Jesseca Kusher

Let me catch you up. I had a multi-hour long meeting with Devon, Asher, and Charles on Monday in the Deli. It was absolutely lovely. I am so thankful for a good team and such wonderful friends who aren’t afraid to question and push me. They were a huge help offering me feedback on the 7th draft of my script, and they helped me make each of the characters considerably more active.

I also met with Jacqueleen, my art director. She’s working on getting costumes and set dressings (we were in the farmhouse about a week ago taking pictures.) I will be picking up 70s costumes from the scene shop tomorrow– and the sawhorses we need to prop up the canoe will be delivered by my buddy Brennan (of the scene shop) to the farmhouse tomorrow.

The BFEC has officially given us permission to use the canoe and we plan to shoot the last scene first (on Saturday) for most of the day. We’ve got a lifeguard (Catherine Jones) and EMT standing by on top of my Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguarding, and Swiftwater Rescue certifications. We will be very safe although it’s looking like the weather will be a bit chilly. Devon has filled out a Hazardous Filming form, and we’ve shared it with the department. The main concern (a positive concern) is that it’s not supposed to snow or rain on Saturday. If the conditions are really poor we may have to cancel the shoot, but our current plan is to go for it. As it stands, flooding may force us to push the shoot.

I also met with my two DPs, Masen and Zack on Wednesday. In the spirit of collaboration as Will Adashek taught us in the cinematographer, I’m making my own shot list as the director and I’ll be comparing to those made by my DPs. I also met with John Ortiz Vargas, he’s my sound guy — and Sabrina, the brilliant musician who’s doing my score.

Our plan is to shoot the scenes that only contain our Kenyon students on the first day. It should offer us a chance to get our sea legs before dealing with the adult actors. (Sunday we’re aiming to to shoot the scenes between “Joseph,” “Kath,” and “Molly” inside the enclosed porch of the farmhouse. Maddie Morgan, the BFEC intern who works there has been incredibly kind.

Today I had an incredible meeting with Maureen Brownings (the actress playing the mother) at the Wright Center so I could acquaint her with the script and we could discus her costuming. She seems absolutely lovely and I cannot wait to work with her. I ran into Bruce on the feature film set this weekend and he was so generous in praising her.

I check out gear on Friday! I’ve learned so much working on the feature film and I’m itching to dive into my own thesis.