Location Recces

The last two days before the shoot have been all about practice.
I've never been fortunate enough to have people put time aside to get all the minor issues out of the way before the shoot to save time for the actual shoot.
In the end, this will save a lot of time. Yesterday Mike, Adelle, Caitlin, Tom and I all went to Caitlin's house to run through all the shots needed in Will's bedroom and Audrey's house.
Mike and I would discuss the shots while Adelle wrote down the shots we finalized. Tom would be a stand in with Caitlin and also get an idea of lighting for the shoot. Caitlin made sure we marked down all shots and got the schedule ready for the shoot.
The whole trial was just what we needed. As the director, it was nice to be more involved in the camera and shots unlike Just Squeeze. Mike and I could take time to see what would cut well together and any other issues we could work out.
Then having Adelle break down the script and make the shot lists on the spot saves me hours of having to think in detail every shot. Where as it's all written down and makes sense quickly.
I was also glad to see how different Adelle and Caitlin's jobs are when they started working together. I was worried at first that one of them would feel obsolete on production but each one knows specifically what to do throughout the shoot. Caitlin also solved the problem of how she can be used to her best potential on production days and she'll accommodate actors off screen and prepare schedules for the following days.
Today Mike, Adelle, Caitlin and I went to the field to see what's possible for the snow scene. This will be the trickiest day of shooting. We basically have to figure out how to make a small square (50 ft. area?) look like a blizzard filling the whole field. Mike, as usual, came up with great ideas that should help things along. He thought that a lot of it could be burnt out if we film towards the sun. That way, the grass will look bleached white but also gives a dream feel to the scene. Also, if we put netting down, that it can catch the snow used in the foreground but also have flour in it. Also Will's pajamas might need to be brown instead. If there is a flash of green, then we can remove the color green, so if we change the pajamas then it won't take the color out of Will's attire.
The whole day is a gamble to be honest. If the weather is cloudy, that'd be perfect (besides a surprise snow storm, obviously) because depending on the sun, we have to film around how it moves throughout the day. Same with the shots, we can't plan until the day when runners are setting up otherwise it'll all change due to weather. So besides the 19th, every day is looking more planned than anything I've ever shot.
TOMORROW SHOOTING AHH!