Stu is off in Roswell, chasing aliens... John is in Phoenix... I feel like the guy who get left behind while everyone else went off to the big city.

Right now we are waiting on feedback for the first three episodes. John and I will complete our cut of episode 4 tomorrow and start episode 5 before the end of the week but we can't do the finishing for the first three episodes until we get sign off. Personally I want to get started on it as soon as possible but this is part of the hurry up and wait of film. I have to be in a constant cat like state of readiness so when an approval comes down I can snap into action and start to hammer away at the color correction and sound mixing.

In all honesty I just want to get Episode 1 done and behind me. I feel like I've been working on those same 7 minutes for the last four months and I just want to see it finished once and for all. It's not that I don't love it... I just don't want to keep looking at it. It's starting to feel like Groundhogs Day.

I guess I should continue to make fun of Stu... after all, that's how I roll. ;)

Stu wouldn't want anyone to know this but he is actually a robot sent from the future to destroy us all.

So Jordan and Matt came down to my apartment and we shot some exterior and door play for the Paige and Luke episode (four). It was great to see the boys again and have Albert and Derek on set again. We were working so small, fast and collaborative again that Albert said it was just like working on the pilot again.

And with last night's shoot production on Pushing Twilight officially comes to and end. Officially.

Today is also the day the Lee Resolution got approved by the Continental Congress. I forget why we celebrate the 4th... I think that might have been the official public vote or final vote. Any history geeks in the house know an answer to that one?

Anyways, happy early Independence Day. Go celebrate by using fireworks to blow up little pieces of the country we love so dearly.

Last night I saw a first cut of episode 3... this is the first one of the troublesome two.

Episodes 3 & 4 have a lot of series arc happening in them as well as very serious and dramatic stories. They need to hit hard emotionally in a short time. That's not too easy. I think we have the material, now we just have to find the right rhythm and levels for the scenes and we will get there.

That's about all for now...

Oh... on to mocking Stu... Did you know that Stu has a tattoo of Hello Kitty on his butt? These things are all true. ;)

That winky smiley face was just for you Lira!

This one has a good comedy base so we were giggling all day. It's really interesting how different the first two episodes feel. I know that they were written that way and that I shot them to play different but you never really know until you start cutting. There are three moments in this one that I know should pop a laugh out of just about anyone... not bad for a 5 minute short.

We also sent off the promo material today, that is all the shots and moments that IFC will be using to cut together all the commercials and promotions for the show. I spent the weekend color correcting the material (along with writing some extra music for episode one) and it was really gratifying to see everyone very pleased with how the footage looks when it's been shaken down to the proper levels and color looks.

Tomorrow I have to shoot a small pickup for episode two and finish storyboards for a motion graphics into to the series... I started out in design and it never seems to fail that there is a moment in each project where I have to break out Photoshop again... and again. ;)

Finally I have to continue with my Stu-smearing campaign... did you know that Stu once killed a man, just to watch him die? It's true. Johnny Cash wrote a song about it. That's right, I'm outing Stu... he's 60 years old. ;)

We sent episode 1 to IFC and got some very positive feedback. Some minor notes but nothing ground shaking. I think we might be on the right track. Big ups to John, our editor, for really making the first episode a great one.

But beyond that I got nuttin... John is doing a first cut of episode 2 and I won't see that until Monday.

So from now until then I will just make fun of Stu.

Did you know that Stu has webbed feet and a third nipple?

Don't ask me how I know.

I just do.

Now we hold our collective breath. John and I are very proud of how this episode has taken shape but it's always a little nerve rattling to send it off for the first time. I guess it will either be accepted and we will have minor notes or we will get very bloody. Either way it goes we will find out what everyone's impression of the direction and tone we have built into the first episode.

I hope they like it. I really do.

Yes, after the shoot I am really in the Hollywood lifestyle. ;)

While I was taking a breather, John, our editor has been hard at work on the first cut of Episode 1. On Saturday he had Stu and myself come over to have a first look at all our months of hard work. So far I think it looks really good. I had pretty minimal notes for the episode, mostly to do with pace and flow... hopefully we are in good shape for the series if the first cuts of all the episodes are as good as this one.

I'm really excited about where we are at and I know that with sound design, color correction and a score it's only going to get better and better.

We also have pickups this coming week, just a few shots here and there to fill in a few gaps that we didn't get in principal photography. Should be a nice short day with only Paul, myself and Albert on crew. It's going to be fun to watch us go from the big crew down to me holding a boom and running a camera. I tell ya... it's all about glamor in this business!

I did a lot of theatre in college, and whenever we reached the end of a production, there was both a sense of accomplishment and sadness. I'm feeling some of that now - we came so far from our initial treatments, and then the shoot seemed to pass by in an instant.

I've said it so many times already, but we truly had an amazing cast and crew, who shot incredibly fast with impeccable skill, and all between the hours of 7 pm and 7 am - never an easy work-day. I think Steve performed above and beyond all expectations, and this just goes to show the future he has as a director.

I'm humbled and honored to have worked through this process with such a talented group - and I can't wait to see everything cut together.

On our last location we worked with a smaller unit doing a big hand held sequence. It was kind of funny. After all the big locations, cast and crew we ended with a very small team and one actor. I think we all started getting loopy in the last hour, I know Ryan and Albert did. It was funny seeing Ryan, who has been the most professional and focused AD I've ever seen, break down and get the giggles.

For the last scene Derek, our Gaffer, swapped in for Albert for a little DP time and he did a great job. I don't know if anyone will know which scene Derek filled in because the quality of work was excellent across the board.

I'm really sad to see everyone go. I really had the best time of my life directing this project. I may have said it before but I want to thank everyone in the crew and the cast. I will end up getting a lot of credit for the work they did in making the film so good but so much of the success of this shoot is on the team that I just want to thank them all again. There is no way I could have done it without all my people in front of and behind the camera.

You were all rock stars and I love you all.

11 pages. 1 day. It feels like my body got beaten down. Hard.

What we did was total insanity but because we had such a fantastic crew and cast... we got it all done. Even better, we got it all done without going over for the day. I still can't believe it.

We really separated the men from the boys last night. We saw a lot of nerves on edge but we also saw who was really built for this kind of work. We had to constantly change, adapt and improvise to make the day and get all the material we needed for all the scenes... some people really showed who they were and why they are going to be superstars someday.

I gotta throw big, big thanks to Ryan, Albert, their team and DC. They were under the gun more then anyone else and they did it all like professionals.

Tonight will be the last night of principal photography... two big scenes and two locations. This will be the last time this team is all together. I know I'm getting ahead of myself but I will miss every single one of them.

Although I have to say for the sadness of ending the shoot I do see one bright sign on the horizon... I finally get to see Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls!

Saturday night went very smoothly, another stellar shoot with some excellent sets from our set designer, Ren, and more incredible work from the cast and crew. I really can't say enough about them, they're really knocking these stories out of the park.

Sunday, however, was the inevitable speed bump. Or hurdle. Or brick wall...

Steve shot, I believe, around 11 pages of dialogue in one night. For a little bit of context, a good night usually has you shooting around 3 or 4. 5 if you're really good. And these scenes are really the glue of the entire series, our group scenes with the entire cast. The lucky part was that they all took place in one location, but there was a ton of coverage and costume changes. Our costume designer, Christina, had something like 50+ costume changes to keep track of, and Albert, the DP, dealt with 70+ camera set-ups. There were times when I could see the stress of getting everything (and getting it GOOD) was wearing on Steve and Albert.

But where other people might have folded, or resorted to a half-quality rush job, these two buckled down. They re-wrote shot lists, maneuvered cameras quickly, and kept the crew ahead of the clock. I don't think Steve even ate lunch. It was like watching two racers hurtling towards the finish line, giving it their all, beating the clock...and then collapsing in triumph.

And best of all, the cast and crew were on top of their games - very responsive, always staying sharp (not an easy thing to do in stressful situations, and certainly not when you start reaching 5 or 6 AM).

Just when you think you've seen it all, these guys go out and top it. Amazing.

Both days went great, the machine that is this production just keeps locking in tighter and the speed, efficiency and quality of material we are getting never ceases to amaze me. I wish I could take credit for everything going right with this production but without my team none of this could have happened.

Over the last two days we shot a combined 13 pages of material. I've never shot so much so fast... until what I write about tomorrow when we do 10 pages in one day. I don't know if I'm breaking any world records but this is the quickest I've ever had to move on a set.

John, our editor, has already been rough cutting a few of the simpler sequences for everyone on set to look and and see the quality of their work in near real time. I have to say how much that has helped with keeping everyone's energy up. When you can see all that hard work paying off so well, you just want to push harder and keep making everything as good.

I did have my most nervous moment on Day 3. We shot with Gwen Van Dam, horror movie fans will remember her from John Carpenter's Halloween... she played the nurse going to the asylum with Donald Pleasence. Having someone on set with that much experience and time around great films and filmmakers for the past 30 years was fantastic but humbling at the same time.

On to day 5!

Tonight got into some of the darker parts of the script, and we even shot part of the ending. Production is always interesting, for exactly this reason. One night, you're shooting the opening scenes of the entire series, then the next, you've jumped all the way to the ending, and you haven't even done any of the stuff in between.

You have all these moving parts, and the actors and Steve have to be wary of hitting the right notes and moments for an arc that they haven't even shot yet! It requires a lot of foresight, and a lot of planning, to make sure it feels like you've made the jump from one part of the story to the next.

Once again (I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it's true), I'm really impressed by how well everyone's handling everything. It's not easy to move as fast as we are, and to get all these moments correct. It would be very easy to gloss over things or say that we didn't have enough time, but everyone has brought their A-game, and continues to do so every night.

Tonight, we're doing probably the 'biggest' scene in the whole series, with all of the actors and a major set piece. It's going to be a challenge, but from what I've seen, everyone's more than prepared.

Onwards!

What more could you ask for, as a writer? Everyone is doing a fantastic job. It makes me eager to get back to set the next night to watch more. And tonight, we get into some of the meatiest parts of the scripts, so I'm really excited.

Night three, here we come...

We knocked out everything yesterday like we've been shooting for months, it was smooth and it was fun and it looked GREAT. The big guns came down to watch the shoot today and I think we impressed everyone. Big, big ups to the crew and the cast, everyone brought their A game and we showed everyone why we should be doing this job.

Over the night we shot some of the material from the pilot again for the first episode and with the changes in tone for the material and the amazing production design Ren has given us, it was like doing it again for the first time. I was a little apprehensive to do some of the scenes again but I think we did them better and with such a great look and style that even if you saw the pilot I know that you'll be impressed with how far those scenes came in the new shoot. If only I could always have this team to make Stu and I look so good.

On to day three! The hump shoot!

(you know like the middle of the week... not like... well, you know...)