'Human Theories' Production Diary: Chunk 3
Plus, what does it cost to shoot in an airport? And NYC moviegoing recommendations from Kathy Del Beccaro.
Exciting news from Nothing Bogus HQ! Things are changin’ round these parts. I’m talkin’ format. We’re experimenting with new segments. You will love them. So much, I hope, that you consider taking the $5 you might spend on a single coffee and putting it towards a month’s worth of A+ emails from your favorite newsletter. Every bit of support means a lot, and ultimately it makes this thing possible.
"It's an 8th of a page Michael, what could it cost? A million dollars?"
What does it cost to shoot in an airport?
Line producer extraordinaire Pete McClellan breaks it down.
Pete McClellan: The scene I helped with on Travel Companion took place at a municipal airport in New York, outside of the city. And it was working with their PR department to get a filming permit. And they kept us to a really concise schedule. Six hours, or so. It wound up only being about a thousand dollars to rent. But there was a lot of back and forth and paperwork. It was less of a money commitment and more of a time commitment. Funny enough, the movie I'm on right now is also filming at the airport — this one at the Philly airport, which is a much bigger thing. And likewise, it's just a lot of time working with the city to get permissions as opposed to it being expensive. We're really just paying for extra staff. There's a very minimal site fee, like $1,000. And this is inside the airport. You go through security with your whole team. So it's a logistical thing. You have to get pre-cleared. You have to scan all your gear. It's more of a logistical headache than an actual expense. On Travel Companion, they built a sick rig where they cut a hole in the bottom of a piece of luggage and they stacked it on a trolley and they just bought the cheapest flights they could out of JFK and just rolled it around in the airport as long as they could to get B-roll stuff. One of the challenges, too, is that there's a risk the airport might pull the plug at the last minute if it might interfere with regular operations.
Pete McClellan is a Brooklyn based Producer, Line Producer, and UPM, whose credits include The Dutchman, which premiered at SXSW '25, Dandelion available on AMC+, and All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, from Pastel and A24. His Instagram is @mcclellanpete.
HELLO, AND WELCOME TO MOVIE PHONE!
Hey Kathy! What should I see this Week in New York?
Kathy Del Beccaro is an urban planner and researcher dedicated to the preservation of small business and the evolution of moviegoing in communities. She is the Managing Director of the Rockaway Film Festival.
RESOURCES
If you’re a filmmaker, producer, or crew looking for work or collaborators, check out this post and add your info to the Nothing Bogus Directory.
THE FEATURE ATTRACTION
Human Theories Production Diary: Chunk 3
Director Jess Zeidman is in the midst of making a movie, Human Theories, in four chunks over the course of a year. As she goes, she’s recapping her experience for Nothing Bogus. Read about the film’s first and second chunks. And here’s the third…
by Jess Zeidman
Hello fellow NotBogs! We have wrapped on Chunk 3! Out of 4!! What the!!! We had a busy spring, so I’m going to get right into it:
Day 12: Our Quickest Day Yet
Maybe it was because it was the first nice spring day? Or maybe it was the one location/one scene of it all? Or maybe it was that the actors were friends? Or maybe we just underestimated how long it would take us to go up and down a flight of stairs? But whatever the reason, this day was almost too fast. We had thought we were going to be on location until 7:00 PM. But I was back home by 4:30. And the scene rocks!! I laugh every time I watch the footage!! Yes, now I am just bragging.
Day 13: A Few Misunderstandings
The warm, easy day that preceded this one did not prepare us for the gray, breezy day to follow. We started out on Eastern Parkway, where I had to figure out some complicated blocking, which I always call “choreo” because it makes it less scary. Blocking does not come naturally to me. I am never moving through space in a purposeful way, so it’s hard to tell others how to do this. Complicated blocking in movies always impresses me. I watched Casino right after this shoot and was like, “how does Marty do this so well and so often???” But that’s a subject for a different blog.
Ultimately, we figured it all out. We had an awesome group lunch at the Bahnmigos on Vanderbilt before we headed over to Sit & Wonder, a wonderful cafe in Prospect Heights, to shoot the second scene of the day. But before we could do that, I had to make a quick phone call to Tam (Producer, Casting Director) because when the actor playing Australian Guy showed up to set, he didn’t have an accent. Not a trace. Also, he kept talking about growing up in Upstate New York. And in my moviemaking delusion, I was like, oh my god, this is a problem, I thought this guy was Australian. So I get Tam on the horn and she laughs her amazing big laugh and reassures me that he can do the accent. And once we’re rolling it’s like, oh my god, duh, he can do the accent, his family is Australian and he’s a great performer — all my gratitude and apologies to Stephen if he’s reading this <3
The rest of the day went nice and quick, a classic HT situ.
Day 14: Two Big Locations
I rewrote the day’s first scene. I’d wanted to pay homage to Crossing Delancey and set it in the YMCA sauna. But that was a no go. So I decided to pay homage to When Harry Met Sally and set it in a bookstore, which ruled. Alexander, who runs The Word Is Change on Tompkins, was a gracious host for a silly, gossipy scene.
Second half of the day was spent shooting a chaotic but lovely scene in a fully open and operating bodega. In the scene, a guy is so nervous ordering because he doesn’t know what a BLT is — exactly the kind of high stakes you should be expecting from this film. Youseff, who works at the deli in real life, played the Deli Guy in the movie, and he CRUSHED it in a way that made me emotional because he was learning and expanding his role with each take. I am always afraid to over direct a non-actor because then they’ll do a lot of anticipatory looking and it’ll spoil the naturalness. But watching someone get there on their own? Magic. Also, having the bodega open during the shoot wasn’t as bad as I thought. Daniel, our Nervous BLT Actor, handled the disruptions like a pro. Did people spike* the camera from time to time? Of course. Did most people not care at all? Yes. Everyone thinks we are students. Which, as lifelong learners, aren’t we?
*Look directly into the lens and widen their eyes as if to say, “What are you all filming???”
Day 15: A Few Characters of the Day Who Weren’t in the Movie
Unhoused Windsor Terrace Guy Who Ultimately did Not Give a Shit About Us
First scene of the day was at Bartel-Pritchard Square right off Prospect Park and when we got there at 9:00 AM, there was an unhoused guy who, according to some neighborhood folks, had been acting out all morning and showed no signs of stopping. This is just part of filming out and about in a major city, so when he eventually came over, plucked half my bagel (that I was trying to get rid of anyway), sat on the bench where we were holding, and started a long-winded monologue about how Jesus loves us, all I could do was say, “Totally… Also would you mind going to this other bench behind us? We’re about to film.” To which he replied, “Who are you filming this for?” And I said, “It’s an independent project, we’re making it for ourselves.” And that — not the bagel, not the gentle asking, not the listening to his Christian messaging, was what got him to get up and leave us alone for the rest of the shoot. Guess he was hoping to hear a major streamer was attached…
Private Park Cop who Loved Telling us the Rules but then Inspired our True Location
For the next scene, we were headed toward Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and were stopped by a Private Park Cop who asked us what we were doing. Our DP Leo pretended not to hear him (LOL) but the cop did suss out (from the camera, tripod, and our general artsy vibes) that we were trying to film something. He then gleefully explained the rules — how the piers are PRIVATE and require a PERMIT that you have to apply for way ahead of time, and also that even if you have a permit they don’t allow filming on the weekends. He was clearly so happy to tell us he was kicking us out, I wanted to bully him. But then… he suggested we film up Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which was PUBLIC. So we did as we were told and? It was an AMAZING location, possibly better than our original.
Adam & Co
Settled in our new spot, we shot out the wide of the scene in beautiful sunlight. Then, as we were about to move into coverage, the clouds came in. We decided to wait it out for a bit to see if the sky would clear and as we stood around, we heard SCREAMING from below — ADAAAAAMMMMMM, ADAAAAMMMMMM! We all looked down to see a woman running out from the park, sprinting down the sidewalk calling out for Adam! Adam! Adam!
At first I was like, “Oh god, is Adam a child??? Is Adam a dog that got loose??” But, as we learned after we decided to move into coverage, Adam was her withholding lover who had sped away from the park on his motorcycle and returned only to refuse her romantic pleading and keep trying to put on his helmet while she flung herself all over him to try to change his mind. We all agreed that she could do better than him. It was like a scene out of this movie!
Day 16: Rizzler’s Belated Birthday Bomb (4/20)
This three-scene day started bright and early at Moot Bar with a bunch of background who were kind enough to spend the morning of their 4/20 Easter with us (thanks again to everyone who came, if you need a favor, you know where to find me). In order to curate a good vibe, I broke my own cardinal rule and allowed Arno to get a Joe To Go since it was so early and chilly. It was a beautiful lesson in how sometimes I am wrong.
Another such lesson? I cracked a joke about how it was the Rizzler’s belated birthday (he turned nine on the 19th) and no one laughed. No. One. You could hear a pin drop. That was how bad the joke bombed. Thankfully, the scene went great, we wrapped out of the bar in time, and then we headed to Leo’s apartment to eat lunch on the stoop and shoot two more scenes in his living room about toxic roommate dynamics, and there was some truly deranged and delightful improv — a gift!
Day 17: Coin Flipping
This was a half-ish day where we moved all around Bed Stuy to capture one woman walking past multiple kids flipping coins in different locations. There were six kids in total, four I cast off of Backstage, and a pair of sisters who were recommended to me by another HT actor. They were all great. Before the shoot, I communicated with the parents as much as possible, both about the day’s logistics and the content of the project overall. The last thing I wanted was for them to see the movie when it comes out and feel surprised/shocked/uninformed — so I did a lot of emailing, a few Zoom calls, and made sure to say that even though their scene was age appropriate, lots of the movie is not, so if that’s not OK, please don’t have your child in the movie. And, after double, triple checking that all the parents understood, we locked in our great group of kids! Awesome!!
Other than the children element, the other piece we had to contend with was noise. Since it was such a gorgeous day, everyone in Brooklyn was playing music as loud as possible from their cars, portable speakers, and ice cream trucks (we did have to slip $10 to an incessant Mister Softee so we could get a clean take). I am a little concerned how the mix will come together for the sequence, but since we’re making a weird movie, I don’t worry too much, I know we can make it work.
Also, at the end of the day, we ran into another film crew in Herbert Von King using the same black wagon as us. It was very Spider-Man meme.
Day 18: Jessy & Wyatt Day
Though this is a New York film, I wanted to have my Los Angeles based actor friends Jessy and Wyatt in the movie since they are both huge parts of my NYC experience AND I felt comfortable having them makeout crazy style on screen. So, they flew in from LA earlier in the week, stayed at my apartment, and on Sunday we filmed both their scenes.
We started with their second scene in the film, a bad date at DSK on Fulton, and it was a lot of fun – the foot traffic wasn’t too bad, though the C and A trains that were running underneath us were LOUD as hell and running so frequently it was kind of shocking/amazing. Watching Jessy and Wyatt be weird to each other was a dream.
Then we had a kind of slay lunch — a huge part of this blog is me telling you where we ate lunch; do you care? If you do, it was at Habana Outpost. We sat at a huge table outside and vibed.
Then, we were supposed to film Jessy and Wyatt’s makeout scene, where they’d go at it alongside another real couple who are also actors in the movie, at the Fulton G. But then the Fulton G was roped off… so we had to pivot to the Lafayette C. At first, I was like, “uh oh, oh no, will this be so much worse.” It wasn’t. It was better. There was one shot we got that was so beautiful and romantic. I was triumphant.
Day 19: Loudest Day Yet
The final day of this chunk was another three-scener. First, we filmed at Lockwood Greenpoint, a gift store that I worked at from July 2020 to May 2021. We shot out the tiny scene with fellow Nothing Bogus contributors Anna Torzullo and Stephanie Ibarra in no time and with no issues, since we were safely inside the candle store.
Then we moved onto our next set up a few blocks away. Our original spot on the street was taken, but we adjusted and made it work (common theme) and we had a dog on set! Shout out to Leo’s parents for letting Martini make her onscreen debut. This location, however, did have so many sound issues, though none related to the dog. Someone was sawing on and off, cars were zooming around the corner, planes/helicopters were flying overhead, there were multiple phone shouters, and the wind was really loud. Still, we got what we needed, and broke for a really long lunch (sandwiches from Compton’s) and I took a little walk around my old neighborhood where I almost cried/posted a very sappy Instagram story because I was overwhelmed in a bittersweet way about how much my life has changed since I lived in Greenpoint and worked retail.
Then I pulled myself together and we company moved to the Sunnyside Media exchange to shoot the last scene of the day and the chunk. This was truly the loudest place ever. The media exchange is next to a busy street and a busy playground, beside an above ground subway and a commuter train, and, since we wanted the beautiful golden hour light, it was rush hour.
Already in my feelings, this simple outdoor bookstore scene was way harder than I expected it to be. We had to do far more takes than usual due to all the noise. But, as always, we pushed through, and though I was so exhausted by the end that I had road rage despite listening to Adrienne Lenker to calm myself down, it was a really great day and a successful chunk (sorry!).
And now? Summer Vacation! Kind of
We have one chunk left, which, depending on how the footage is looking, might only be three days in August. We’re taking June and July off – a break for resting, Tribeca, a chance to work on other projects, and a way to avoid a true scheduling nightmare since everyone is getting married every summer day after Memorial Day.
BUT! I do have something important to ask of you, dear readers… Would you like to be in this movie?
Jobs, programs, and other opportunities
The Listings
Jacob Mallin is currently looking for a 3D animator to create a few shots of planets nearly colliding for a short film he’s in post production on titled Last Night Alive. Paid. If interested, please reach out to jacobmallin2@gmail.com.
HKD Productions is raising finishing funds for The Audit, a dark comedy short about what your job is doing to your soul, starring Devon Werkheiser from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Find out more here.
The Gotham is seeking an Expo & Public Programs Coordinator to support the organization’s upcoming Gotham Week Project Market and Expo. The Gotham Week Project Market, a flagship and legacy program of The Gotham, facilitates career-spanning relationships between emerging and established artists and distributors, financiers, production companies, festival programmers, sales and talent agents, and collaborators to provide creative and business opportunities to groundbreaking storytellers. More here.
No Film School recently published a massive list of summer film grants, labs, and fellowships. Check it out here.
If you would like to list in a future issue, either A) post in the Nothing Bogus chat thread, or B) email nothingbogus1@gmail.com with the subject “Listing.” (It’s FREE!) Include your email and all relevant details (price, dates, etc.).
 | A guest post by
|