Makin' a Movie

This summer has been a wild ride for us as Kyle has taken on the huge task of creating his first full-length feature film, Eadweard.  It's a film about 1880s photographer Eadweard Muybridge who is known as the godfather of cinema.  He created the first photograph of motion and then continued to document thousands of photographs of human and animal locomotion.

After spending time last year writing the screenplay, Kyle and producer Josh spent the first part of this year working on pre-production and then filmed the movie in the month of July.

He is producing it independently which means it's low budget and takes a lot of extra work hours to make up for the lack of cash.  And he made good use of all the local resources he could. Costumes and props from local theatres, sets and locations from friends of friends, crew members wanting a leg up, and actors who just believed in the script.

And of course he enlisted as many family members as he could...

Esmé, Tyne, and I waiting for our scene. We didn't have any lines, although Tyne thought she did.  She was great for the first scenes but cried through all the rest.

Esmé did great as a boy, even though she didn't know that she was supposed to be a boy.  Here she is with the director after she nailed her scene on the first take.  In the background are the prop cameras that Eadweard Muybridge used for his motion studies.

Heading to her trailer, AKA the car, after a long day of filming.

Kyle watching the scene on the monitor.  This is where the director spends most of his time.

Brother Nick as an art student.

Cousin Pia at the World's Fair.

Auntie Elaine at the World's Fair.

Getting Tyne into costume.

The young actress ready to go.

And don't forget our cat, playing Eadweard's cat.  He might have nearly overdosed on catnip that day.

Kyle needed a picture of a baby as a prop in the film.  So we took Tyne to her first photo shoot where she posed for an old camera.  The kind where you have to sit still for a few seconds while the plate is exposed.  The photographer, who specializes in wet plate photography, then mixed all the chemicals by hand and created a tin type photograph of Tyne.

Tyne as an 1880s baby.

So now the footage is gathered and the big task begins.  Editing, visual effects, music composition, possible pick-up shots, marketing, media, festival applications, etc.  So look for the finished product sometime in the spring!

Garden Girl

Evolution of the Crawl

Things I Love About Babies

Tyne is now six months old, which means we are half way through her baby stage.  In another six months she'll be walking and entering toddler territory.  I love seeing her grow every day, watching how fast she learns and changes and develops.  But it is so bittersweet because this may be the last time I will ever have an infant.  As anyone who has ever had a baby of their own knows, it is an experience beyond anything any words or songs or blogs or poems could ever describe.  I want to remember some of my favourite things about my baby by writing them down...

Smooth squishy baby cheeks against mine.
Wide open-mouthed gummy smiles.
Eyes so pure and new and innocent.
That sweet candy smell.
Giggles that come from deep down in the belly.
Tiny hands that at first move erratically, then begin to aim, then to grasp, then to hold.
Soft feet, little toes, always curling and gripping.
Rolls in the knees, in the elbows, under the chin.
Small, quick, sweet sleeping breaths.
Mouth searching and aiming for whatever touches the cheeks.
Tiny voice, loud voice, screeches, squeals.
The look of surprise at the first roll over.
Nuzzling into my neck.
Gulping and swallowing milk with such contentment.
So warm.
Eyes staring into mine, learning, recognizing, unconditionally loving.
Bottom lip quivering in sadness.
Discovering a blade of grass for the first time.
Legs kicking in excitement.
Watching and studying sister, cat, fingers, water, trees.
The stillness and flaccidity of sleep.

Sibling Survival

I read on some blog somewhere about the differences in parenting the first and second child.  It said that with the first child, baby proofing is done to protect the child from the dangers of the house.  With the second child, how could a house possibly be as dangerous as a three year old sibling? The baby attends daily sibling self-defense classes.

And here is an example from today:

I entered the living room just in time to find Esmé dangling Tyne off the couch by her ankles.  No exaggeration here.  There really was a baby hanging upside down in my living room today whose life was at the mercy of a 3 year old.

Please don't judge my parenting skills.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Esmé had her year end piano recital last week and chose to play Mary Had a Little Lamb.  This girl was super cool, no nerves.  And although she was pretty excited to play "on a stage", she was most thrilled about all the snacks afterwards and glued herself to the snack table.  (I must admit, it takes great effort on my part to stay calm around free snacks and I was probably the only adult with a white donut powdered mouth and orange Doritos fingers.)

The Best Sound in the World