We have been planning this flashback scene for a while. After having visited the location ahead of time we planned it out like a military operation. Law enforcement blocked the streets for us and we were ready to go.
We were going to shoot a collision of 4 points of view into a horrific life altering crescendo.
The first scene we got standard coverage of young Tommy and his teacher played by our expert MUA (makeup artist) Marisol Feliciano Cotton.
On the reverse angle over young Tommy’s shoulder we got a great slow motion shot revealing younger Giggles (David Joy) drunk on a bicycle followed by Tom Gore and Nick Cannon in a red minivan.
2nd Unit Cinematographer, Dalton Pope brought his own drone and Blackmagic Design URSA mini which matched our A camera and got some fantastic footage. While A camera was shooting coverage from inside the van we utilized the drone from above. Having that birds eye view of the collision added an incredible dimension to the sequence.
The back of the van was incredibly cramped and hot, but we got our footage.
After we finished van coverage it was time to film the horrible yet beautiful crescendo footage. 2nd unit took care of young Tommy’s parents (Christina Nicholls & Jason Crowe) approach and reactions while 1st unit captured the approach of Giggles before he even encounters the van. Shooting out of sequence is necessary due to time management and ease of production. Shoot everything you need for that location and then move on.
We continued working as two camera units so I could get footage of the parents walking towards town and 2nd unit could cover the approach of the minivan.
We put the jib on the back of a pickup truck and were ready for our last footage of the day.
The jib shot from the truck dollie gave us some great footage and I must say it was fun to ride around town in a pickup truck. Reminded me of my high school days.
Next time, more flashback stuff. Stay tuned!
