Day 3 of Wembe Commercial

Shooting began at 4:30AM in order to catch the first rays of sunrise needed for the opening scene. Most of the crew wasn’t required for that particular shot, so many of us
arrived at a more decent hour, save for our feline friends who had to show up bright and early to “get into character” at Wembé HQ in trendy DUMBO. To see the look on their
faces when the coffee arrived was absolutely priceless!
After a bit of a slow start, we crossed the bridge and set up near the South Street
Seaport. Our actresses got a few touch ups, but setup was quick and we got great footage with very few takes.
At this point, the crew had had ample downtime to chat and become more familiar
with one another, so the atmosphere had improved considerably on Thursday- in one
corner, you would find a circle of people talking shop, making jokes, while in another,
some contemplated the origin of personality archetypes. We all felt relaxed, but anxious to get shooting…
After the seaport we headed a few blocks down to the historic Battery Park to
shoot some scenes. The sun had finally emerged from behind the clouds, and so the
bright light made for few retakes. All the while, random people walking around the set
were meowing and calling out to the tigers and cheetahs. If they were lucky, they got to take their picture with them!
Towards the end of the day, we were a bit more pressed for time, since one
of the actresses had a time constraint. In order to move from Battery Park to our final
destination as efficiently as possible, every crewmember carried whatever they could
throw over their shoulders or hold in their hands to move to Broadway, right by the
Wall Street bull. The final scene was just as effortless to film as the rest of the day.
Surprisingly, we finished on time! We took a final picture all together and ultimately
parted ways after packing up.

Day 2 of Wembe Commercial

After a difficult first day we knew that Day 2 had to be flawless. 8:00 A.M. alarm goes off. This time we meet in BROOKLYN! That definitely means the day will be a lot better. I arrive at the Wembe office and am welcomed with the rich smell of soap. All kinds of soaps, labeled with exotic names and resembling cubic works of art. The office is humble, and the energy is positive and calm. Wembe’s logo is painted on the white wall. I look at it the whole time I’m there. Its clean, effortless, and really cool. Tiger arrives the same time I do. She looks so different without her make-up on, it took me awhile to realize who she was. At this point we are a little behind schedule because of the immense work that has to go into prep. But everything else is running smoothly. After five hours of prep and lunch, the team heads out to 12th street and University place for the first scene of the day. Today my role is: BEHIND-THE-SCENES footage (insert chair here.) I follow the team as we walk the busy streets of New York and the on-lookers who are in awe with Tiger and Leopard. Pictures are being taken, which will ultimately be uploaded unto some social networking. Did I mention that the body-painter did an amazing job? “Hey! What are you guys shooting?” “Is this for a movie?” “Guess what?! I’m going to be in a movie!” A few exclamations from the pedestrians.

Finally at our destination, we didn’t waste any time to start shooting. Daylight was slipping through our fingers. “CAMERA ROLLING… and ACTION!” The scene goes off without a hitch. Red Camera active and working, Steady-Cam set-up to perfection, and ice cold bottles of water and towelettes to cool us off. The energy was positive and the emotion: Happy! And I was having so much fun holding an ultra expensive and super technologically advanced camera. Yeah, I definitely felt cool (so official). The actors were so on point in depicting the Director’s (who is smiling) vision, and the scene is so funny! Dancing, ridiculous movements, equate to a perfect scene 2. I can’t wait for Day 3….

Day 1 of Wembe Commercial

9:30 A.M. I arrive on set in Queens. To no surprise, Jean-Emmanuel, the director for this project, is giving direction and coaching the actors. Authorized Dealer Film’s production manager is present as expected; our own Geoffrey Jean-Baptiste but we call him G. He is coordinating organization with the assistant director making sure everyone is in place and executing their tasks (lights, set decoration, etc…)The location for today’s shoot is a studio apartment. Once through the door you find yourself in the living room: two sofas sit against their own walls and a big wooden bureau is placed only a few feet away from the entrance. You walk another ten feet and you reach the small kitchen, with its wooden cupboards and crimson tile floors. Two French doors determine the kitchen’s end, into the beautifully decorated bathroom: a vintage four-leg tub, large leaves to decorate and set the Amazonian atmosphere, and a table piled with the lovely smelling Wembe soaps. Actress A is sitting on the couch and is rocking the tiger body paint. For the rest of the shoot I call her Tiger. Actress B is being painted, she’s Leopard. Seeing those two painted so perfectly as the roles they were to play made me anxious and excited about how the rest of the day would unfold. The atmosphere was pleasant and everyone seemed in good spirits despite the heat.
However, Jean-Emmanuel forgot to mention the chaos that can ensue onset: so I will give you the juicy details of Day 1 on Wembe Commercial.

My role today is: STYLIST (insert chair here), which means I chose Tiger and Leopard’s wardrobe and accessories. Unfortunately, day-of, the Director was not too happy with the looks anymore. So I have to spend a very hot 3 hours roaming the streets of midtown in order to accommodate his vision. Once back onset, I settle in front of the fan to cool off, and notice G huffing and puffing on the phone. He is dealing with permit issues. Misinformed and upset about his wasted trip to the Mayor’s office, he thinks of ways to resolve the problem. But the clock is ticking and time is of the essence here.
So, as they deal with the permit issue, we begin to get the room ready for the shoot, moving furniture around and cleaning the area a bit: “The couch should go there.” “Yeah and lets move the desk this way.” “Can we get rid of those heaters?” The point was to make the studio look like it was being lived in.
We are finally ready for scene 1. Well, almost ready. G is still on the phone dealing with the mayor’s office regarding permit issues. The clock is ticking and time is of the essence here.
Kareem Rogers, director of photography for Authorized Dealer Films, is prepping the Red cam. This requires some explanation for those of you that are unfamiliar with the device. You see; the Red Camera is a device that comes with a whole bunch of gadgets and wires and plugs. Then there is the Steady-Cam that requires a whole team of set-up all on its own: balancing the weight of the camera, to the weight of the cameraman, so the shifting and movement can be facilitated, etc. a bunch of technical stuff. But we manage to quickly put the camera together and get some great shots with it. I had lots of laughs from watching the scenes! The actors were really into character and did a great job in portraying their roles. The cats were stalking and feverishly sniffing for the Wembe soaps as the King of the Cats was leading them to the apartment. The naked girl in the bathtub scene was my favorite of the day. “CUT!”
When we declared “WRAP-UP!” everyone was all too happy to go home and shower. As the day comes to a close, I remember what Jean-Emmanuel said in the interview: “We are all links in a chain and each individual contribution is necessary and important.” (see Jean-Emmanuel Interview Post for more information).

Quaterly Art Soiree

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Love Lost featured at Webster Hall’s Quaterly Art Soiree

07/08/2010

The Quaterly Art Soiree is an event dedicated to exposing, exhibiting, and promoting the talents in the creative industries. They showcase the art forms at Webster Hall – a venue that embodies NYC’s dynamic East Village and also portrays its rich cultural history. The Quaterly Art Soiree’s (QAS) main mission it to remain true and “organic” to NYC’s art form and give it a natural, communal environment in which it can be explored. All participants in the QAS have been selected and juried by the founding curators- Gerard McNamee and Jenny Mushkin.

Authorized Dealer Films is humbled and excited to have been invited this Sunday July 11th, 2010 to the QAS event, The production company’s film will be in the same circle as – Built 2 Burn Fashion Show, Dillion Porter’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Caterina Ogar’s Dance Company.

Authorized Dealer Films is top bill at the venue, and will be showing Love Lost- The Director’s Cut.
Love Lost is a film about love’s progression- the ecstasy, joy, pain, and betrayal. It is the raw depiction of a man falling in love and then falling into heartbreak. As the protagonist is confronted with his pain, he questions the concept and relevance of Love, something we can all relate to. The director’s cut features scenes that were neglected in the original, as well as special effects, and original music composed by David Martinez.

This will not be Authorized Dealer Films’ first time appearing at Webster Hall. With a turnout of 100 + people during the original Love Lost’s screening, we are eager to see what we can expect this time around.

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Maude Delice
press@authorizeddealerfilms.com
646.263.4520