8/22/2001 - This is The End...

The 22nd - The last day. I was there. As is ever our curse, the weather really socked it to us one more time. We went to the coast to shoot a small scene. I suppose the first problem was that we got our collective selves out of bed several hours later than originally planned, and by the time we got to the coast, there was precious little daylight left to shoot in. It looked bleak. It was raining. Raining hard. And the wind was tearing across the sand like a screaming banshee, whipping the rain into our faces like so many little shards of glass. Unpleasant. With no other options and our crew leaving the next day, we had to shoot.

And of course everything turned out great. By the time the sun went down, we were done, the rain had stopped, the wind had died, and we were treated to one of the most stunningly beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. A great way to end the shoot. Several of us ended up in the ocean, voluntarily or not. We blazed home, our insides a jumble of weariness, joy, confusion, satisfaction and sadness.

The shoot was over. Time for people to get back to the rest of their lives. Film shoots are magical experiences. I hate to wax all philosophical about this sort of thing, but they really are. You create this ideal family, you spend all of your time together, all the while creating an alternate reality to lose yourself in. Intoxicating, exhilerating, and a great way to make a life.

On to post-production.

Photo Addendum - Me, Torpedo and Hawk...

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