Into the bedroom set for at least two days of filming in close quarters. Shooting was delayed until midafternoon: first by the construction of a tent around the bedroom windows so we can shoot night scenes during the day; then by art direction problems that made us import bedsheets from Wilkes-Barre; then by a misunderstanding between Dave and me that necessitated reversing the direction of all the action in the bedroom and reshooting a complicated shot. We did some good work, but came up three shots short of our schedule at day's end. I'm now feeling seriously pressured--we have very little margin for error during the final two days of the shoot.
I'm devoting about 65% of my filmmaking energy to making sure that we don't accidentally photograph Dylan's penis, and 35% to creative issues. Near the end of the day, I backed myself into a corner by not taking the penis problem seriously enough, and wound up with a bad cut that I can't figure out how to fix. Interestingly, my stamina gave out as I apprehended my dilemna, and I called an end to the day's shooting. My adrenalin usually flows so steadily on the set that exhaustion doesn't set in; but my body gave out when I became artistically demoralized.
The penis issue notwithstanding, Dylan and Edith have been real troopers about the sex scenes, taking chances and putting themselves on the line again and again. The sex in this film is not pretty sex, and the actors are going for the edginess and not trying to make themselves or the audience comfortable.
Life on location has changed now. The set is closed because of the sex scenes, and only the boom operator, the script supervisor, the DP and I are in the little bedroom with the actors. The other crew members are sleeping or sunning themselves by the lake, and are only occasionally called upon for the odd bit of work. Even the lighting crew has little to do, because the bedroom set requires so little relighting from shot to shot. I'm concerned that the crew will begin to feel bored and left out over the next few days, but there's nothing much to do about it.
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