View more than 300 “What? You, Too?” production stills shot by Alexandra Scott-Kelly, Fred Harshbarger, Betsy Martin, and Lucy Parker on the Video Club’s Google Photos site.
The photos may be accessed and downloaded from six albums organized by the dates of the shoots.
- November 14, 2019
- November 15, 2018
- November 18, 2019
- November 20, 2019
- November 22, 2019
- November 23, 2019
Meeting A Challenge
Video One Productions doesn’t shrink from a challenge. Our first dramatic video, “Write It Down,” produced last winter, called for two shoots in two locations and a cast of three. Our second dramatic video – “What? You, Too?” – called for eight shoots in five locations and a cast of seven in speaking roles – plus three in non-speaking roles and eight extras.
Over a 10-day period in November, the 16-member crew completed the production phase of “What? You, Too?” – led by Director John Kelly and Producer/Editor Lucy Parker, with guidance from Advisor Tom Nash. On December 13, a rough-cut was screened at Video One Productions’ monthly meeting, receiving a positive response. Further post-production activity will include color and sound correction. Bill Hemberger and Village pianist Mark Hochberg are creating a musical background. Gila and Jules Zalon are assembling credits.
To open a gallery, click on any photo. To close it, click “X” in upper right corner.
Premiere on March 19
The final product will premiere at a Video Club Open House on Thursday, March 19, at 6:30 pm in the Video Lab, along with a short video by Fred Harshbarger on the making of WU2. Refreshments and equipment demonstrations in the Video Studio and Capture Center will complete the evening. After the Open House,“What? You, Too?” and its companion video are expected to air on Village Television.
Pre-Production Phase
Prior to the initial shoot on November 14, the team carried out pre-production tasks. First, from seven original scripts submitted by Village residents, a 14-page comedy-drama by Lucy Parker was selected. With edgy humor, “What? You, Too?” tells how the Village helped one resident overcome prejudices and find friends in a new environment.
Working with Casting Director Sheila Bialka, Director John Kelly assigned the five main roles to Old Pros actors Sarah Moscoe, Sharone Rosen, Eveline Hoffman, Lewis Marcus, and David Dearing. Old Pros President Sheryl Stritch and a local professional actor, Andrew (Jiggs) Jiggins, were recruited for two additional speaking parts. Residents Marjorie Gfeller, Juanita Tsu, and Rhonda Walker appeared in non-speaking roles.
To open a gallery, click on any photo. To close it, click “X” in upper right corner.
John worked closely with the main cast during several table reads, while Script Supervisor Gila Zalon worked with John to break the script into shooting scenes. Crew members were recruited and briefed on their jobs with assistance from Director of Photography Jack Crawbuck. The crew included Paul Kachaturian and Paul Chiang, cameras; Jim Rohrs, gaffer; Starkey and Betsy Martin, sound; Alexandra Scott-Kelly, art direction camera, still photography, and camera; and Jill Amadio, props; with additional help from Suzanne Savlov and Fred Harshbarger. Jules Zalon provided catering for the two longest shoots. The present-day costumes were easily planned with the director, and the cast did their own makeup, assisted by cast member Eveline Hoffman.
Challenges During Shooting
The first shoot, a public meeting scene, was scheduled on November 14 in Clubhouse 7 just before a regular meeting of the Old Pros. This presented a production challenge since shooting had to be completed before the actual meeting, but the actual meeting crowd was needed to lend authenticity to the shoot. It all worked out – and the WU2 cast and crew enjoyed gobbling the Old Pros’ refreshments.
The team’s most ambitious shoot involved exterior and interior scenes at the Laguna Cafe, generously made available to Video One Productions by the local restaurant owners after closing on November 20.
On November 22 – in a “first” for Video One Productions – a second unit, consisting of Jack Crawbuck and Fred Harshbarger, shot an exterior scene outside Tom Nash’s manor, while an interior scene was shot inside at the start of an all-day shoot. The equivalent of five pages of script were shot that day, putting Video One Productions in good company with professional film crews, according to lightfilmschool.com, which states: “On a typical production, you can expect to shoot about five pages of script per day.” Kudos to our team!
To open a gallery, click on any photo. To close it, click “X” in upper right corner.
The location for the final shoot was provided by resident Susan Wheeler, who made her attractively-decorated manor available on November 23. Susan enjoyed working with us so much that she’s signed on as a host for Video One Production’s new TV series, “Beyond the Gates.”
Special Effects, Too?
In addition to multiple locations, the WU2 script called for special effects when the heroine’s dead husband appears to her on her television screen at night. These sequences were shot on green screen in the Video Studio, then played back on a bedside television set in Tom Nash’s manor with heroine Sarah Moscoe talking to an ephemeral, semi-transparent Lewis Marcus on her TV.
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