Joshua Tree National Park

Dear Reader

It is early morning in Twentynine Palms, California; the air is still, a white frost covers the landscape. The night sky is slowly melting away, leaving an orange hue in the east, creating a spectacular sunrise. The desert creatures awake from their nighttime slumber, darting from Joshua tree to Joshua tree.

My room at the 29 Palms Inn is ironically called “fault line”, a small one-room cottage, quant, and a throwback from the 1920’s. The Inn is a relic from the past, with some minor updates. The draw to the 29 Palms Inn, is its bread an breakfast décor, the cottages have very distinctive names and each share a special flavor, suigeneris in its own way. The Inn is not cheap, but management will cut deals to film crews, and there is plenty of parking for large vehicles.

The Oasis RV Park on Amboy Road (Twentynine Palms) has a dump station for motor homes and trailers; in town there are plenty of fueling stations for trucks and cars. Make sure one has a full tank of fuel before one ventures to Amboy or the recently reopened Superior Salt Flats. In winter the early morning temperatures can dip below freezing and rise to a comfortable 75, so dress accordingly. In summer temps can easily exceed a 100 degrees, so bring plenty of water.

On this shoot we were shooting in Joshua Tree National Park, for the uninitiated, there are very specific places one can shoot at, the park is not opened for filming in all areas and the rangers make sure film crews adhere to strict policy. Hidden Valley, about forty-five minutes from the west entrance into the park is surrounded by rocky formations made up of smaller rocks. As moisture seeps into the granite rocks at night and freezes, the force causes the rock to crack, creating a mosaic of smaller rocks cemented into one large rock. The geological candescent movement that created Joshua tree 100 million years ago must have been spectacular. The Joshua trees that surround Hidden Valley look more like grapevines that extend beyond the horizon, than trees.

At Live Oak, one is surrounded by an alien world of convex and strange shaped rocks that are perched on top of each other, waiting to collapse like dominoes. Live Oak lacks a large parking area for vehicles, especially large trucks and motor homes. Hidden Valley is better suited for large productions, with a number of bus size parking spaces.

As the sun sets, one can only imagine what cataclysmic event uplifted the bedrock to create a chain of rock hills that dart the park, but this is what makes Joshua tree National Park so unique. The fact that (Joshua Tree) is located next to Twentynine Palms or Yucca Valley allows for plenty of lodging and eating options. Palm Springs is less than an hour away, with an international airport and more expansive entertainment options, including luxury hotels and resorts.

Pacific City, Oregon

Dear Reader

It is late afternoon on a warm afternoon in Pacific City, Oregon. It is early fall, the tourist have gone home for the season. The weather is still perfect, the sky is a deep hue of blue, the waves are slow and lazy, the water temperature is a cold 59 degrees. The locals own the beach, minus an occasional visitor who is trying to stretch their summer.

Back in the summer of 2005 I was at this beach on a car commercial, it was the first time I drove to the Oregon coast. Because of bad directions, most of the crew got lost, fortunately I did not get lost, however I had a couple of anxious moments, it is not easy making a U-Turn in an RV. I met some wonderful people on that shoot and I wanted to return to Pacific City at some point on my own. Fast forward to 2009 and I am back in Pacific City on another car shoot, I arrived a day early to do some exploring and some picture taking. My crew will arrive tonight and at the crack of dawn we will be on the beach tomorrow morning.

Pacific City is about two hours south west of Portland, it is a small community, relying on tourist for its main revenue source and the occasional film shoot. What makes Pacific such an ideal place to shoot is the beach with its rock island a hundred yards out to sea, a two hundred foot sand dune to the west and a killer sunset, filmmakers can not resist this location. There is the Cape Kiwanda Inn adjacent to the beach, which has a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and plenty of rooms for your crew, plus a dump station for your RV's and portable restrooms. There is a small market, a gas station that sells diesel and can accommodate large trucks, though not easily.

If you are tired of the same Los Angeles locations check out Pacific City in Oregon or some of the other coastal cities along the Oregon coast. The best time of the year is from June to the end of September, unless you want an abundance of clouds and rain, late fall to the end of spring is optimal time for such weather.

Restless in Seattle Part III

Dear Reader

We were shooting at Gas Light Park in North Seattle off of Lake Union. In the summer you can see sailboats tacking up and down the lake, the scene is surreal. There is a large hill in the park that has an incredible view of Seattle, as the sun fades, one can see the city turn into a hue of cascading lights that transcends some of the best city lights I have ever seen.

Gas Light Park used to power Seattle at the turn of the last century, the unusual rustic equipment line the park, creating an eerie relics from the past. From a photographers perspective one can find some interesting backgrounds that are unparalleled to any location I have ever visited or seen.

The park could be used to create a Fellini style film with it abstract objects, the grayness of the sky, as rain pours from the welkin. The winding path that leads to the hill, like a puzzle, disconnected imagery, perplexing awash in a whimsical poetry. Gas Light Park lends itself to many shooting options, several pictures cannot capture all of the possibilities.

Restless in Seattle Part II

It is late afternoon in Seattle, we are shooting at Hidmo Restaurant off of Jackson and 20th in Seattle. The set is hectic with the Director discussing with the DP the next shot, a nervous energy ensues, people with various titles run around the set, the first AD yells "quite on the set, roll sound and action". The real drama begins, for the crew of $5 Cover, it is just another day at the office. To plan for a feature film, it takes month of preparation, rewrites, casting, locations, hiring the above and below line crew, it all takes time. By the time I am hired, the start date is usually days away; the producer, the UPM and other crew members have been working on pre-production for weeks.

We work on a five day week starting on Saturday and going through Wednesday, with Thursday and Fridays off, long days are the rule, but no one complains, we love our jobs. This is what makes working on films so special, we all have one common bound to make a great film.

What attracted me to this project was a chance to work in Seattle, and a chance to work on a feature film. The projects I work on are commercials, music videos and photo shoots, which I enjoy. Feature films are a rarity because most features use trailers and my speciality are high end motor homes. This is my first time in Seattle, what I like most about it are the people, everyone who I met so far are very nice. Working on $5 Cover is one of those projects that working on is such a joy, not only because of the crew and talent, the film itself is so interesting. The film is about local bands performing, and the story behind the group, it is more like a docudrama with music and comedy brilliantly blended in like hot mocha on a cold Seattle fall morning.

Restless in Seattle Part I

Dear Reader

It is early Tuesday morning in North West Seattle, the air is still, a marine layer hangs above Peuget Sound, and seagulls make their way for their favorite eating-places. The city of Seattle is slowly waking up, one by one people emerge from their cocoons and brace themselves for a slow commute to their jobs. For me, I am in search of a good breakfast and some of Seattle’s famous coffee. Tully’s Coffee house meets those needs, a mild blend of coffee, just enough caffeine to wake me up and a nice warm croissant to satisfy my hunger.

This is the first time I have been to Seattle, and the first time I have been to the North West since September of 2006. The opportunity to work on a feature in Seattle came unexpectedly, initially I thought I would not be able to do the job because of scheduling conflicts, however such problems were resolve and a day and a half latter I arrived in Seattle from Los Angeles. When I arrived in Seattle the last week in July, Seattle was experiencing one of the worst heat waves in a century, from my LA perspective, this was just another reason to get a suntan and drink an ice mocha with plenty of whipped cream.

To get a sense of the city I decided to take a bus into Seattle, as intimating as I thought the streets of Los Angeles are, Seattle streets resembles San Francisco, a series of one way streets with hills that can wear out brake pads in a matter of hours. On James and 4^th, the light turned red halfway down a steep incline, a Hail Mary and good brakes allowed me to stay motionless until the light changed to green.

Google Maps and two GPS units have been the most important tools for me to navigate my forty-one foot motor home around the tight, tree-laden roads. I am learning to scan my route in advanced using Google Maps, and the advice of our location manager, who has assisted me with my daily route to location. My in dash GPS has made me a little nervous several times, forcing me on small roads and making me make U-turns at the worst intersections. But I surmise I am a professional, I can handle the streets of Seattle, and GPS don’t let me down now.

Shady Cove Revisted

Dear Reader

It was a cold dreary day in Shady Cove Oregon, as I walked towards the restaurant, it was early morning and I was hungry. This was my first time in Oregon and I admit I was falling in love with this beautiful town. The air was crisp and clean; the sound of the rushing river below me was soothing to my ears. I was working on a low budget film called “Yesterdays Dreams”; I was supplying the talent motor home for this job, my 2003 Neptune, the first motor home I ever owned. This job was different from the jobs I worked on in the past, photo shoots and commercials that would last one to several days. I was schedule to work on this job for five to six weeks, with another job set to shoot just before Christmas.

Growing up in Los Angeles, which is known for traffic and air pollution, small towns are almost nonexistent; Shady Cove was this tiny town surrounded by trees and the Rogue River, an oasis from my perspective. If I could, I would move to Shady Cove in a heartbeat. As such, this thought would be placed in the back of my mind, until the day I retire or move onto a different chapter in my life.

When I arrived at the Shady Cove Inn, it was midnight; the town was peaceful except for the sounds of an occasional owl hooting or a passing car. The sky was clear and I could see an array of stars above me, the air was crisp and I could not wait to get some much needed sleep.

The next morning I met the Producer, the Director and the rest of the crew, my instincts told me this was going to be a great shoot, as it turned out “Yesterdays Dreams” was my favorite shoot of all time. The Producers picked a crew that consisted of locals and individuals and venders from Los Angeles. I relied on the locals to verify directions and the best routes to our locations; they also became some of my best friends on the film. Oregonians are very nice people, they are extremely helpful and Oregon wants filming in the State, the Film Commission allows non-local companies to do business, especially if they have a service that is not available in the State

The myth about Oregon is that it is always rainy, that is not true for all of Oregon and only at certain times of the year. In Medford, Oregon most of the storms blow past the valley and the eastern potions of the state, the weather is similar to the California Mojave Desert.

Shady Cove became our base camp for the majority of the production; we shot most of the scenes in Shady Cove, as well as Ashland. The town also proved to be a bastion of talent; many of the extras came from the Shady Cove talent pool. In the process I met many nice people in SC, when I came back two years latter, I was surprise that some of the towns people still remembered me and our shoot.

In short, if you want to find a unique place to shoot with a small town atmosphere, Shady Cove is the place to plan your film.

Los Angeles a great place to do your next film or video project

Dear Reader

Downtown Los Angeles is an interesting place to shoot with a variety of architecture, ambience and character. On a busy day, LA can resemble a back lot for the studios, with sometimes five or six productions shooting at the same time, yet invisible to one another. This is what makes shooting in LA great, it can look like New York, Boston or San Francisco or almost any other city. The entire infrastructure one needs, prop houses, grip and lighting equipment, camera’s and the most seasoned crews reside in or near Los Angeles.

Film LA Inc. (213 977 8600) has streamlined the film permit process, making it easier for filmmakers to obtain the necessary permits for their projects. The LA 411 is a great resource as well, in terms of locating equipment and crew. What I like about shooting in Los Angeles is that generally parking is not an issue, LAPD retired cops know the industry and help keep traffic around the set flowing.

As the sun slowly descends below the Pacific Ocean, the traffic is non-existent, and a new crowd emerges from their lofts, smartly dressed and ready to party, relegated mainly to areas around the Staples Center and the Bunker Hill district. The rest of downtown LA is a ghost town at night, not withstanding the occasional homeless person who wonders the night in search of solace and a small meal. This is when the real action happens; film crew set up for complicated shots, maybe a car chase or monster invading Los Angeles or a super model walking down the streets of LA for a fashion shoot. Even crews on a budget can find locations for their films for a modest price.

Again if you need a Motor Homes or Portables Restrooms for your next shoot, please call Mike Green RVS at 818 317 7099.