Rising out of the tree line across from the farm are two candy striped smoke stacks that are wrung by a collection of smaller buildings. I'm not sure what purpose it serves except that it was a great back-drop for what is now my favorite summer memory in Maryland. I understand that it isn't technically solstice as of right now, but all of the hallmarks have revealed themselves without apology.
Fireflies swayed in the golden dusk as we wrapped the first of two days on the Yuengling spot. I had easily sweat five pounds of water weight that afternoon before the local volunteer ladder created the archetype of a summer storm that approaches with ferocity, drenching ill prepared backyard revelry.
Last week I had the pleasure to serve as a grip/electric on an ad for one of my favorite, and one of the most reliable beers - Yuengling of Pottsville, PA. There wasn't much creativity going on with the composition, but we did shoot on a Canon 5D digital SLR. This is exciting for me because now I get to plug a short horror film that I shot with the same camera titled "Beneath". I won't digress any further.
Returning to why this is already one of my favorite memories of summer, we shot on location in Middle River, MD. I don't know much about the area and I think that's why I enjoy being over there so much. On the surface it seems to have retained some of the nostalgia from a classic 1950's area suburb, replete with a fully functioning drive-in movie theater - Benjies. In fact we shot there the second night, well into the early hours of the following day. There are also some infamous landmarks from this area, most notably the sewage treatment plant that can be seen for miles around on the eastern lobe of 695. Anyone that has lived in Maryland for longer than five years has seen the magnificent golden orbs of the waste treatment plant that loom above the roadway. At any rate for some reason my mind clings to this mystique around Middle River.
So the setting was ideal, next were the cast (or crew in this case) of characters. The crew wasn't large but was populated by some of my favorite cohorts. All of the old Serious Grip staples were there - Stew Stack, Mark Elzey and Scott Perryman. To bring up rear with the younger muscle were Steve Scott, Todd Norton and myself. I developed a strong fellowship with these two on several productions. On the big shows it's a boy's club and I've thrown down with them on some pretty tough set-ups, though I don't regret a single one. Behind the lens we had Bill Gray, one of the most thoroughly informed guys on virtually any subject that has ever crossed his path. At the helm of the entire circus was Steve Blair, a talented producer/director that won our hearts with his decadent pretzel bread pleasantries. To round it out with the best in portable rations was Scott Russell. I've never had a problem talking with any of these guys and every time I see them we pick up right where we left off on the last show, regardless of the time in between.
If this all seems a touch nostalgic you should know that I plan to walk away from this exciting yet incessantly frustrating industry. For my own reasons I've decided to pursue other crafts and I stand to leave a huge piece of myself lurking in the hindsight that is sure to plague me after I call it quits.
It could have been my own foresight for this that prompted me to declare this one of the best spots I've ever worked on. It could have been the auspicious collection of some of the most interesting people I've had the pleasure to make company of. It could have been the free beer that the clients handed out at the end of both days. It could have been just a bit of dust in my eye as I sailed over the Key Bridge, returning to the peninsula in the darkest hours before the dawn. Whichever variable played more into my affirmation, no doubt will I ever forget nor regret having relished in such a seemingly trivial occasion.
