I wish I could have slept all day...maybe tomorrow. Today was the wrap-up to yesterday's shoot. I had to capture all my footage from the camera's P2 cards. I had done the Final Cut auto version but realized it dropped my slate frames and other frames in its attempt to find and maintain the time code. So I had to go back in and manually capture each clip. Once that was done I need to reformat the cards before returning the camera. The thought of doing that seriously freaked me out. What if my computer crashes and I lose all my footage?
I only had a couple of hours before I had to get the camera back so I quickly hit the PDF manual to see if it was possible and what it involved to copy the footage from the cards to Mini DV in the camera. Not a big deal. Just needed a tape. I had been looking for tapes on Saturday but didn't want the crappy Maxell ones they had at Staples and Rite Aid...completely forgetting that there is a Best Buy in walking distance from my place. Duh!
Even though I'm sick, I hoof it over there ( a good 1/2 mile one way) and find some lovely Sony tapes. They had a 3-pack and a 6-pack right next to each other. The 3-packs were marked $20.99 and the 6-packs were marked $19.99. Really? I grabbed both 'cause I don't believe but on my way to the cash register I succumbed to a full scale coughing fit. I had forgotten to bring a couch drop. I had water but that wasn't helping. I crouched by some display, tears streaming down my face (not sad tears...more like side effect tears) and continued to cough for what seemed like 10+ minutes. Really attractive.
No one seemed to care. Except when I walked up to their geek bar and asked for a tissue. Both girls turned away from me as if I had the plague. The one handed me a two-foot piece off one of those cheap brown paper - I hesitate to call them towel - rolls you find in smelly gas station bathrooms, extending her hand toward me while managing to stay 10 feet away from me.
I finally made it home with the $19.99 6-pack (I would like to meet the persons who would choose to take the 3-pack for a dollar more) and seamlessly dubbed the footage to a now write-protected back-up master tape. I felt relieved. Next stop - the Toluca Lake Starbucks - via bus since Tyler is still in possession of my car in order to fill his employment requirements on The Expendables (if you don't know what that is you can Google it). It was a long 2-block trek to the bus stop that would take me to the door of Starbucks. Long because I was laden with all this...
I seriously thought if I was ever going to be mugged, today would be the day. I mean some gun-toting crack-deprived addict had to know there was something good in that big orange case since I had the tripod hanging out in broad daylight. And if there was something nice in the big orange case there was probably a nice computer in the the orange bag. I was not looking forward to having to explain the loss of a mega-expensive camera (probably uninsured whilst in my grubby paws). Thankfully my premonition did not come to pass. I just saw the usual odd clientele that frequent LA's public transit system. This one guy took the cake for me. Sadly my attempt at a stealth photo is obviously sub-par...
...but this character had the worst rug I have ever seen. Bar none. What was left of his own grayed hair was hanging out the sides while the dead muskrat he found on the side of the road was somehow loosely anchored to the top portion of his skull. I was wondering if he'd been by my place this morning to pick up the gobs of Tyler's hair that was left on the bathroom floor after he so kindly chopped of his gorgeous locks for the sake of our last shots that will bookend my short film. He insisted I take a photo of his self-created mohawk before he finished his shave...
The craziest thing about my bus trip was what happened as the driver stopped to let me off. A guy who had quietly boarded the bus at some previous stop suddenly said, "Good luck, Deborah." I glanced back at him as I was existing the bus, looking for some recognition of who he might be - there was none - and thinking,'what an odd thing to say and how the hell did he know my name?' As I walked across the street I wondered if I should by a lottery ticket or life insurance. Maybe it's time to get both.
No comments:
Post a Comment