"Baitshop" Art Department

"Baitshop" the movie just wrapped up a whirlwind four week shoot in Orlando, Florida. Here is a sneak peek at the crack art department team.

Top row from left is myself Mr. Kane (lead), Kate Forrey (set dresser),
Vera Mills (Set Decorator), Alice Wymer (Coordinator),
Kevin Pierce (Production Designer), Jeff McDonald (set dresser)

Bottom row from left is Dimitri Molimis (Art Department PA),
Ron Wilson (Set Dec Driver) and Dan Buckley (set dresser).

Treasures

I thought I'd post this image of the Universal Prop House, to honor all my fellow filmmakers who are out of work today as the writers strike begins.

While I certainly don't disagree that the writers should get their due in any new media markets, it doesn't change the fact that they currently make drastically more than the average film technician. So, while they strike to get their proper recompense, those at the bottom of the barrel also suffer. The grips, drivers, electricians and my fellow set dressers and art department minions will now struggle to keep the bills paid. Let's not forget that while those at the top fight for larger pieces of the pie, others would like to continue to collect the crumbs and feed their families.

Image: The above image always reminds me of the last shot of Indian Jones with the giant warehouse of treasures that fades off into the distance. Universal prop house is just like that, the only difference being that instead of Indiana Jones you get some slightly grumpy Uni prop guys.

Chasing Papi Set Dec Crew

Some of my good friends and really talented set dec crew from Chasing Papi.

Ennis house look-a-like

I was reminded of this set we decorated by an entry on my friend Vanessa's blog. It was for the tv series "American Family" and the wall relief/textile block we used is similar to the Ennis house which is being restored and is featured in a new print from the artist SHAG.

Check out Vanessa's cool blog and the full story on the Ennis house here...

http://populuxebooks.com/blog/index.php/2007/08/

Alleyway filming

Here is an image from the filming of "American Family" a tv mini series on PBS. The interesting thing about filming in alleyways in downtown Los Angeles is that the production is supposed to have the alleyway sprayed with bleach water to kill all the nasty things that can make you sick. I've been on low budget shows where they tried to save money and skip that important step.

The funny thing about this day was that the alley was sprayed clean and then we came in to make it look dirty again, but one of my crew (Pete) picked up a box from a nearby street to use as set dressing and didn't realize it had human feces all over it. He ended up throwing away his favorite jacket because he was so disgusted. Ahhh the joys of filming in Downtown Los Angeles.

Crack pipe downtown LA

I was working on a tv show in downtown Los Angeles and noticed this crack pipe(?) on the sidewalk. Regardless of the sad fact of what it is, I think the design is really compelling.

UPDATE: Thank you to all the stoners out there that have pointed out my ignorance of drug paraphernalia. It is in fact a "pot" pipe. I humbly apologize and will immediately turn in my "Spencers" discount card.