We’re Closed and I’m Open

It is an extraordinary experience to work with an experienced crew, the best gear and a sensitive and talented director.

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I had that experience very late on a Sunday night in December 2009 while working on a short scene for the independent drama, We’re Closed, in a Magnolia Boulevard convenience store in North Hollywood.

It had been a busy weekend. Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon I was on location in Silver Lake shooting a scene for the music video of the same name by up-and-coming group Salvae in which I played a street drummer like the ones I did in Godzilla and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.
I got to the location - a beat-up convenience store in a tiny strip center on Magnolia Avenue in North Hollywood - about 7pm. I changed from my hip drummer outfit into my old man costume in the crappy restroom which bore a sign reading, “Out of Order.”
Soon, the troops arrived. Crew members began unloading lights and camera gear while young director Matt Barnes directed me and one other character in special footage shot specifically to be seen on the security monitor in the finished film.
Mine was the first scene to be shot with the full crew and - although it was brief with only a few lines of dialogue - they took great care and shot plenty of coverage.

In the scene, I come into the convenience store and discover no one behind the counter or visible in the store. Finally, a large, insouciant clerk emerges from the backroom and ambles to a seat behind the counter. Perturbed and impatient, I ask him where Oscar, the regular clerk, is and he remarks that Oscar is tied up and he’ll be glad to help me out. I buy a box of condoms from him, pay with a debit card, grab my receipt and walk out. That’s it. My scene.

I took the small assignment because - frankly - the script was the best short film script I have ever read and I want to be involved in what I expect will be an outstanding project.

• The large camera was set up in the front corner of the store and we did the scene four times.
• The camera was moved to another location and we did the scene six times.
• The camera was released from the tripod and mounted on a handheld shoulder harness and we did the scene another three times while the camera tracked a man entering the store behind me.
• Still hand-held, the camera shot my point of view watching the clerk amble out from the back of the store.
• Then, it shot his point of view of the walk down the aisle.
• The cameraman shot the scene over my shoulder several times and concluded by shooting my closeups from behind the clerk.

It took seven hours. We had a “lunch break” about midnight at a pizza restaurant 25 feet away.
I napped in my car during setups.

I got home at 2:45am to find my frantic wife worried sick since her cell phone had failed that night and she had no idea it would take so long.

But, with all that, it was one of the most fulfilling acting experiences I have had in years. During the long night, a make-up woman touched me up between shots, the director discussed motivation and delivery speed with me, the assistant director fussed over me as if I were someone and the crew worked quietly and efficiently. This is one project I can hardly wait to see.