Hope Bridge Day 1

Production has begun. Day 1 of Hope Bridge is in the books. When you shoot a feature, you try to start off with a simple day. The goal is to get off on the right foot. You want to build teamwork and see how people are going to work together. It’s all about finding a rhythm.

Our goal was to shoot 2 scenes which would translate into about 3 and a half minutes of screen time. First you want to stay on schedule. All I can say is mission accomplished; however, we did have our challenges. It rained and continued to rain throughout the day. Let me correct that. It actually poured.

That would have been fine if we had been shooting indoors. But, by chance, our first day was scheduled for exterior shots. Somehow, the crew made it work. In fact, our director, Joshua Overbay, sorta welcomed the rain. He felt that the rain created the mood and the emotional impact that he was looking to achieve. Maybe we got lucky or, perhaps, it was a divine intervention.

For those who are not familiar with Hope Bridge, the movie stars Booboo Stewart, who is a teenager searching for answers about his father’s recent death and potential suicide. It’s a film that offers a powerful and compelling story.

I asked Isaac Stambaugh, who is the unit production manager, what he thought about the first day. “It was pretty good. We overcame several obstacles. We accomplished everything we wanted to and then some. We got what we needed. This says something about the character of the crew. We dealt with equipment problems, rain, vehicles that wouldn’t start, and a camera that accidentally got locked up. Maybe, it’s not time to spike the football, but we certainly had several first downs.”

For anybody who hasn’t been on a movie set, the days are long. Several of the crew members are here at 6 a.m. to set up. The final teardown wasn’t until 7:30 p.m. That’s a thirteen and a half day.

Hat’s off to the PAs who help to control traffic and had to stand out in the pouring rain for most of the day.

That’s it for Day 1.