One Good Man - Pre Production

Well... where to start?

Sometime in June, I got the call.

August 18th, I was flying to Winston-Salem NC in a prop-propeller plane to work as "production coordinator" for the film "One Good Man" - principle photography scheduled for Sept 8th - Oct 11th.

Tables where meetings happen.

I arrived just in time for the first production meeting. Several departments were represented. George Escobar - producer, Mike Snyder - Producer, Manny Edwards - Director, Director's Assistant - Peter Forbes, Actor/producer Burgess Jenkins (Remember the Titans), 1st AD - Spencer Jarvis, technical director Stephen Pappas, Casting Director - Jeff Rose and representing our production design team - Sarah Costello and Sophia Moore from PropTarts.

The door of our production office - sign by yours truly. Our locations department has since lovingly crafted signs for each department as they arrive, funky fonts included.


Lauren, head of locations, planning for typhoons, falling meteors, and rioting elephants.

Scarcely had I processed the names and ranks of the parties assembled, than my mental facilities were assaulted by a blitzkrieg of information and questions.

Several hours later, pen and paper smoking, I was driving towards our hotel for a night's sleep. We got separated, lost and stuck in a Wendy's far from our intended destination. A long day, and a confusing one.

A few days later, I had learned several more things. Communication was essential, and difficult. All solutions had to be submitted in triplicate. Vehicle rental companies could be confusing and contradictory.

The production office shortly after my arrival. Seated is our very fun and talented storyboard artist, Stephen Johnson.

Our production office was unfinished and empty. Have you ever taken an office for granted? Have you ever wanted scotch tape and found it missing? Needed folders and found none?

Who guessed filmmakers spent so much time in Staples?

The days settled into a fairly regular rhythm of 8:30 AM arrival, 8:00 PM departure and many large, urgent fires to be extinguished between.

Friday, realizing the number of variables involved were far-reaching and diverse, surpassing the capacity of a simple Google Doc spreadsheet, I desperately turned to Basecamp, a sanity-saving suggestion from my good friend Nathaniel.

My desk, where emails come, and papers assemble. Our costume designer made a great Production Notebook for me that magically organized the huge stack of papers that had been drifting over it for weeks.

I am convinced that a morning spent importing and sharing a to-do list in Basecamp has not only kept work in the office organized and efficient, but also prevented the waste of several hundred dollars on unneeded resources.

My 22'd birthday did not pass without some merrymaking. This obliging fellow not only helped cut the cake, but eat it too.




Sunday eve in the office. A semi-panoramic view. I would make these pictures look nicer, but if the equation is ugly pics over no pics, I'll choose the ugly pics. I had long Saturdays to beautify my Colorado pictures. ;-)


One of the three vehicles I have rented for the production. Symbols of progress, however small, are encouraging. As are special rates, obtained after negotiations.


Baseball helments provided by PropTarts. Being a production designer requires performing what essentially equals a whole-house move every time you are hired for a film, but the operators are repaid by the rewarding experience of justified yardsaling and thrift-store shopping.

And renting this stuff out covers all their overhead.


A view of the warehouse inside. Walking through here really feels like a movie is about to happen.

The storm will return on Monday, but for now, I am catching my breath. Never underestimate the importance of time to unwind. God made Sundays for a reason.