On Sunday I went down to New York to finish up shooting on a short film I've been working on called The Second Circle Of Sad Hell. First, I'd like to say that New York, in my mind, is the first circle of sad hell. I took the train from New Haven to Grand Central, and as soon as I got off the train my heart rate spiked as hundreds and thousands of people all hustled and bustled around me. I was overcome by a feeling of paralysis, a sort of claustrophobia that I had not felt since the last time I had been in the city. I finally managed to convince my body to move, and I hopped on the 4 train to Union Square, and then the L to Brooklyn. BK is much more easygoing than Manhattan, at least in the sense that I can actually breathe in Brooklyn. It's a little more hip and a little less densely populated, and I'm able to relax a bit and smoke a Camel there.
So once I got off the L, I was met by a crew member working on the film, who led me to the apartment where we were going to film. It was raining and by the time we got there I was soaked. We walked in the door, and I instantly took off my wet shoes and socks and changed my shirt. I was greeted by the director, Casey Modderno, and I was introduced to the girl I would be doing my scene with. Her name was Naomi, and she was half-Vietnamese with striking features. Now is probably the best time to note that the scene we were filming was a sex scene. I had never met this woman before, and in about two hours we were going to have to act like we had known each other for years and were in love. It was a daunting idea.
I got to check out the set for a few minutes before going into make-up. There was a green-screen, a few huge lights, and then the camera, monitor, microphone, and an assortment of cables, among other things. It's always amazing for me to see how a location can be transformed from an average apartment into a movie set in a matter of hours. It was extremely dark inside, of course, since all the windows had to be covered up so that they could control the lighting on set. Then I was whisked away into make-up.
It always takes a long time to do make-up on me, since I have quite a few tattoos that generally need to be covered up. Since this was a sex scene, we had to cover up as many of them as we could as well as we could. Ari, Casey's girlfriend, took on this momentous task. The last time we filmed for this, it took hours and hours to get everything to look just right. This time, she obviously had a better grasp on my skin tone and the materials she had available to her. We got it done in a comparatively short time, and we were ready to shoot. I also must say that Ari is an amazing person to have on set, and just about everything she says it hilarious, which helps out a lot when you're nervous about the scene you're about to do.
As I walked on set in only my underwear my heart raced, and I began cracking bad jokes to somehow offset my anxiety. After some minor tweaking of the camera and lights, we were ready to shoot. Casey gave us some quick directions and then the camera rolled. As I looked into Naomi's eyes and at her body, I thrusted into her and kissed her lips, then neck, than breasts, and Casey said "Cut".
He pointed out to me that I was holding back, and that I looked like I was uncomfortable and that Naomi and I did not know each other. I felt embarrassed for a short time, and then became determined to get it done. From that point on, everything is a blur. I remember putting a sock over my genitalia for the full-body shots, Casey getting some great shots of random body parts, and I remember making a joke that made everybody uncomfortable, but that's about it. Then, as soon as it started it was over. Casey extended an invitation to stay at his apartment for the night but unfortunately I had to get back to New Haven for work in the morning.
It was certainly an unforgettable experience.
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