Overdue Update

I've found that after I don't write for a while, either due to lack of time or motivation, it's rather difficult to overcome the inertia and start up again. I also realize it's pretty much the same for everything: writing, reading, and the number one killer - exercise.

So I've decided to nail at least one of those motherfuckers.

Anyway, during the course of my absence, I got roped in to play an accident victim in a Civil Defense drama. It meant four overnight shoots, and since I also had to turn up at the office sometimes during the day for meetings and such, it got tiring pretty quickly. I can't complain though, since one of the stars, Gurmit, was rushing between rehearsals for his musical in the day and the shoot at night. He's pushing 40, God knows how he survives.

So here I am in my Dead Guy Makeup. Vinson did a really good job the first day, and no one else on the rest of the shoot measured up to him.



And here I am all bloody on another day. The blood kinda hides the fact that the makeup isn't as hot.



Chew Yen is beside me. She's really nice, and lent me her mini-fan on the last few days of the shoot. Unfortunately I was stupid and left it in the car wreck on the last day, so it's gone now.

Why would I need a mini-fan? Am I a pampered little pussy? Well, you try sitting for hours on end in a tiny car with the seat pushed all the way to the front (to simulate the results of the crash), all cramped and folded into an uncomfortable position, with no ventilation except for open windows. As luck would have it, there was no breeze most of the time, and even though it was all shot at night, it was so fucking stuffy (especially with the heavy makeup) that I was sweating buckets every single instant in there.

This is my car. Well, for the purposes of the scene anyway. They're tossing a gas cylinder on the windscreen to smash it.



They had to drop two cylinders on it to get it to look this way:



So the story is that the car I was driving was hit from behind by another car, causing it to smash into the end of a truck full of gas cylinders. Because our budget was limited, we couldn't have had the gas cylinders explode, which would've been really really fun.

Highly flammable things are always fun...



...like this car here.



And here's the cast having fun with that same car. And fire. See, fire is fun!



But anyway, back to my car. So we're stuck, and I'm dead, and the Civil Defense guys arrive and try to get us out. Which they're good at. Go SCDF!



They also save the lady from the other car, by wrapping her up like a mummy. Once she gets out, she proceeds to do Michael Jackson's Thriller dance. Her name's Sue, and she's very cool.



By the time they get my girlfriend out, I've expired and she's lost a leg. She doesn't seem all that down about it though.



They've got very cool vehicles, like an ambulance...



...and a big-ass firetruck...



...which was good, because Sue's car later exploded. I have the explosion on video, and it was awesome to see. I think I need to work on more shoots that blow stuff up.

Every night was a rush for time because there was just so much shit to shoot. As dawn crept upon us, we'd be rushing like mad for time, and trying to avoid the sky in the shots. People would run around muttering, "The color temperature's all fucked" to themselves.



I'm glad there was a good cast for this, even though I think most of them were rather under-utilized for the shoot. Hopefully as the series progresses we'll see more development for them. They really seemed to click and get along well with each other.



I think this next shot looks so good, it can be a promo poster.



There was a new guy called Justin in the cast, and apparently it's his first role in, well, anything actually. For a first-time actor, I think he did great, and he might have potential to be the Next Big Thing. So keep an eye on him, folks. Of course, it helps that he's a real nice guy and we hung out quite a bit on set and off. The one bad thing about him is that he's Canadian.

Kidding! I love Canada. Even if Americans don't. Canada rocks. Even Niagara Falls is cooler in Canada.

We had some visitors over the course of these four nights too.





Here's Justin kissing that big-ass moth.



And we even had a bunch of free extras, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood banglas! They were real nice and never got in the way, so we let them hang around. It was probably the highlight of their week, the poor guys.



All in all, it was a pretty good experience. Except after four days the adhesive they used to stick the cut on me kinda burned into my face. Ouch.

My first time working on such a big-scale shoot... well, I guess I wasn't really working. I might be more critical if I actually was working on it. At this point I think I might possibly write for the series, but we'll see how that works out. I really like the cast, and I think I'll enjoy working with them if the cards fall that way.

I guess I'll end this post on a positive note and leave the bitching to another time.