On Set! "Offline" Short Film!

Last Saturday I acted in the short film "Offline."

"Offline" was written and directed by Kate Kelsen.

The story follows a guy with limited time trying to make arrangements with his friends, who are too intertwined with social media to notice.  I was fortunate enough to play the character with limited time.

I met Kate through my long time partner and collaborator, Rodney Reyes.  Rodney and Kate went to graduate school together at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Rodney worked on Kate's other short Little Red Truck.

For this project, Rodney was going to be a producer and the cinematographer.  Rodney recommended me to Kate for the lead character.

I read the script earlier this Summer and was struck by how well written the screenplay was.  I became very excited to be apart of the project.

The only snag was filming would take place in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, which is on the Main Line just outside of Philadelphia.  For those that don't know, the Main Line refers to an area from downtown Philadelphia to Northwest of the city towards Valley Forge.  Originally named for the commuter rail line that connected the towns to the city, the suburban areas developed to be some of the richest towns in the country, home to sprawling estates and old money.  The classic movie, The Philadelphia Story, is set in the Main Line and was based on some of those old money families.  Much has changed over the years, but the reputation has endured.

The snag wasn't that the community wouldn't allow me to enter, but to schedule how Rodney and I were going to coordinate the trip south from New York City.

The original intent was to stay at my parents in Southern New Jersey, however due to conflicts, Rodney and I had to leave early Saturday morning.  We also picked up the production assistant, Rianna, in Rahway.  So, that meant a super early pick up time from Jersey City for me, which meant an even earlier wake up time to get from Lower Manhattan to across the river.  I woke up at 3:30am thinking that I had missed my alarm, and regrettably never fell back into a deep sleep.

The three of us arrived relatively on time to the morning set, but I already felt like I had put in a full day.  Hopefully that exhaustion lent a reality to my character.

Most of the cast and crew were at Kate's house when I arrived.  I've mentioned before in my other posts how there's usually a quick get to know everyone moment at the beginning of a production.  I've worked with Rodney numerous times, so I knew that for the most part everything should go smoothly, but if not, at least he was there for me to complain to later!

Introductions were made, and the crew went about putting together the set.

The cast and crew were a combination of locals to the Philadelphia area and people from outside that Kate had met at Vermont.  Rodney, Rianna and I were from the NYC area.  My costar, Josh, had come up from Raleigh, North Carolina.  All of us fell into an easy working atmosphere, trusting each other to concentrate on our assignments.

Even before the shooting day, I was impressed with Kate's organization and pre-production work.  That organization carried through the day of the shoot.  Earlier, Kate had sent out a schedule for the day and everything went smoothly, almost as planned.

The cast had some breakfast and we did a couple of read throughs of the script and some minor character explanation and exploration. Then we moved to the set to walk through all of the blocking.  After blocking came a break for lunch, then I went to make up to give me that deathly pallor and we began shooting.  The actual shooting took a bit longer than planned, but the work was fun and engaging with time never dragging.  Of course, that perception was caused by my being in every shot.  We did take occasional breaks.  And at one point, I saw my ridiculous reflection in the screen of an iPad, and couldn't hold character.  I needed a few minutes to stop laughing and refocus.

A bonus to the shooting day was that Kate had written into the script the family dog, a Bernese Mountain dog named Bodie.  Bodie was a gentle giant, hiding from all strangers especially males.  Attempting to be invisible, Bodie would move his large frame under tables.  After a few hours, Bodie eventually warmed up to me.  The copious amounts of doggie treats I gave him probably helped his affection grow.  There were a few shots we needed of the him next to me, and he complied for the most part.  However, by the end of the day, despite keeping comfortable 2 foot distance from me, Bodie seemed to alway be nearby.  I wanted to take him home, even though I'm not sure my apartment can handle another 100 pound body.

Shooting was done close to 7pm.  The crew packed up and I removed the makeup and changed out of my pajamas.  Afterwards, a few of us went to a local pub in Narberth, a town I haven't been in since right after college.  Not much had changed.

Rod, Rianna and I drove back to NYC.  Eventually, I was dropped off close to 1:30 am.  A long and fun day.

There are still a couple of scenes left to shoot before the short can be completed.

Luckily, a still photographer was on set and I've borrowed the following shots.

Early morning script read through.

Kate going over the script.

Bodie sizing me up during blocking.

Listening to the director, while going over the shot list.

Josh and Diane going through the blocking.

Making friends with Bodie.

Rodney trying to figure out camera placement during blocking.

Setting up the group shot with Diane, John, Josh, and Katie.

Acting sick or sickly acting...

Caught mid-scene

Rodney and Rianna transfixed by my acting... maybe.

A break after I couldn't hold character.

Kate following the scene on the video assist.

Bodie enjoying a quiet moment hiding under the table.

The crew after a long day.

The cast and director at the end of the day.