Sunday, September 28, 2008

Super Crews

. Sunday, September 28, 2008
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It's come to my attention that many people are unaware of the manpower and work it takes to not only document but get two people across the country on foot.  Charlie and Marshall take in about 10,000 calories a day so they can keep running - this alone occupies quite a bit of time.  There's the pre-breakfast, the breakfast, then the pre-lunch, the lunch, the snacks, the dinner, the late dinner, the Vitamix smoothies, the snacks.  They'll usually go through a pair of shoes every couple of days, need massages about once every hour, and so on and so on.  A full-time doctor and EMT administer to their blisters, aches, pains and various other ailments.  Dr. Paul, our on-staff doctor, has told us Charlie and Marshall have dealt with more pains and running issues in about two weeks than the entire field of runners at the Western States 100K deal with in two days.  Their are numerous hardworking people dedicated to getting them through each mile.  These folks, such as Marshall's wife, Heather - get by on very little sleep.  There is a crew van, and then an RV.  The crew van stops every mile for them - giving them whatever they need, while the RV will stop every 5 miles or so in case they need a rest, some hot food, or a bucket full of ice water.

From our end of things, we are usually tracking with them - doing interviews with crew, talking to the runners themselves, and also stopping along the way to get a perspective on America these days from any number of people along the route - beef jerky salesman, construction workers, bikers, off-the-grid revolutionaries, and so on.  Our crew consists of Andreas von Scheele and Rick Baraff, our first and second unit cameras, Steve Clack, our sound guy, Cory Gregner, our all-around second camera/assistant camera/media management supervisor, and Amira Soliman, our wunderkind production assistant and sometimes interviewer.  The crew is amazing to work with - dedicated and positive in some oftentimes trying situations.  Desert wind, thunderstorms, cattle drives, eighteen-wheelers - all of the things you deal with while shooting runners moving on down the highways and by-ways of the country.  We've got a lot of love and respect for their crew(s) and the same in return.  We all pitch in to make whatever needs to happen, happen.  Sometimes I find myself trying to convey the experience to people we speak with along the way, and sometimes it's impossible to explain.  Maybe some pictures will help...


Charlie gives Cory some love...
Steve and Andreas wait until Marshall catches up...

Amira helps Marshall put on his lav mic...

Kevin waits for Charlie to appear on the horizon...

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Getting The Shot

. Tuesday, September 23, 2008
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Rick, our second unit DP, is a great adventure cinematographer.  We've embedded him with Charlie's crew, and he relishes a challenge.  Last night I looked around and found him on top of a nearby "hill" getting a shot of Charlie as well as some time lapse as the sun peeked over the nearby mountains.  Thankfully, he has shot the Borneo Eco-Challenge and lived in the jungle for weeks and just came back from bagging peaks in Colorado.  So he knows what he's doing.  And the shot is amazing.   

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Running with Charlie...

. Saturday, September 20, 2008
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Every couple days or so, I check in with Charlie and Marshall with a "running interview" - we talk about what's going on with them, what's going on in the country, and I get some miles in myself.  I have to say, if you get the chance to come out and run with either one, they're both great people with stories, insights, and a unique perspective on what it means to be alive in these times.  You'd never know that they're putting in 70 miles a day when you run with them.  We generally shoot these interviews from our "camera car" - which is really just a mini-van rigged out to shoot out the back.  Amira, our wunderkind production assistant has mastered the art of driving 5 m.p.h. and Andreas, our DP, has mastered the art of holding focus in dicey terrain.  After getting in some running footage, we generally take off and search out interesting people along the route to interview.  We've had the pleasure of talking to off-the-grid landowners, displaced citydwellers, an entire soccer team and a taxidermist in the middle of the desert.  All of them have had surprising, inspiring, and insightful thoughts and opinions on where the country is headed and this historic run.

Stay tuned for more, as we head into the rocks of Utah and then the Rockies...


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Day 5: Fallon, Nevada

. Thursday, September 18, 2008
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A rough day yesterday for all of us.  I slept in a tent outside Marshall's RV to shoot his morning ritual and his heading out into the 4:30 a.m. pre-dawn.  I don't think I've ever experienced someone heading off for a 70 mile run in the desert in such good spirits, singing Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Betty" as he ran into the distance.  The heat is really taking its toll.  Charlie had some dehydration from the previous day, and we are out setting up shots in the desert sun.  Certainly not the same as running 70 miles through it, but we have discovered the sheik look and why it is so popular in these types of climes.  We are headed out onto route 50 today, the self-proclaimed "Loneliest Road in America."  Charlie has switched to running nights, to combat the heat and dehydration.  Marshall continues on during the day, his support crew stops every mile with cold water, food - basically whatever he needs.  These guys are like high-end endurance machines, they need maintenance every single step of the way.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

San Francisco to Napa - Days 1 & 2

. Sunday, September 14, 2008
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After a long time planning, Running America begins.  San Francisco is an incredibly cinematic city - the architecture, light, and overall energy of the place all make for opportunities and choices.  It is always wonderful to have choices when shooting. Beginning at city hall, we followed our police escort up Van Ness, taking a left and heading past the Presidio towards Golden Gate Bridge.  Our guest runners ran with Charlie and Marshall through most of the stretch, chatting them up from everything about family to politics to marathoning as we headed out into Marin county.  It was a hectic day, with lots of things to cover and just an overall shaking out of how a documentary film crew was going to go about following two runners and their support crews.  But everyone involved in this project is just incredible, down the line.  We headed into Napa after lunch, and although we had known intellectually what these two guys were taking on was immense, emotionally we didn't realize until 6 pm.  They were still running.  Headlamps went on.


And then they got up today and continued running.  And it was later in the day, as the sun was setting on a lonely road that I felt a great sense of privilege to have the opportunity to document and witness this event.  I felt privileged that Larry Meistrich at Nehst Studios hired me to direct the project and sent me out on the road for 46 days.  I felt privileged to have already met and interviewed some amazing people - from the mathematics major at Berkeley to the crop duster pilot to the guys outside Thompson's saloon cheering on Charlie - it's already been an amazing shoot.  And only two days in.

As you come upon these guys, taking step after step, you have to catch yourself as you think they're "just out for a run."  Because this run is going to last for another 44 days...

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Mood and Tone Boards

. Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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Andreas von Scheele, one of our DPs, recently finished the mood and tone boards.  Andreas, Liz Rubin and I have been throwing photos, words, and random thoughts at each other for the past two weeks, discussing how to visually and narratively tackle the project.  These are going to remind us of some original inspirations and keep us focused on a few directives we have for ourselves.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Running at 60fps

. Monday, September 8, 2008
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Sunday morning we shot a bunch of test footage with our friend and marathon runner Jason Goupil - testing out various frame rates and compositions and inevitably falling in love with 60fps.

We also experienced a nice primer for shooting out of the back of an SUV going 5 m.p.h. for 46 days...

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Curves & Lines & Interviews

. Sunday, September 7, 2008
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My two very talented DPs (Andreas von Scheele and Liz Rubin) and I are in discussions about mood and image for Running America - leading lines, S-curves, lines by implication and how these techniques will fit into our interviews and B-roll.



FSA Photography

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During pre-production on Running America I have been pondering how to use this massive influence on visual expression in our shooting style...



 
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