And From the Darkness, Light.

It's been too long. There is so much to say, and words are so weak.

My life is generally free from crisis. However yesterday, I experienced one: our camera, a Sony HDR-SR11, decided to break. It displayed an error code E:62:02 and all footage it records looks something like this:













We immediately contacted Sony Customer Support, and our baby is currently en route to Texas for emergency surgery.

I feel like I need to talk about how wonderful Sony is.

I called them today distressed, frustrated, and trying very hard to keep myself calm. The only thing on my mind since yesterday morning when those dastardly green and pink bands decided to enter my life has been this: Our Story is going to be delayed. There will not be enough time. The repairs will take weeks. Did I eat at Wendy's TWICE yesterday?

My concerns were eased. In less than 30 minutes, I was told that their Laredo Repair Center would, at no additional cost to us, give us priority repair and shipping. Even better, it'll be back next week. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH












This, ladies and gentlemen, is customer service at its finest.

Now that we can move onto happier things, I can say that production is still going swimmingly. Yesterday Zaque, Daniel, leading girl Lily, and doc crew leader Nathan came with me to the Blue Ridge Parkway to get the scoop on some of our locations. The first pieces of documentary footage were filmed (also on a Sony camera!), and I took some extra time to get Lily familiar with some of our more complex tracking shots.

The first day of shooting is still September 5th. Our day begins at 8AM and will run until 5PM. Storyboards are nearing completion, and the shooting schedule is also becoming solid. The only obstacles I can foresee now are the rain storms that like to come in for short periods of time and dump their crap all over Watauga County and the surrounding areas.

Honestly, this may be the last blog entry until production day. "Our Story" is entering crunch mode now, where doing is more important than talking about doing.

If there is relevant information, however, I will definitely share it with you all.

See you on the other side,
-JD

Script: 100% since 2/09
Cast: 100%
Crew: 100%
Camera Supplies: 75%
Storyboards: 83% (updated)
Definitive Shooting Schedule: 50%
Movement Rehearsals: ~10%
Locations/Permissions: ~90%