USC Shoot and Dragonforce

So I was supposed to go into Mole today to help teach a group from Tijuana, missing the first day of this project that I'm helping out on as a grip/electric/bestboy/gaffer/etc, but the DP called me and said that the really needed my help. So I called Larry late last night(which I felt bad about) and he said it was ok cuz he had five other former interns coming in to help. When I build my studio I am going to build a statue of Larry, talk about having the coolest boss/mentor ever!
So I got up at 5:00AM, threw on some clothes and got picked up to go to USC.
We were shooting in the Carson Television Studio where they have their sitcom classes. The set was amazing, we set up a backdrop of the desert outside of the set windows of this almost deserted gas station. I loved working on sound stages and I love working with backdrops. It reminds me of Disneyland or something, I just see endless lighting and shooting possibilities when working on a stage with a backdrop. Something about how it looks makes we want to light it and it seems to have endless possibilities for how to use it.
Peter(my little bro and freshman at SC) stopped by the stage between classes and I showed him the set. He liked the big classic 10K light(he takes after me, what can I say?) and he brought me some snacks, too, haha. After we wrapped I went over to his dorm. It's amazing how much dorms are alike no matter the school. We went to the EVK, which is one of their dining centers... ah, memories of the DC back at State. EVK had the same unreliable yet frighfully adventurous menu choices that I remember from school, but I was hungry and it wasn't that bad. I saw Pete's room and met his friends on his floor before we headed out to the Wiltern, a concert venue on Wilshire and Western.


Now, the reason we were heading to the Wiltern is because one of Peter's friends sent him tickets to the sold out Dragonforce show. Dragonforce is a supposedly awesome power metal band. Honestly, after seeing the keytars, permmed hair, and trampolines(yes: trampolines) I have to agree: very awesome! So we get there and the first band to play was All That Remains, they were ok but their singer screamed instead of sang so they got booed. The next band, HORSE the Band(yes, that's they name) was better, the singer only screamed half the time and sang the rest. Then we thought there was going to be a band called Five Finger Death Punch, which just sounds like awesomeness is oozing out of their pours with a name like that! I have an old kungfu movie called Five Finger Death Punch, I wonder if this band has seen it.
Anyway, so they are getting the stage ready for Dragonforce and we first see them set up a wide platform in the back with the drums on the right and the keyboards on the left. They put small stairs in the middle of the back platform. Then they bring out this little stage and put it in the middle of the stage at the front. We were like, "why are they putting a little stage at the front?" And then they brought out the trampolines and the crowd cheered! Peter and I just looked at each other in eager anticipation for the awesomeness to come! The one of the roadies seemed to take one of the trampolines away and the crowd let out a resounding awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, but he was really just switching them around, to the delight of the audience.
The lights went down, we all stood up, and this powerful voice introduced the band members one by one as they started to play. And when a band who has songs with such titles as Through the Fire and the Flames, Disciples of Babylon, Heart of a Dragon, Operation Ground and Pound, or Trail of Broken Hearts begins a show, they begin it right... with choreographed leaps onto stage using the trampolines to get as much air as possible while soling on your guitar. One by one they leaped forth and then ran and jumped to the small front stage with cheers from the awe-struck audience. This was when we realized why they had paced the small stage there. The platform was there to elevate the band members enough so that the five power fans under the stage blew they long permmed hair back as they struck their epic power metal solo pose! Amazing!

The band was complete with a drummer, and keyborardist, two guitarists, a bassist, and a lead singer, ass of which jumped on the small stage after a power metal jump off the trampolines. They played super fast, complicated songs with epic lyrics of fighting armies, dragons and unicorns(seriously) in the singers high-pitched wailing voice as they pranced around the stage in synchronized formations, no song having shorter then a 4 minute solo in it! At one point, the guitarists stood on the center platform and soloed and then the keyboradist ran out to join them with his keytar! It was AMAZING! They played seven or eight songs(long solos=only a few songs) and after 2 encores, the show was over and a loud, new memory was burned into my brain!
Andrew picked us up and we drove Peter to USC and then headed home. Now I can get four and a half hours of sleep before I am gonna get picked up for day 2 of the USC shoot.

PhillM tip-of-the-day:
You know you have to replace your 12/18K HMI globes when they start to bulge on one side. This means they are getting old and WILL explode once the glass gets too thin.