I’m so proud of My Heart – Ya Albi. We all worked so hard and so well together.

From the very beginning, we did some serious pre-production. This is one of the first films we were able to meet together and discuss the look of the film. We looked at examples of lighting and coloring to pinpoint the kind of look we wanted.

More meetings for wardrobe to really match the circumstances of My Heart – Ya Albi and take reference photos. (Again another first.) Not to mention rehearsals and discussing important details for props needed.

Next it was time to pack up my house. Because I act as set decorator, specifically for independent films, I have to be prepared for whatever. Usually we lock down a location. Which can be anything from a bar to someone’s home. So that means because I work for an independent production there’s little to no budget, and I work with/around the décor and space that I’m allowed. So I have to move furniture around, find little hidden gems in the space that might work somewhere else. The key is to be gentle with other people’s stuff and to try to put everything back where you found it….. And back to my original point that’s why I pack up my whole house. But luckily one of our locations belonged to the producer’s family who was so kind, and had a beautiful home. All I had to do was incorporate some of my stuff to make the space look like it belonged to a young bohemian couple……..

But then there was the “lovely room of death”. (Ten points if you can name what movie that’s from.) So I’m referring NOT to the lovely home of the producer’s family but an AIRBNB which was a cabin with a nice view of the river. The owner was an avid hunter. So the main room we supposed to be shooting in had: deer, mountain goat, fox, hawk, deer, bobcat, deer, bear, deer, deer, deer, and MORE DEER. 17 deer heads in total…..And I was supposed to make this look like a nice vacation home somehow. Well I was game, but there was just no way. Luckily the ones that made important decisions, decided to shoot on the deck instead (sans animals). Which made my job easier. (It also made a great space for our impromptu wrap party on the second to last day.)

Other then that, the stars of My Heart – Ya Albi were fantastic. Always willing to keep an eye on continuity (continuity is everyone’s problem), help out, clean up, and they’re just so talented. Wanetah and Diana, you’re amazing. I love working with this crew. We’ve worked together so many times for the past few years, it feels like a well-oiled machine. Several times we’ve gotten compliments by actors about how fast we work. I really am proud of what we’ve accomplished with this film. So everyone look for us come the end of the month.