PRODUCTION BEGINS

DAY 1 (Leslie's Office, Art Gallery, Exterior Street Night)

Things that happened yesterday, as Yumi in Love entered production.

-Our Co-Producer, Tyler, was attacked by bees (serious medical attention type attacked) while moving gear in my back yard. He's doing much better now, and I have sworn revenge upon the bees.

-Had to rent a Van, found out some other gear I rented belonged to a different camera.

-Lost one of our locations two hours before we were supposed to arrive and begin shooting. Made something up on the spot. Hope it works.

-Film folk have an AMAZING fortitude. Like Tibetan Mountain people, they have the strength and constitution to soldier on through long crazy days, function without sleep, and inspire at every turn. The same can be said about the cast. Such a funny, strong and talented bunch of actors make the days feel easier and dare I say...a bit shorter?

-Discovered one secret of filmmaking...at production time, pinching pennies flies right out the window. Yumi in Love has me hemmoraging money at an alarming rate. This no budget production has already come in over 5 digits...the only end in sight is the final day of production...it's day one...but we're making a movie here! No complaints, just looking forwad to sitting down to watch this thing!

-I'm sure there's more...ironing out the bugs...bring on day two (it started an hour ago)

24 HOURS in Yumi Time

12:00 AM Get back from Abbotsford Location scout with Naim (DP). Good stuff, great people at the location. Looks good.
7:00 AM Get up and start on the "80's" (shot lists for scenes from 80-89, maybe a bit more)
9:00 Follow up on some email contacts
10:00 AM Print out a hardcopy of the script
11:00 Try and work out a way to get a Dolly confirmed for our shoot days
12:00 PM Rewrite the final 30 pages with the Abbotsford location in mind
1:00 PM Meeting with David (AD) to discuss the schedule (which looks great, thanks David!
2:00 PM Meeting with Amie (Costumes/Wardrobe/Script) to shop for more props, wardrobe
3:00 PM Fitting with Paul (Sam)
3:15 PM Quick read through of scene 46 with Paul (Sam) and Kristina (Helen)
4:00 PM Fitting with Kristina (Helen)
5:00 PM Meet with Gregory "Goose" Macdonald to try and work out and possibly record a song for the bar scene
11:59 PM In bed


I have a funny feeling that SNAKES ON A PLANE is not a comedy, but I'm too afraid to look it up on IMDB for fear that it might be labeled a Thriller or a Horror. This kind of thing makes me feel like I've woken up in an alternate universe.

PRODUCTION PLANNING

Yumi goes to camera in less than two weeks...

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO: by the numbers

375 days of pre-planning, casting, trying to raise money, writing, more casting, trying to raise money, gathering a crew, filling out forms, rewriting, emailing, making websites, scheduling, meeting with cast and crew, applying for credit cards

140 props that I'm going to go buy in the next couple of days

1000 tiny pictures scanned/photographed, cut out, and stuck in a book. My no storyboard idea went out the window.

500 or so shots will make up the shotlist that I'm compiling over the next few days

122 meetings over the last 12 months, some of them involved wine and/or beer

24 ads placed on craigslist or the like

4272 is the number of friends on yumi's myspace page

110 is still the number of pages in the script

34 is still the official draft number

234 or higher is the actual draft number

11 characters, 2 smaller parts, 2 dogs, 4 fish

4 is the number of people who suggested I cut or combine characters

5 notebooks filled with different thematic yumi things, camera notes, location notes, colour notes, character notes

10 is the number of books I've read on low to no budget filmmaking/directing/writing over the past year.

24 hours is the amount of time that passes during the 110 page script

2 cameras

11 bottles of wine mentioned in the script

2200 emails have been exchanged or sent during the pre-production phase

7 mini DV tapes of auditions and locations

0 is the number of people involved with Yumi who want to shoot this film in any "traditional" new Hollywood style.

25 (or more) people have told me that making a film with no movie lights (or 2 little Kino banks) on DV or HD is impossible.

93 and counting...the number of times I've seen this film all the way through, in my head.

12 days until Yumi falls in love

IMDB

Yumi in Love IMDB

There's not much information (although I did give them everything), but it's a start!

YUMI PRODUCTION DIARY: July 7, 2006

Pre-Production really, but I thought I should write down what it takes to make a film in this crazy way. Just in case I can't drum up a million dollars for the next one.

So, it's been a year since I came up with the idea, started the script, thought up an open letter, and designed the first website.

The script is now at draft 33, and that's not counting however many drafts before Yumi1, and the drafts that used be called "tapestry" (working title only...I was just weaving together these characters over one night, tapestry seemed to fit).

The first day of shooting looks like it's going to be July 27th (28th is booked for sure).

Wow. We've got some locations (still looking for some!), Naim's got the camera (or will have), Tyler's taking care of what lighting and/or grip stuff we might need.

NO STORYBOARDS. For me, Storyboarding is like outlining, it drains any and all life from the process. A good DOP, a good imagination, and the location will have ideas of its own. I'm going in with a basic shot list and a desire to use each location to its potential.

The actors are great, and I'm of the mind that you do a lot of rehearsal or you do none (or almost none). We haven't rehearsed anything yet, and we shoot in 3 weeks...

I'd like to stay closer to the no rehearsal side, but we'll see...I need every actor to know every line absolutely perfectly, because I like to shoot everything in masters. I really don't enjoy coverage for coverage's sake. Meaningful close-ups are another story.

If an actor misses an "and" or a "whatever," we'll have to take the entire master again. That's why good actors are so essential and great actors are a gift.

I should be breaking down the locations right now, so that's what I'm going to do.

Things feel...okay...the locations that we have nailed down are amazing, the people that own them are SO GREAT, but the sooner I can get actors talking together in a room, the better. Actors are everything, and thanks to their kindness and the kindness of the union's ultra low buget agreement, Yumi has the best.

IT'S ALMOST TIME

Thanks to all the Yumi cast and crew who have been so patient as we finalize the shooting schedule!

Yumi shoots in 3 weeks...as we establish great locations, the script is leaving the page and finally coming to life in my mind...the first step. I'm discovering that this means more expenses. Hard drives for the camera, locations, some lights, sound gear, batteries, costumes/clothing, mad props, it's truly amazing how expensive a no budget film can be.

I've had to rewrite a lot to accomodate the new shooting environments (the actual physical locations vary from the script as written...only Bergman and Hollywood can afford proper studios/soundstages).

If anyone has an airport or a train station...or a bar, or something that could serve as an island home (a place we can shoot for 3 nights), please let me know!

http://www.yumiinlove.com

Additionally, if anyone needs a website or some videography...I would love to do it. Yumi could use a bit more production money.