This weekend I've sent a remote shooter to cover the events in Cary. I really wanted to go myself, and if I was doing nothing else except making this film, I would have gone. However, I'm also in grad school right now, so I have other responsibilities to attend to. I've asked the shooter to take some notes of the events, so I'll post those when I get them.
For now, here are the notes that I gave to the shooter about the events:
The Casino party is the third parent-sponsored party of the deb season. This one is a little more important to me than the others because Cassidy's parents are part of the group sponsoring it. It’s being held at Mary Ellen's step-father's house. I'd like to get some shots of the set up before the party – I’m told they will start setting up at 1pm. Ask some of the moms what they did to prepare/plan the event.
The Art Ball is at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary on Saturday night. The Debs have to be there at 5:20 and the cocktails start at 6. I think the girls are serving as hosts: handing out programs, drinks, food, etc. Cassidy is used to being mic'd up at events, so she pretty much forgets it is there and doesn't mind having the camera on her. I find it useful to wear headphones to make sure that I know when something interesting is going on, even if she is across the room (and she sometimes forgets to turn it back on after using the restroom). The people attending won’t have signed release forms, so I don’t know how you’ll want to deal with that. The Ball should end around 7 and then the debs will head right over to the Casino Party.
The Casino Party is supposed to start at 7:30. Then the general idea is to be a "fly on the wall" and get images to convey the spirit of the event (what it's like to be a deb). Since Cassidy is the main character of the film, I need a lot of shots of her, but still need a sense of how the whole party is going - if the other girls are having fun, or look terribly bored. It should be over by 10:30.
After the party, I'm sure Cassidy and her group will help with the clean up. Just ask her a few questions about how the party went and what she thought of it compared to the others and get a few shots of the deconstruction of the party.
