit in on Interviews this week

*Waffles and Chicken <- My Saturday was a lot of fun

*Meet me in Austin <- Catching up with old friends

*t-pat <- life lessons by “the other tony”

*new blog design! <-just that... a new blog design. well i guess ill get started.

that's a WRAP
I have been working on this reality show for the past three weeks (Tuesdays and Wednesdays about noon to midnight), I was there for the first day of filming and the last day of filming (yesterday). Luckily I will not be on set for the HOUSE WRAP which is today and tomorrow.

HOUSE WRAP (fyi): When you shoot (film) on location, you either rent or borrow a house, but the way the house is set up is not always the way that works best for the project you are doing. Also, no one wants you to use their stuff (wear and tear) SO you EMPTY the house out (move all the furniture, appliances and kitchenware OUT). So now you have an empty house, like you just moved in. Then you choose what you want where, and you re-furnish the house, television rooms become bedrooms, bedrooms become interview rooms, living rooms become Executive Offices ect ect. At the end of the project EVERYTHING MUST BE BACK EXACTLY AS IT WAS, which is why before you move anything you take massive amounts of pictures of everything, from the location of dog bowls to the arrangement of furniture. So today and tomorrow the crew is busy cleaning up everything that the cast (and crew) messed up and clearing out the house and putting everything back in its place.-But that is not what I am doing.

I on the other hand, helped WRAP the show. Because most of the show (Reality TV) is created in post (editing) one day does not mean one episode. The last episode of the show was filmed over two days (my last two days). Fortunately that means that there was not a late night on Tuesday because we had to be there at nine on Wednesday. Most of these days were spent with the Art Department. So the end of the show was at this gazebo that we made (well the art department made) that was covered with flowers. We got a shipment’s worth of fake flowers (plastic and wires) to decorate this gazebo (and other set decorations) with. I spent most of my time the first day cutting those flowers off the stems (they would come in bouquets of 5-10 flowers, but we needed them separate). Because they had wires in the middle of the plastic, I had to use wire cutters, and some of those wires were pretty thick. So I cut flowers for a while and then was able to sit in on an interview (see the “don't look at them” section). After the interviews I went back to cutting and placing these flowers on these set pieces. I chalk-lined carpet, we made a giant heart out of the carpet and needed a grid to sketch the heart out on. Early in the day we had a couple of big styrofoam pieces brought in. We worked with styrofoam in High School Theater- most of our more intricate set pieces were either entirely styrofoam or covered in styrofoam so knew a little about how to handle it. We cut this styrofoam and painted it. There were eight pieces of eight foot by four foot by eight inch pieces (standard plywood size), we covered them in paint and did detail work- styrofoam soaks in liquids and the surface is not always completely flat so there are little white holes all over the surface- those got painted as well. For most of that night we cut flowers and put them on the set pieces. We were there till 12:30 or so working on these set pieces that need to be set up the next day by 2:00.

WEDNESDAY: Call time 9:00, you guessed it cutting flowers again. Erin, my internship supervisor worked her magic and found me an interview to sit in on. (again “don’t look at them” section). After some stress with getting the set pieces finished, I did some errand work (up and down the hill), some GREEK-ing, and some traffic control. The greeking I did was covering up the logos and names on a car that was used in the shot.

GREEK- In television (and any visual medium) when you want to use an object but you don’t want to pay for royalties on the logo, you greek the logo: usually tape the color of the background, just to cover up the name, but trying to make it as inconspicuous as possible. Any logo you see on TV or film either is paid for by the company as “advertisement” or is paid for by the producer to associate the name with the show- yes Tim you were right about this.

I have not really been keeping up with who has been getting kicked off the show as the weeks have gone by, but after sitting in on some interviews I was moderately interested in who was going to win. When they set up the final elimination, the producers asked anyone not necessary to the current project to get out of sight (reason: see “don’t look at them” section) so I went around the corner so I could hear what was going on. NO, I am not going to give away the winner of the show so you can bet your friends and win. After the final elimination was done, Tony (Production manager- see: “t-pat” section) sent Thomas (another PA) and I to return the stuff, (bags, bags, hanging clothes, more hanging clothes and more bags) to the celebrity’s house. On this drive i got to hear lots of cool stories by Thomas (see: “leave the keys in the car” section). I guess that is all for THAT’S A WRAP

LOST in LA
Today, I spent most of the day in my apartment, resting. I got the third disk of LOST in NETFLIX and watched all four episodes in a row. GOOD STUFF. In the episodes, trying not to give too much away to those who have not seen it. John Locke is dealing with his destiny, trying to figure out what he is supposed to do, so he looks to “The Island” to try and figure out what his next move is. After a while we realize that he is not really following orders for himself but in service to the Island. Anywho, also today I got a letter from Hays (Haley Vincent) who is at SkyRanch camp for the first part of the summer. In her letter she reminded me that (if you don’t mind Hays): “it truly honestly really is not about Me and what I am going to get out of it.” and “[my] time in LA is not about [me] and what [I] am going to gain from it. It is about Him and His plans & how He will use this time to teach [me] and grow [me] and use [me] to influence others.” I thought I am a lot like these characters on LOST right now. I am running around like Jack who is doing everything he can to get off the island (and get everyone else off the island)- a good thing? Yes. I (Jack) am working to get people rescued? Yes. But is that the best thing? I don’t know. I should be more like Locke, following the island’s direction. Right now I don’t know who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’ on the show LOST but that is what it is about. I am, however saying (and agreeing) that my time in LA is not about me having fun (though I am/will), it is not about me getting to see other parts of the US (though I do), it is about following God’s will and serving Him wherever I am, and watching HIM move through and around me. Really, that is what this blog was named after “i am not, but i know I AM” it is not about me, but I know the one it is about.

Bangerang, Peter
So talking to people from home, I have started to realize one of the reasons why here is different from Austin. In Austin, I had a group of people (Roommates, LHMess, CRU) who would accept me for who I am, and to be honest theater-nerd at heart, singer, pop music fan. Here, I have not found that group of people yet, most of the people who I spend time with are “too cool for school”- (actually just not theater/musical-nerds, don’t get excited by these things). Hey its cool, everyone has their own thing. On set there is a PA named Lindsey, we got along for the most part, work well together. While we were painting those styrofoam pieces (see: “that’s a WRAP” section) I started humming “The Last 5 Years” and she started singing it. As it turns out, she is totally a theater-nerd, musical lover and dancer. We sang most of the evening (much to the chagrin of the other PAs) everything from L5Y to West Side Story to Gershwin songs. Well this section just to say there are those who will put all cool-ness aside and sing. Oh and Avenue Q but when I tried to do harmonies, well lets just say it didn’t quite sound as good as the musical. Oh, right Lindsey enjoys saying “Bangerang, Peter”.


okay so it is getting late on Thursday so I will save the rest for tomorrow, Friday.

*written Friday 6.26.09*

Leave the keys in the car
So when you are filming on site (not is a studio) there tends to be a problem with parking spaces, (a place NOT intended to hold LOTS of cars, parking an entire crew and cast’s worth of cars). Therefore, when you drive and park on site you usually double park cars and leave your keys in your car incase it needs to be moved while you are busy. There are a couple vehicles rented by the production (15 passenger vans and cargo vans) and when you park one of these vehicles you also leave the keys in the vehicle so the next person who needs it can use it. These vehicles are used, among other things, to drive talent around (the actors and actresses), and to drive their stuff around.

That being said, on Wednesday (last day of production) night Thomas (one of the other PAs) and I drove the talent’s stuff to her house (her hanging clothes and bags of costume and “essentials”). The drive was like 30 min each way and I was able to ask Thomas some about himself (one of the things I enjoy more than anything else). As we were talking, we got onto the topic of “at least one close call happens on every production you do.” He told me some of his stories like (I will try to put this in first person):

On one of the productions I did, we were filming down on Venice Beach and well there is not much room on the beach or the basketball courts, that is where we were filming, to house Base Camp with the offices and changing rooms and such. We set up Base Camp like 2 blocks away and while it wasn’t a long walk, I was transporting people back and fourth in these 15 passenger vans. The parking lot where Base Camps was, was being worked on and they were painting new lines and arrows, and moving blockades around. “Fortunately” for me I had been working since midnight the night before and therefore was “very aware.” So I was driving this one actress back to base camp and I was following the arrows and what I did not see was those “exit spikes” (the ones that fold down when you drive over them the right way but if you drive over them the wrong way, your tires pop). So I was driving into this parking lot and the actress I was driving shouted “STOP!” I ended up like three inches away from the spikes, three inches from blowing out all four tires on this van the production was renting.

On another production I was was working, I was driving one of the male talents around, an older guy who needed assistance getting in and out of the vehicle. So I drove him home and I got out of the vehicle to help him get out and get his stuff out. As he was getting out, he hit the “door lock” switch and he closed the door. Well I help him to the door and o back to get into the van and the doors are locked, and the keys are in the ignition. I start freaking out! I am 60 miles away from base camp, its 12:30 in the morning and I locked the keys in the ignition. I check the back doors, locked. I check the side doors, Locked. I check the passenger door, Locked. I was freaking out. I looked up and the talent I drove home cracked the window like five minutes before we arrived. Just enough to reach my hand in and flip the “unlock” switch. That was another close call.

On that same production, I was asked to move a 15 pass van to “launch position” next to the house, to move the talent out as fast as possible. Well the talent gets to the van and I get a call over the walkie-talkie asking where the keys to the van are. I knew I left them in the van like I am supposed to, but I checked my pockets, not there, I radioed back that they were in the van. They said the keys were not in the van “Who was the last to drive it?” (aka Who do we fault?) that would be me... I told them they were in the visor, not there. The ENTIRE production is waiting on the guys to get into the van, and driving off. I begin to run over to the van in order to help look for the keys (I’m like 100 yards away). Well, before I get there they find the keys (someone else had moved them), they were in the back or something... But they were found.

These may not sound like big deals but... well they are. If these things had gone through (tires popped, keys locked in the vehicles) my friend Thomas would have been in big trouble... We talked about the different positions in a production, about audio (what he wants to do), how to get into the different positions in a production. Interestingly enough I had a similar conversation with several people earlier that day and the day before while helping out with the interviews for the show. That brings me to:

don't look at them
My internship supervisor worked her magic and allowed me to sit in and help take notes on some of the interviews. It was very interesting to see how the producers get the sound bites they want and start putting together stories and narration for the editing process even while they are conducting the interview. I’ve been told that in order to be a producer you need to be able to listen to two different things (ie: your walkie-talkie and the interview) and be able to plan ahead in your questions. While talking to some of the producers, I got a good idea of some of the different positions on set, and where to start on the production side. Oh, some of the advise I was given while taking notes on an interview was not to look at the interviewee, the less people who look at the interviewee, the more personal the interview feels and the more open the interviewee feels. Obviously I wouldn’t do this if I were conducting the interview, but if I am just taking notes, facing my back to the focus, helps keep it personal.

Waffles and Chicken
so this was almost a week ago, so pardon my fuzzy memory please. A group of us have signed up for surfing classes every saturday (3 weeks) and we end up staying in Santa Monica for the rest of the day, to enjoy the beach. Last saturday, we went to surf lessons (after a pretty late night friday) but we got there a little late. Surfing was fun, after we went to Rosco’s Chicken and Waffles. I had only had chicken and waffles once before. My grandmother took me to this place in Houston for breakfast a few years ago over Christmas break. Personally, I like Chicken and waffles better for breakfast but it was pretty darn good for lunch, at like 3:00. Well after that we went back to the beach and played sand volleyball till dusk, well and even after that. Home that night and ready for TRIBE the next morning.

Meet me in Austin
So I have spent a lot of time in LA and haven’t really been able to keep up with a lot of my friends from Texas. Last Saturday I got to talk to Hays (Haley Vincent) for a while and catch up on life. We talked a lot about camp, how awesome camp is, great camp memories and the differences between our camps (which I think I remember several conversations about.) Last Sunday (I think it was sunday) I was able to talk to my good friend Timmy Longo, we caught up on life and what is going on. Speaking of Austin and friends, I am currently watching King Of the Hill, an episode where Bill joins a Mens Chorus. It looks like a slightly less active Longhorn Singers, especially since half the songs they sang through the span of the episode we have sung in Singers. At the end of the episode Bill claims “These Guys are my friends” and Hank explains how Bill has only been giving to the chorus, and not receiving anything back. I thought “that is NOT LHS, I received sooo much from that group. I want you to know how much I miss you all LHSers.

t-pat
Not much in this section, just a cool note: The Production Coordinator for this production I was working on, his name is Tony. Several times when I was talking to him, I almost brought up some Tony Robinson quotes... but this is Tony Patterson (I want to call him t-pat, after t-rob but didn’t). This Tony guy has some good advise, the summation of his advise is “take charge, don’t let others walk over you. Know what you want, what you need and don’t let other’s walk over you.” Like he sent me on this run to as he called it “Kinkies” (Kinkos) to print out pictures for reference for House Wrap (see the “that’s a WRAP” section). I go in and to print out two copies was going to be like $280.00- when I called t-pat he said not for that price... So t-pat haggled with the guy through me over the phone. That was pretty cool. Like “what kind of deal can we get for this large quantity?” at the end of the night we got a discount, not sure for what or how but we did.. it was pretty cool. When I asked him about it, t-pat said “You just have to go in knowing what price you have and either get it down to that price or go somewhere else”. There was another time when we had someone come and pick up stuff from set and we had a little extra for them to take. They wanted to leave without picking it all up and t-pat said “they are paid for one thing, that is their only priority, you have to understand that and get them to understand that there is more they can do for you”. Looking back at this, it seems a little demanding, not LOVING, but I guess there is a way to communicate in a loving way what you need, and how to get it done.

new blog design!
i was on twitter and found both Kara and Kelly’s blogs (now to the right of the posts) and found a site that does templates for blogger. I set it up and set up my blog list including HAYS’ blog about camp, and Kelly and Kara’s life in LA blogs.... check them out if you have time.

Well 8 pages of blogging... lots of time and thought in this one, I apologize that the last half of this post was kinda not organized... I’m tired and I have a new day of surfing tomorrow. Oh and I went swimming tonight, at dusk. It got kinda creepy, so then I left.

Good Night and Good Luck.

I am not in Los Angeles for me. I am here for the glory of GOD, to allow him to work through me...

-HIS
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