Locker Room Showers

AKA Guess whose back, back again¹

AKA I finally finished a Goat Rodeo

AKA Back to Michigan for another feature film

Before anyone gets too far into this piece and winds up at a conclusion that doesn’t really have anything remotely to do with the title I wanted to give a TL:DR about my whole experiance on my second feature film in Michigan. My first experience there inspired this post. My second clearly inspired the one you are reading. For those of you who worked on the film with me² and want to skip to my overall thoughts or those of you who don’t want to read the entirety of this blog here they are —

Production itself went well. It went better than I think anyone on the set could have hopped or wished for. However I am personally conflicted about the whole thing.

I ran throughout high school and most of college and never once do I remember taking a locker room shower. It’s possible I did, and I’m not saying I didn’t, but I just don’t remember doing so. For as irrelevant and off topic a paragraph on locker room showering is on a blog mostly related to my film exploits, it’s a shockingly important fact. First off gym memberships are a largely predatory³ and considering I try to run everyday I vowed to never sign up for one. Secondly I would up showering at least half of my time in Michigan at a Planet Fitness in Flint because the location I was staying at had a shower but only had freezing cold water.

Lets back track a bit and explain how I even came to showering in a Planet Fitness locker room —

I’ve spent a little under an average month (27 days) in Michigan on a feature film² working as gaffer. Given my last experience which inspired what I personally consider my best piece of writing on this blog you can probably infer that it didn’t go well and that coming back to Michigan for another feature film with similar people⁴ was risky at best.

For a lot of personal reasons⁵ I accepted the shoot when I probably should not have. On one level getting to leave for roughly a month sounded fun, I’ve never been against giving people a second chance, and 18 days of paid work during a slow season, coming off a strike, didn’t sound too bad at all. Going into it, despite my hesitations, I was excited to go and was looking forward to it. The people from the last shoot were still my friends, I wanted to see them, and feature films can be a lot of fun.

Back at home, post wrap, I want nothing more than to make the following statement:

“All Michigan film producers are clowns”.

I’m not sure how fair that it is though. In the case of my first rodeo down there, the one that inspired the post titled “Overflow Meat”, the above statement is defiantly warranted. The fact that I have ever once even had to say, let alone write, the words “Overflow Meat” should give you more than enough information to infer just how bad that production was.

In the case of the second, as is in line with my TL:DR, it’s complicated.

When it’s going good, it’s going great⁶.

We finished early on all but one day. The director, cast, and producers were very happy with the footage, we were paid on time with no issues, and there was plenty of crafty to go around. It also looks like the director/producer will be getting a some number picture deal from it. The studio executives were really happy with the footage, and they all loved my work. In theory there will be more work coming from them in the future. That is if I choose I accept it.

But when it’s bad, it’s awful⁶.

I slept on an air mattress, in a sleeping bag, in an old private office in the abandoned building we were shooting in. It was that, pay for a hotel myself, which I did a couple of times, or sleep in my car, which I did do on the first night there because I wasn’t prepared for that level of cold and at least my car had heat. The building we were shooting in, and I was staying in, had inconstant heat and no hot water. I showered at a Planet Fitness because after one freezing cold shower, and a bucket shower, one of the things I really wanted was just a hot shower. I had to wash my clothes at a Laundromat⁸. To top it all off, on off days Realtors would come in to view the place, with their clients, because, although we were renting the building, it was for sale. The true cherry on top though? The day production used grout cleaner early in the morning, in a room without ventilation, that couldn’t easily be ventilated and we all got headaches, noise bleeds, or almost passed out.

Pretty bad right? How is it even complicated? How can I even question it being anything other than a complete and total shit show for me? Well, victim blaming aside⁹, nothing forced me to stay. I could have, and you could make the argument that I should have, left at any time.

To add to the complication even more, locals, people from Michigan, decided to stay there on occasion or for the duration of the shoot because it was easier for them driving wise and they didn’t find it that bad. They were okay with the conditions, cold showers, and were somewhat happy to stay there and not have to commute to Flint.

Does them choosing to stay there make my experience any less worse? Do others being okay with the issues I found problematic make my experience any better?

Here I am, at home, some 300 miles removed from it, reflecting on it all, and I find myself pondering does it, or did it, even matter?

Despite my misery I didn’t get hurt¹. I was fully paid before I left. I walked away with another feature under my belt and a lot of new friends, some of which, under different circumstances, could very well become very close friends.

One of the most important aspects of film making, that is isn’t often talked about, is how much relationships matter. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t like abandoning people. When I commit to a project, unless something completely out of left field comes, it's for the long haul, it’s for the duration.

I value people over products, property, and projects¹¹. The people on this production, although somewhat inexperienced¹², were all good, well meaning, hard working people. They all meant well and wanted nothing more than the production to succeed. The film meant something to them and I think that’s a big reason why we were as successful as we were despite the greenness of some of the crew. It’s a big part of the reason why I didn’t leave, why I just didn’t pack my things and go home. I wanted to support them. I wanted to see them, and in turn, myself succeed. The people involved are the big reason why I’m so personally conflicted on the production and why I’m so conflicted on what my answer to the next question is —

After two goat rodeos, would I ever come back to Michigan to do another feature?

If you were to ask me that question before wrap, the answer I would have given you, from an early draft of this article written in a Home Depot parking lot was:

“No. I don’t know. Maybe. Probably but I would need to negotiate a lot better terms.”

However, post wrap, as I began the little over 5 hour trek back home, I felt a couple of tears roll down checks, and I realized the true answer was —

“Yes, I would still need a few things ahead of time but even if I didn’t get them it wouldn’t 100% be a deal breaker.”

The fact is I may never see or speak¹³ to a lot of the people I worked so closely with on this project again. It’s a shame because if it wasn’t for something as simple as basic geography, a few of them, people I stuck it out for, could have become really close friends.

Until next time.

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1: I really do love my pop culture references. It seems only fitting though that I use an Eminem quote to reference my second trip this year back to Michigan.

2: I won’t be naming the film or any real details about its production. Somewhat because of an NDA and somewhat because I don’t think it’s relevant and I don’t like to name names or call out people directly on the internet. I’ll do that to you face and have no problem doing so.

3: Look into it if you want to know more.

4: The people above the line were not the same. It did however have a lot of similar people below the line.

5: I won’t be getting into those reasons here or maybe ever. It’s nothing I did wrong and I’m more collateral damage in it all.

6: Love the Way You Lie. I did use this quote in “Overflow Meat”. Also I guess Michigan brings out the Eminem in me?

7: I didn’t hate the air mattress though.

8: Theres nothing wrong with using a Laundromat. I just have never had to before.

9: I guess I’m the victim here?

10: I could have though.

11: I say this as someone who has yet to make a feature film of their own. I doubt my feelings will change much when I embark on that journey though.

12: In my opinion and compared to me at the time of production.

13: I’m aware phone calls, text’s, emails, social media, and video calls exists. However nothing can really replace face to face interaction when it comes to personal relationships in my opinion.