Corrie Ponders: Day 9: Hot Day Outside, MoVi Fun, and farewell to "Charles' House"

Today was brilliant. Not only did we get to work with two of Seattle theatre's finest folk, Suzanne Bouchard and Victor Pappas, but we also got to add our "Cody at Age Three" actor, the delightful Henri DiStephano. Our two leads were delighted to work with them. We all were! Over the last week we have shot many scenes in “Charles’ House”. The camera, the talent, and the crew have squeezed and swarmed through the kitchen and hallway and sitting room, creating shot after shot. Today, we moved outside again, as we did with the garage-sale day. The scene, several pages long, follows Charles and Alison as Alison’s parents attempt to dispense advice. So we used a MoVi, as we did last week, with Ryan, indoors. It’s a very cool rig that has 3 axles; which allows for stabilization - meaning that we can be move with the actors as they walk. The round rig that circles the camera keeps the camera from shaking as it moves. Technically, it’s called a "3X stabilizing rig", but we call it a MoVi for the same reason that we call tissues "Kleenex". The name "MoVi" is so well known that it has become shorthand for the camera rig itself. It’s an ingenious piece of technology. It allows the camera to swing and move in almost every direction. And it’s incredibly versatile. You can wear it, like a Steadicam, or you can put it on a jib, or a crane - or a drone. The tech was developed, in fact, for drones. We are so so lucky that we had Sam on set today to be our MoVi operator. He was working with FreeFly (the folks who created the tech) when it was being developed, so he’s been using this set-up for as long as it existed. He’s got his own company now, Motion State. Today, he wore the MoVi in a special harness that distributes the weight of the rig over the front and back of his body. As you can see in the picture, carrying something that big all day can really get uncomfortable. But, Sam says, it’s like backpacking; you learn the right way to carry it by doing it. Because of the MoVi, and Sam, we were able to add some really cool dynamics, like dropping from an adult eye-line to a child’s eye-line in one smooth continuous shot. Most excellent. Tonight there is a "Company Move", meaning that we broom everything out of the house we have been shooting in, and carry it to our new location tomorrow. My profound thanks to all the good-hearted, excellent folk who are lifting many, many heavy objects while middle-aged me comes home to write to all of you who are thinking of us and praying for the success of this story that is so dear to me. Every one of these crew members and actors shines like the sun. I am the happiest director ever born. It just doesn't get much better than this.