Uninvited Turtle Production #1

Sitting at home for the first time in twenty-four hours. Besides a handful of ten-plus minute naps (people will tell you I made love to the carpet or some such nonsense, I merely snuggled it), I've been sleepless in Washington for nearly thirty-six hours. Myself and over a dozen other talented individuals collaborated to create a flick in 24 hours for 2009's yearly film race. I can't really think straight at this point, so I'm not even going to try for coherence.

My part started very small, I didn't know what I'd be doing. I thought I might play an extra, but I chickened out and stayed behind the camera. First I just helped drive, move props, and keep peoples' moods light. Next I became Jeremy's (Sound Engineer) boom operator which was sweet and unimaginably difficult, especially considering how late things ran. It's a surreal experience to watch your arm shaking in a position it's held "comfortably" for several minutes and wonder why you can't control it. At the next location, past dawn, I completely crashed and went into useless-crew-member mode on the carpet, floor, and couch where my head refused to stay conscious. Finally, back at the Hedal residence, Laura and I started editing everything together. Eventually Jeremy and Jai (nickname, his full name is cool but escapes me) joined us to help score the thing.

Speaking purely from my perspective: Laura and I gelled into a super-editing duo, working with unfamiliar software (Adobe Premiere CS4) on hardware hardly able to keep up with the high-def clips flowing off their camera. It felt very fluid and natural, neither of us stepping on each other's toes but still opining our ideas as we merged our skills to form the finished work. She drove and I rode shotgun. I learned an amazing amount in a minuscule time period and started some great friendships. Thanks Julie!