T.G. Wilkinson

The Cost

tgwilkinson — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 16:24:27 +0000

“A condition of complete simplicity / (Costing not less than everything)”

" T.S. Eliot - http://poetry.eserver.org/little-gidding.txt

Blocking Tests: The Punch

tgwilkinson — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 14:24:21 +0000

I’ve discovered over the last several months that one of the most useful parts of my creative practice is to go to the space we’re shooting at in advance of the shoot with an assistant and block out where the camera and each of the characters are so I can work through ideas for what the final composition will be. I then use the mockups from that blocking test to brainstorm possible set dressing ideas with the art department for what surfaces we need to fill, what objects we need to source, and how all of that will render on camera based on the angle we’ll see them at. It also helps my producers know how many extras we’re going to need and the costume department know the color and lighting scheme of the space and how the clothes will lie or pull on the actors based on how they’re positioned.

This is our only special effects makeup shot with a bloody nose following Phil falling to the ground after getting punched by an unseen assailant. Hopefully the final image we’re shooting this weekend turns out as well as this one did.

Madiba

tgwilkinson — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 15:05:45 +0000

Here’s a glimpse of the really amazing South African restaurant/bar we’ll be shooting at on Sunday.

Keeping It Small

tgwilkinson — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 16:56:47 +0000

“Obviously the bigger the budget, the more people this thing is going to have to appeal to—the more homogenized it’s got to be, the more simplified it’s got to be. So things like cultural specificity and narrative complexity, and, god forbid, ambiguity [laughter], those become real obstacles to the success of the film here and abroad.”

" Steven Soderbergh - http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/steven-soderbergh-state-of-cinema-address/

Adriana & Rachel

tgwilkinson — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 16:47:29 +0000

Our two new set dressing apprentices, Adriana and Rachel, outside the location at 6:30am last Sunday for their first time on set for a shoot.

Marc’s Bar

tgwilkinson — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 17:46:02 +0000

The girls come to visit Marc at the bar he works at. This is only the second image (of many more to come) we’ve shot with the characters of Cheryl and Margaret, so it’s exciting to get them more in the mix. After five months of shooting and a two month hiatus being focused a new set of characters within the story makes being on set feel fresh again.

The Gang’s All Here

tgwilkinson — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 21:27:20 +0000

We got the cast back together this past weekend for our first shoot in two months and we’ll be shooting again this coming Sunday. We have a very full schedule through the end of the year and as we continue to build our team for the fall everything is looking very promising.

Different Kinds

tgwilkinson — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 17:47:17 +0000

“I never looked at songs as ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ only different kinds of good ones.”

" Bob Dylan -

Back in the Audition Room

tgwilkinson — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 15:06:56 +0000

Scanning 482 Negatives

tgwilkinson — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 13:55:13 +0000

Week before last I scanned the first 482 4×5 negatives from the project in about 22 hours glued to a computer in the digital labs at the International Center of Photography. I had some leftover TA hours from a year ago that I’d been saving up for just such an occasion. This kind of work requires me to be a machine loading each negative one at a time into a special flexible holder, blowing off the tiny bits of dust you can only see at certain angles of light, placing it into the scanner using these cool little magnetic latches, setting the computer to scan the image which takes a couple minutes, while I wait loading the next negative into a second negative holder and blowing off the dust, unloading the first negative from the scanner, and then loading the next one to scan. Repeat and repeat and repeat. To make the work a little less tedious I tend to put in headphones and listen to a mix of old and new albums that I want to become more intimately familiar with in its details. That week it was:

The National – Trouble Will Find Me
Kanye West – Yeezus
Josh Ritter – The Beast In Its Tracks
Sam Phillips – Push Any Button
The Black Keys – Brothers
Joe Pug – Nation of Heat EP
Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim
The Oh Hellos – Through the Deep, Dark Valley
Iron & Wine – Ghost on Ghost