We finally began shooting this weekend. Man, it was a blast. We arrived at Diamond Bar High at around 7:30am so we could get some shots of the truck rolling in. Since it was my first time shooting a full day of corps, I didn't know how much of my equipment I needed to lug around with me. Let's just say I took too much, haha. Those stairs are definitely a killer when you have your hands full with all of your gear. One thing I was definitely looking forward to was finally putting my new Zoom H4N digital recorder to the test. I was worried about how it'd handle the loud drums and brass, but it worked like a charm. We need to try new placements when we record, but that's about it.

We are still trying to find our last character(s) of the documentary. So far, we're going to be following Mark Kveton, this years frontfield drum major. There was a euph player that was suggested to me by Darren, on of the brass techs, but I haven't spoken to her yet. I'm confident that she'll be interested.

Sunday's shoot was much more productive. We went in with a better plan and filmed more interesting shots, 2 of which are included in the video above. After running around all weekend from section to section with all of our gear in hand, I came up with an idea to help us shoot a little more efficiently. What we're going to start doing is devoting full rehearsals to one section, or person, which will definitely give us a wide array of footage to use. We're going to list every section, and next to it, make a visual and music column, and that will be our check list. Can't wait to see how it works out in January.

So far, we've raised $425 for our project. How cool is that?? As a filmmaker, I can say that the only thing that really holds us back most of the time is the expense of equipment. And with the things that we are needing to make this project, I honestly thought that this project might not be a possibility. However, Manny and I are fortunate enough to have good relations with EVS Rental House and Powell Camera, so MAYBE, just maybe, our grand total of $8,000 can be lowered just a bit, but we'll see in time. I actually went in to Powell just the other day and they offered us discounts on any gear we might need, but if they even carry most of the gear we need, that's a whole other story.

We're continuing to be hopeful for more donations, and will continue to keep you posted on our progress!


Adam Adorno

Donations

We finally set up a PayPal account, so let the donations begin!

Remember, this is going to take so many people to get this project rolling. If you can spare anything, it'll be a huge help. Everyone that donates will get credit for helping out with the production, and once we get the IMDB page up, you'll be listed on there too!