Filling “The Space Between”
November 9th, 2009 by Alexandra received 7 Comments »My number-one goal out here in Los Angeles was to stay away from the film industry. “Don’t get sidetracked,” I said to myself. “Stick to journalism and you’ll do fine.” My roommate, Flitz, was against it. There was so much out here, he said, and it’s not a bad thing to deviate. I didn’t really believe him, figuring that if I got involved with something else besides journalism, I’d be sidetracked forever and never end up meeting my own goals.
Since late September, I have done what I thought I would never do. I frantically completed coffee runs. I filed. I re-filed. I ran credit cards that have more money than my parents’ yearly salary, and I’ve explained internet memes to Jude from Nip/Tuck. I heard more people refer to their IMDb than their Facebooks or websites. I found out what a RED camera was, and it’s not a color. I’ve hugged well-known actors and played with a little boy from Lost. I said “copy that” more than my own name. I learned what a “20″ is over walkie talkie. (It’s “location.”) I learned what can be cut from a film budget, and where the cheapest places are to rent equipment from. I let an Oscar-nominated actress borrow my lighter. I’m in the film industry, and I never wanted to be here in the first place. Now I’m having too much fun to care.
I interned as a production assistant for The Space Between, an independent feature film. It’s slated for release in 2010. I have never been so fully engrossed in the film-making process, and damn, it feels good. It’s not the fact that you’re out there making art; it’s the fact that you’re out there with a team to finish a project that came from someone’s mind. That’s what drives me wild. That’s what drives me.
Granted, yes, I was low on the totem pole. But the entire crew, including the director/writer/producer Travis Fine, treated me with respect and, by the end of it all, I feel like I have made more friends than I arrived with. I spent 12- to 16-hour days with these people for 22 days. I spent more time in the production office before that. It feels rewarding, but in a way, I will miss everyone associated with the film and hope towards many more with them.
But now with a car accident, broken (now fixed) laptop, and a midnight ride with a gay blow-up sex doll under my belt, here I am, looking forward to the next project. I’ve even considered starting my own.
Maybe journalism can wait a little while.
Tags: anthony keyvan, bad ideas turning into good ones, film industry, Los Angeles, melissa leo, phillip rhys, production assistant, the space between
Posted under: Film, Life
You know what a “20″ is, but do you know what “10-1″ means yet?
Glad you’re having a good time in the biz!
Hahaha, I do! But please don’t tell anyone if you’re “10-2.” I just don’t want to know that.
That sounds like so much fun! New career maybe?
Maybe so! I’m not sure yet though. Depends where it takes me!
So what’s the first thing to be cut? and….
If you ever need a set designer can I send you my friend’s resume? lol
I don’t know what the first thing to be cut from the movie is. That’s all post-production. I did see that the editor and editorial interns were cutting the movie as the movie was still being filmed, which I was totally unaware of.
True words, some true words dude. You made my day!