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Our exhausting first full weekend of shooting was drawing to a close, as we all met at the Naked Fish restaurant on Route 1 to shoot the very important dinner scene that comes at the beginning of The Joneses. The people from Naked Fish, especially Frank--who has been a huge help in organizing the shoot--and Tina, who was very excited to help out--were really great, and I think we needed that boost late on a Sunday night.

We had less crew than I would have liked: it was me, Mike, Adam, Lou & Mark, so we struggled for awhile with lighting the booth appropriately for the camera. Rajah's suggestion to put in a 200-watt bulb above the table helped a lot. And the shots that Stacey, Rajah, and I planned the previous night came in very handy, as I believe we shot every one of them. Either my dolly work or my mediocre tripod wasn't up to snuff, in my opinion, so we moved quickly through the first shots, and got in tighter on the action.

Meanwhile, Jim, Amy, Tony, and Stacey were given enough wine and beer to not care how many takes we had to do; thereby ensuring we'd have to do more takes. Actually, the acting was really terrific that night--I'm just praying that the look of the scene is good enough to showcase what I thought were excellent performances by the four leads. As I moved the camera in closer and closer, Mitch, Ally, Paul, and Suzanne really took shape in a wonderful way. Mitch was perfectly cocky; Ally came across as genuinely concerned; Paul was boastful, with humility; and Suzanne was frustrated and slyly determined. It was a perfect mix, and I am so happy to have these actors in their parts.

Also, the Naked Fish provided free food for 3/4 of the talent (poor Tony and his character's shellfish allergies), all the water we could drink, and absolutely no interruptions. A very nice couple filled in as extras for our 2nd attempt at a dolly shot. And the crew, while smaller in numbers than most of our shoots, pulled together to make the night go effortlessly.

I had a few epiphanies too. One was that it's better to keep moving in tighter with the camera (and not spend too much time in the wide shots), as good actors like these naturally adjust their performances to be more nuanced as we go. Also, if I keep moving like a military operation, nobody has much fun--and that really is an essential ingredient to the crew working harder and the actors feeling allowed to be creative. I adjusted my own attitude halfway into the shoot, and I think it had a very good effect.

I am very excited to see the footage from our Naked Fish scene and hope it comes out looking as good as it did through the camera. I want to thank everyone for their very fine work that night and hope that much rest followed.