11 Prepping for Filming

The crew prepared the filming, Lucas felt a bit overwhelmed, and then he reads the script once more while the casts were preparing.

The production team was quite meticulous. For instance, the production team keeps track of even the smallest items, like the fruits on the table, coffee mugs, and so on, creating a sense of realism and lived-in spaces.

The cinematographer and gaffers are adjusting the lighting and camera angles to achieve the desired visual aesthetics, often collaborating with the director to fine-tune the shot.

The sound crew monitors audio levels, captures dialogue and ambience, and adjusts microphones to ensure clear and consistent sound recording.

As Lucas was reading the script and occasionally glancing at the scene surrounding him, he felt his heart beating quickly, but he calmed himself and just continued reading the script. As he was reading, a woman with glasses approached him.

"Hello? Are you Mr. Lucas?" The woman's soft voice sounded.

Lucas, who was re-reading the script, raised his head as he heard his name.

Then, he saw a good-looking woman with glasses appear before him.

Lucas just nodded and said, "Well, that's me. Anything you need my help with?"

As soon as Lucas said that, the woman, who seemed to be in her 20s, appeared a bit surprised hearing that from Lucas.

But then the woman just shook her head and said formally, "No, Mr. Lucas... I don't need help from you. In fact, I am your makeup artist for today. Nice to meet you."

"Oh," Lucas could only make that sound because he had completely forgotten that there's still the makeup artist to assist him.

The woman just smiled at him, thinking, 'He is an inexperienced actor, alright...' while giving Lucas a look.

When Lucas saw the makeup artist's expression, he knew that the woman must think he was a clueless actor who didn't know the filming preparation.

Lucas could only smile a little. Despite being a small-time actor in his previous life, he gained quite a bit of experience. He was just quite dumbstruck at this moment, and his mind was in a state where he had forgotten the basics.

Makeup is quite helpful in filming after all, as the camera magnification tends to amplify everything, including imperfections like blemishes, uneven skin tone, and dark circles. Makeup helps create a more even and flawless appearance on camera. Different lighting setups can cast harsh shadows and emphasize wrinkles or flaws. Makeup helps balance out the lighting and create a more consistent, flattering look. Also, makeup can subtly reflect a character's personality, age, social standing, or even emotional state. For example, light and natural makeup for a young student, while heavier, aged makeup might be used for an older character.

Lucas followed the makeup artist into a room with a mirror, seats in front of it, and one seat occupied by the young actor Nolan facing the mirror with the makeup artist working on his face.

The young actor turned his eyes to Lucas, who had just arrived, before returning to read the script while the makeup artist attended to Nolan.

Lucas then took a seat, and the makeup artist prepared to work on his face.

While the makeup was being applied, Lucas reflected on his previous life...

He remembered his first acting experience.

His initial role was actually just a 'tree' in a theatre production.

Recalling the time he performed on the theater stage, during a practice, the director instructed him to go left.

Being inexperienced at that time, with almost no acting background, Lucas thought the director wanted him to move to his left side.

The director then shouted, "Not to your left! To stage left!"

It was at that moment that Lucas felt pretty confused, realizing that "Stage left" refers to the left side of the stage from the perspective of the actors facing the audience. It's a directional term used in theater, performance spaces, and film production to designate positions and movement cues.

After that, Lucas remembered learning about the nine positions on the theatre stage. It was a gradual introduction to the world of acting, at least in theatre.

The inexperienced Lucas continued his journey to become an actor, eventually getting a chance to play a small role in a TV series. Lucas seized the opportunity, but along the way, he made several mistakes. Difficulties with cues and timing, missing camera cues, rushing dialogue delivery, and failing to maintain pace with other actors disrupted the rhythm of the scene.

Additionally, he struggled with a lack of awareness of camera presence, being overly conscious of the camera or forgetting to project his voice in specific directions during his natural performance.

And then there's also Lucas under-rehearsing or insufficient script analysis, not fully internalizing lines, character traits, or motivations, which led to inconsistencies and a lack of depth in the portrayal.

At that time, Lucas attempted excessive improvisation or deviating from the script. While some improvisation can be delightful, going off track without prior discussion with the director would disrupt the flow of the scene and create editing challenges—another mistake from Lucas.

In this life, while Lucas did have acting experience from his previous life's memories, it didn't guarantee he wouldn't make mistakes now. In his previous life, he was nothing but a small actor in the eyes of others.

Although Lucas's experience as a 'Small Actor' in his previous life helped him in auditions and ultimately landed him the role, he knew he still had room for improvement.

While Lucas was deep in thought, the makeup artist, Erica, was finally done. It only took a few minutes as there wasn't much makeup needed on Lucas's naturally good-looking face.

Even Erica, the makeup artist, admired Lucas's handsome face. Of course, she remained calm. After all, in Hollywood, working on good-looking faces is quite common, as many aspiring actors and actresses are pursuing careers in the industry.

After the makeup artist finished, Lucas took a drink of water. Soon after, the crew called for Nolan.

It seemed the kid's role was about to start, and the staff also reminded Lucas to prepare. Lucas nodded in acknowledgment and then walked out of the house.

In the first scene, he would be ringing the door bell in front of the door. During that, the scene inside the kitchen where Claire is calling the kids for breakfast began.

However, as Phil also called the kids with a cracked voice, it made Julie laugh, breaking her out of character. Because of that, the scene needed to be repeated.

The director and writers didn't really mind, finding Ty Burrell's cracked voice amusing, to be honest.

Due to the repeat in filming, after changing clothes in the changing room, Lucas just waited for his time for a few minutes. The crew hadn't reminded him yet, indicating that the filming of the main cast in the house was still ongoing.