The Crystal Method of Home Upkeep
I’ve walked into some terrible shooting environments. Really. Terrible.
Ever been in a metal scrap yard in the middle of the night? Done that. Ever been in a boat being circled by water moccasins? Been there. Marched in the *shudder* Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? You betcha.
However, all of this is comparatively easy compared to what we did last month in Greenville.
It is time once again for the annual United Way shoot in Greenville for Tallboy. It’s always kind of a highlight for us. Three or four days of straight-up documentary shooting, and hearing some truly amazing stories of people’s struggles. This year, we were tasked with a recreation. Admittedly, not my favorite thing in the world. We had to find a low-income house (or one looking similar to it) for our little set-up, and stock it with children’s toys and other bric-a-brac.
Now, our man on the ground, Gareth Owings, went to work finding us an ‘authentic’ location, as well as stopping by one of the Goodwills for our props. The only thing that got complicated was when one of our subject’s schedule changed at the last moment, putting the prep of this into overdrive. Gareth had to book a day earlier, so our options became limited. With only one landlord responding to our requests, we went with the previous home of an evicted crystal-meth dealer.
And so, Gareth went to work. The trailer (yes… it was a trailer) was cleaned up rather well. With the exception of a few hideously disfigured dolls, the place was clean…
…except for the smell.
Picture this. You are standing over your sink, when that mildewy ’sink smell’ catches you by the nostrils. Probably time for a quick clean-up, eh? Now imagine the smell taking physical form, reaching out of the sink, and grasping you by the face. You know… like this:
Needless to say, I walked out. I’ve done DOS work, I’ve been through hot swamps and frigid fields, but I, literally, could not take the smell. I had to leave director Douglas Olney, AP Rhonda Vanover, and Gareth by themselves. Not exactley my proudest moment, but we all have limitations. One of mine happens to be the whole ‘Spores Growing Inside Your Lungs’ scenario. Go figure.
Despite my absence (or maybe because of it… depends who you ask), the footage turned out great. Rhonda actually subbed as a ‘mother’ in it, and Doug utilized a lot of silhouette work, never quite capturing any faces. All of this while I sat near the cars, and talked with some of the folks from Erwin Penland about the evil empire of the Jonas Brothers. Damn you, Jonas…
So, there you have it. My first and only foray into trailer-made crystal meth manufacture. In two weeks, I’ll have some exciting news on a past project. ‘Till then, enjoy your non-mildew reek lives.
Oh, and the recreation got cut from the final piece. yaaaaaaaaay…
Tags: Tallboy Films