"Uncommon" Film

Oh, my friends!  What a crazy summer it has been!  And it is far from over.  The whole month of July, I was out of town working on a film called "Uncommon" (although I did come home a few times since I was only an hour away).  The theme is about religious freedom in public schools.  I played a supporting role as the best friend to the main female character.  I had a lot of screen time, although not a lot of lines.  But it was fun!  I enjoyed working with the cast and crew.  It was the longest time I've spent on one film (unless you count the six weeks I spent in Michigan last year for "The Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club," but we were only filming 2 days a week).  For "Uncommon," we filmed 6 days a week, and usually for 12-14 hours every day.  I had a few days off, and a few shorter days.  That's the benefit of a supporting role.  :-)

Where to start?  So many memories!  So many pictures to share!  I'll try to refrain myself from posting too many.  Actually, I'll just have to break this up into a series of posts.  This one will be a general overview.  The following posts will feature other highlights during filming, including the Salem Fair, a fun weekend at my house with Andrew and Angela (who were helping on the film), and the big musical number that will be the final scene of the movie!

Now for the pictures...

The day before we started filming, a bunch of the cast and crew went to a huge event called "Celebrate America."

Wesley Elder, who plays Drew in the film (cousin to Ben Davies' character), 

helps promote the film.

Hanging out with Caleb and Cory Vetter - two filmmakers I had met at the SAICFF. 

It was awesome to work with them on a project! Caleb was 1st AC (assistant camera) and Cory was DP (director of photography). 

My brother was also at the Celebrate America event, helping to promote the political candidate he's working for.

Filming started on Monday, July 1st.

Angela Wold, my roommate and fellow Props PA from "Alone Yet Not Alone"! It was such a blessing to work with her on another film (and be roommates again!), three years later!

My point of view while sitting on the bleachers for one of our scenes. As an actor, you can't be afraid to have lots of people staring at you!  :-)

 The awesome "drama club" in the film!  I loved working with these guys and gals! The fun thing is that we all have a background in musical theater. Perfect casting!

Rockin' the nerdy glasses!  Haha!

On the monitor (which shows the director what the camera is seeing, so he can monitor the footage being shot).

With director Bill Rahn. I loved working with him! Such a fun man!

My old pal from Bryan College, Ethan Hargraves, was an extra one day! 

We played opposite each other in our first production at Bryan. 

It was cool to be in a movie together after all these years!

Courtney Vetter came to visit her brothers on set for a few days! 

It was so awesome to spend some time with her!

It was very fun to be reunited with Ben Davies on another film!

Another star of the film, Erik Estrada. Has anybody watched the old TV show, CHiPs?

Courtney Buck and Ben Davies (the leads), and Wesley and I (their best friends), 

at a Quinceanera party -- a very fun scene to film!

My new dress (from Salvation Army!) worked perfectly for this scene!

I got to be a featured salsa dancer with my friend Alexander! I had never done salsa before that night, but Alexander is a great teacher and leader, so it was easy and fun!

My friend Andrew Hurt, whom I met on "Beyond the Mask," came and helped on the film for a week! We had such a great time! And he was a blessing to the AD team because we lost our 1st AD for that week and Andrew pitched right in and was a huge help. 

He also got to be an extra.

I loved having my friend Shaina on set for a few days as an extra!

It was fabulous to see my friend Torry Martin (very talented actor, comedian, writer, networker, etc.) when he stopped by for a visit while in the area!

With director Bill Rahn and producer Jason Campbell.

With Matt Staver, of the Liberty Counsel. Dr. Staver plays himself in the film.

I got to play the ukelele in a montage scene! So fun!

Celebrating Donna's birthday! Donna was one of our makeup artists. 

She also worked on "The Senior Prank"!

One of many trips to Cook Out (I love their food and their prices!)

Waffle House at midnight...

Angela and I had a wonderful 5 hour chat at Starbucks with our dear friend Kylene 

on one of our days off.

Well, I think those are all the photos I'll share for now.  I'll try to keep posting every few days if my schedule allows, and I'll probably write a little recap of the experience with my final post.