Deep into post-production, Ara won't be blogging this week, so I (Liz Cross) am standing in for her today to report on the shoot.
Well, let's get the bad stuff out of the way: It was cold. We stood around for two days straight in the (did I mention cold?) Illinois woods. Many of us got little or no sleep. But it didn't matter.
It was thrilling! As the kind of writer who writes poetry, I've never had the experience of seeing something I'd helped create come to life.

Ari Khatib ("Josie"), Elizabeth Cross (Writer)
And oh boy, did it! It started Friday night, when Helene's (Costume Designer) room was the center of activity.
Below: Aimee Bello ("Cora"), Helene Siebrits (Costume Designer); below right: Kyle Rehder ("Pastor Phillips")
There was a final fitting for the actors, so we had the costume team pinning and tucking, actors coming and going, hair and make-up crew seeing the garments for the first time, prop displaying, Ara making final decisions, all whirling around, and all coming to a complete stop whenever an actor emerged from the bathroom fully dressed.

The collective gasp became a joke, but we couldn't stop doing it. The clothes were gorgeous and transformed the actors into their parts. Kyle was our minister. The details were hard to believe–buttons for Samuel's military jacket were from the Civil War, hand made corsets for Josie and Cora, a hat for Josie that changed anyone who wore it into a glamorous 19th horse woman, and miles and miles of silk and wool material that no one could resist reaching out to touch.
Enisa Seric (Second Hair Stylist), Gianluca Mandelli (Hair Stylist), Ari Khatib ("Josie")
Saturday morning at sun rise, Somme Park opened and the two hour set-up began. That's when some of us started. Hair, make-up and acting teams had a 2:30 a.m. call in the RV. The shoot was 200 yards in from the parking lot, so equipment had to be brought in on deer haulers. The logistics of this part of the day alone were mind boggling, but thanks to the individual teams and Dan Miller it went like clock work.
I wish you could see Danelle, our photographer, and Brian, the digital tech, in action together.

They're magicians! Telepathic magicians, who never seem to lose focus, or tire, or stop trying for the very best shot. Danelle was often very physical in her work – running, lying on the ground, climbing ladders, all while talking to the actors or shouting "Again!" over and over.
Dan Miller (Key Grip), Danelle Manthey (Director of Photography)
The acting was incredible. The actors were so talented and the casting just couldn't have been better. These four were so connected that the affection was clear both on and off set. (Our floor of the hotel sounded like a French farce with doors slamming and shouting and laughter until far into the night.) As a result, they were able to generate moments that felt powerful and real for the duration of the weekend. Shot after shot it seemed the entire crew couldn't take their eyes off of these characters.

At one point, Ara had to ask everyone to move back to give the actors room. I think everyone took exactly one step back and that was it. No one was leaving.
Ari Khatib ("Josie"), Lia R (Assistant Makeup Artist), Alfred Lester (Makeup Artist)
I'll give you an example of something you won't be able to see in the photographs due to the camera angle. The scene focuses on Cora and Josie's faces as they respond to Samuel's attempt to stop the wedding.

In the photograph, you can't really see Samuel's face, but the emotional range conveyed was remarkable. He was frightening (terrifying really), but the expression on his face ranged from anger to shame to confusion to love, and he held it there; they all did. You'll see it over and over again in the shots, just an impressive ability to communicate complicated emotions in order to tell this story.
Ara Lucia (Director/Artist), Matt Devine ("Samuel")
And in the center of everything was Ara. Ara in her giant parka exultant when the shots were good; moving in as close as possible to the actors to urge them on; huddling in front of the monitor with a space heater watching for the right image; making the continuous calculations for time and money and light and ability necessary for each shot.

And somehow still talking to all of us to keep us in, keep us focused on the work. In spite of all this, it hit her. And she had to walk off set at one point, weeping, just completely broken up after one shot, because it was so real and so unbelievably beautiful. Ara told me the video documentary guys asked all the rest of the day for her to talk about that shot, but each time she'd start she'd become too overwhelmed to be able to say anything.
Marc Sirinsky (Post Production Translator), Ara Lucia (Director/Artist), Brian Eaves (Digital Tech), Jacob Hand (Lighting Tech)
Aimee Bello ("Cora"), Ari Khatib ("Josie"), Ara Lucia
So when anyone asks me what the weekend was like, I try to stay professional and say it was the best art making experience of my life. What I don't say is that it gave me so much joy that I sometimes had trouble breathing, but only because when I looked around the set those two days, I knew I wasn't the only one.