We wrapped the main body of principal photography today with some of the most exhilarating scenes of the entire shoot. We have one more day of pick ups to lens later on, but the heavy lifting is now behind us. The climatic concert sequence featuring Jay was shot today at the beautiful new Riverview Performing Arts Center and it was nothing less than spectacular. Linda Nook, Jim Minor and the entire Riverview Team and Student Body were just fantastic to work with. One of the best parts of the day was the time our production staff took to answer questions from all the film/drama students at Riverview who not only watched how we did things but who also worked the shoot as intern production assistants. The looks in their eyes as they watched how and where the soon-to-be-widely acclaimed 'Beautiful Noise' camera team of Chambless & Goodbrad set up our shots to capture everything happening on stage was a wonderful sight to see. Jerry & John went out of their way to answer all the questions the kids threw at them and I was constantly surrounded by eager students who watched me direct the action. It was a teachable moment and it was really great to have all that positive energy from those kids to help fuel the vibe of the day.
And then Jay hit the stage singing our new version of Joni Mitchell's classic "Free Man In Paris".
It was a logistical challenge to capture all the magic of the moment with our primary camera, The Red, and the Canon 5D we used for B-roll, but Jay was spot on and we blew through the sequence quicker than anyone imagined. In between setups I grabbed a guitar from one of the band members and backed up Jay for a coupla Diamond tunes to keep the crowd ramped up. "Sweet Caroline" & "Cherry Cherry" was well received, as was "Sweet Home Alabama" performed by dynamic band member Tony Tyler. The energy in the venue was off the charts and the 500 or so extras, including Jay's Mom and sister, really carried the day for us. My sincere thanks to everyone at Riverview High School for helping us make some 'Beautiful Noise' in their fantastic venue.
The true unsung heroes of the day were Claire Franklin and Bud Buckley. Both of these highly talented people worked many long days on behalf of the production to make sure we captured the authentic look and feel of a huge concert setting - and believe me...it was no small task. Claire worked with me to hand-pick deserving local Suncoast musicians to be Jay's backup band in the sequence and Bud was responsible for the overall staging of the event. Working with his friends from Troll Music, Bud made certain that everything on the massive Riverview stage, from the stage plot plan to all the instruments and sound equipment, was perfect. He and Claire took the vision I had for this important concert sequence and expanded on it - and our film shines as a result of their collective effort. I'm really very proud to feature local SRQ musicians throughout "Beautiful Noise" because these great artists work on a nightly basis to create the eclectic, vibrant music scene Sarasota is famous for without getting a lot of notice. I'm glad we could showcase them in the film.
Other heroes included people like Rod Millington, Annette Breazeale, Jen O'Connor, Alexia Pepper, April Baker, Ryan Lebar, Brandy Luke and so many others whose names you'll find in the credits. These dedicated professionals juggled their busy schedules to be on set to provide support to the production that was well above and beyond the call of duty. They were the glue that helped us all stick together through all the ups and downs of the process. Their presence and devotion to what we're trying to accomplish was felt by everyone involved - and I am forever grateful for their love and support of "Beautiful Noise".
So we did it. We planned our work, worked our plan, improvised where necessary, embraced the support of the community and made it happen. And we laughed and cried and lost sleep and bonded as a Team - Actors & Crew - like nothing I've ever experienced before...and I've been lucky to have experienced a lot over the course of my career. We can't have a traditional Wrap Party just yet because some of the actors had to exit early due to prior commitments, but we'll all be together to celebrate our achievement with Gusto early next year when we have a chance to premiere the movie here in Sarasota. In the meantime, while the Team takes a breather I'll be working on a daily basis with our editor Marc Alcorn to create the final product. The editing process is where the rubber meets the road and Marc and I are excited about the challenge.
There's much more to do before we see "Beautiful Noise" on the big screen, so stay tuned as I'll continue to post info about the process as we guide this musical drama through post production.
Steve
