Cherry Film - A set of Love & Filming in Big Bear and Morongo Valley
And getting married three times!
Howdy do!
Veronica here! As promised this is my report/story on filming the Cherry Film in Big Bear and Morongo Valley in a wintery December and with no budget. Sit back and relax while loudly slurping a warm cup of U.S’ traditional Mexican hot chocolate!
THE PRODUCTION:
Previous step: The stupid world opened. Thank the planets.
Step one, Producer on board: A producer with real experience in the field and with a successful movie under his belt got excited about my project. His name is Delaney Schenker and he is literally the reason we were able to pull so much of it off. YAY! First piece unlocked
Step two, the outline: Many of you know from my IG stories that I’ve been working on this film since 2019 but I didn’t really ever wanna write a stupid ass script. I swear that’s the reason I don’t do any more things, the stupid script. No thanks. Of course that means that everything is a mess. It didn’t so much matter when it was me and my brother with a camera around Brussels, or me and my BFF from 5th grade Ninoska Ayala in London, or me with my ex-bf DP Trevor in Vienna. But it was gonna be potentially a big mess when it came to a week long adventure in the snow. So I got to putting into stupid ass words the ideas that I knew I was gonna execute anyway. Hey, it’s all a matter of gettin others to understand your brain farts and making them into 3D poops.
Step three, the cabin: We were in the conversations-only stage of the process when I randomly decided to ask my friend Claire Thomas, my fairy Godmother Spectacular, if we could film in her cabin and she said yes :O and gave us specific date range that was truly around the corner :O! Location 1 was set. I was also able to get Claire’s second cabin the cute Kitchy Cabin to host my cast and part of the crew!!! I’m lucky I got amazing friends and you should DEFINITELY book a stay here with your family!
Step four, the script: Delaney mentioned we needed a script like seven times, I had said one was coming 😰🙄 like 8 times. I had known all I wanted to film since November 2019 but, as explained before, apparently it matters to be able to print my thoughts into words for the rest of the cast and crew? All because we’re just beginning the age of Aquarius and no one can yet mind meld with me to help my vision come to life. The script was tiny 21 pages long. Although in reality it was about 26 pages + two long sequences with no dialogue and lots of fake blood… so like 20 pages… all because I fooled everyone into thinking it was shorter by making some scenes in Spanish and putting them in a separate document. I’m not sorry. It’s worth mentioning there will never be a script for the full movie as I’ve already shot a third of it without a script. This is what’s enticing to me about the project and this is how I will complete this art piece (until I get shit about it again or a money daddy or mommy *INVESTOR* asks for one, then I’ll be a script whore).
Step five, locking everyone down: Literally inside the cabin and, metaphorically, finding the crew who would be down to step into a cabin for a week and film in the same cabin where we are all sleeping and for a payment that’s non union and coming out of my literal life savings and pocket (low). The ratio of low budget to hard conditions (snow, potential cabin fever, buncha dudes sleeping in shared rooms) was TOO RISKY! Yet the perfect people started saying yes. It takes a type of person! And those persons are my persons!!! and God has forever blessed me with them and blessed them in payment. Yet, 10 days before the shoot we didn’t have a DP!! 👀👀👀👀👀👀🙈😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Step six, Yayo Ahumada, our DP: We’d interviewed with at least 3 people who were on the fence (not the vibe) and nothing was panning out. From the sprinkly sparks of my fairy Godmother, Claire Thomas, a connection happened, her long term and most trusted collaborator and co-owner of the *magical* Oeste Home came to us with the attitude of a winner. Yayo had not only already worked with me thrice this year in other projects from Claire’s wonderful brain but he also knew the cabin location and the Oeste Location inside and out!!! A life saving connection was made and the triangle between Delaney’s left brain, my right brain and Yayo’s bridge between both brains of a set, set us up for success.
Step Seven, Art (me) and Costume (Jose and I): I had been gathering props, set decorations and costumes for this movie for years and years, literally years. When my husband and stylist Jose Dao moved to LA after we married, we put all these costumes to use. We also bought and made a whole other set of fabulous pieces. He collaborated with my mom (who made many of the pieces) and with many others. I brought in my makeup superstar fantasy generator Mua Martini, I casted my gorgeous Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat co-star Josef Urban and, of course, I also casted my own husband and the co-author of the clothing skin of Cherry, Jose. We dragged millions of bags with purses, heels and set design stuff up the mountain. My superstar costume assistant, art assistant and general PA Mayra Estrada also came. What would I do without Mayra.
Step eight, the crew: We got a gaffer named Ryan who ruled, a sound professional named Denny who’s now my buddy, a marvelous AC named Adam Smith whom you’ll see on TV or listen to on Spotify at some point in our lives trust me, and second PA, Tyson, who made the cutest sets for a female story and helped when Mayra left. Our crew was set.
SPONSORSHIP:
The Cabins sponsored us and we got a key sponsorship from Aputure Lighting! It was all we needed!! First it saved us money and second I love the idea of being sponsored. Aputure made the scenes gorgeous under the direction of our DP and the cabins were the perfect compliment to my ongoing art department efforts to make this movie a very Cherry experience. YAY! Thank you! Without sponsors we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. We’re still working on parts of this film so if you’d like to sponsor the film please contact me!!! We are looking for lights, crew, locations and always always technical stuff!! We still have some more magic to create.
ON SET:
The men’s cabin doubled up as set so everyone could sleep where the equipment was and, that way, set ourselves for more hours of rest. The ladies’/talent cabin was the other cabin. Both cabins had advantages and disadvantages in terms of the project at hand, one was set, so they could technically wake up later but the potential for cabin fever was tangible and there was only one shower. The other cabin was 15min away each way so we’d have to wake up brutally early and we had to load/unload so much daily BUT it was a different place to rest for the night. Fun was had in both cabins, hang outs happened left and right. I paddled quite a few butts :)
Half way through a storm was announced and we had to bounce from the second cabin and pack even more people in the set/cabin!! We were all together in the same place for so long, the transfer was hard on me as I was already sleep deprived and had classified all my art/clothings on a day by day bases. The men where happy to receive us in their cabin and we had so much fun. I was sleeping on my own set and sharing beds. It was like magic making camp.
Every night after working I had to wash my face, redo my hair, study my lines and the next day setups and do costume fittings, pack all my art for the next day and coordinate a million things, plus meditating and doing my morning routines. I also had a very disturbing personal drama going on at the time and my niece got sick that week (literally all I could think about was her health) it wasn’t easy but here we are, I gave birth to like the head and shoulders of the baby with a lot of doulas.
Nothing was ideal and yet everything was perfect, had something gone a bit different it could’ve been a disaster!!!! However, instead, everyone bonded so hard. Guitars were brought out and put to good use, all kinds of spirits were flowing, the good ole joint never disappointed and the fireplace was always burning after hours. It was effort and hard work but I believe we made good heart to heart connections for years to come. THIS is what I live for.
Was there a bit of bickering? Yes, many of us were under rested and over stretched, did everything flow? Yes! Miraculously! We got snowed in HARD, the men worked hard at shoveling and dealing with snow while we were also filming! The budget coming from my own savings made it all more intense for everyone because we didn’t have all the fancy things a set has (LOL an Assistant Director 😬😵💫) but we had everything everyone needed and more!!! The whole thing was super intense, amazing and ridiculously awe inspiring, aka AWESOME! The road to get to this week’s shoot was a long and windy one, just as the road to the Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forrest, and it’s been an interesting one to say the least but I know now this is a blessed production, that this was a set of LOVE and that everyone made me feel loved through their hard work and lovely contributions, and WOW I pray for nothing less than love for all who come to my set!! I pray for love literally everyday! The images and moments and scenes we achieved were miraculous and truly dreamy. I can’t wait for y’all to watch this insanity and to alchemize you with my story. More to come but, for now, I got to go pack for Cherry in Europe!
XOXO
Vero