First day of Production


Well today was the start, and how excited I was to begin. First off, we had to scope out possible day 1 locations in the area of Monterey Bay, CA. I had a few places in mind, but "access" and quality of "sand" was going to be determining factor in where I decided we start filming. I knew going into this project that filming wouldn't be done "in order", and filming sections of the project one at a time, and randomly would probably be the case.


So I found one possible location, but to be make sure it was accessible, and not an insane "journey" to get there with all the gear, costumes etc., I decided to fly my drone for a few minutes to overhead scout the location. I found that we could access the location if we hoped over a fence, and just walked about 300yrs from where we parked our car (not that bad honestly, as I was thrilled I wouldn't need to kill myself haha).


I figured we arrive at the location around 130pm-2pm so that we can have some high sun, and allow it to come down as we filmed, so we can get the harsh desert environment shots that DUNE is known for,

A panoramic aerial view of coastal dunes and beaches stretches along the shoreline under cloudy skies.

Where we found access to our day 1 shooting location. Marina, CA near the Marina Dunes.


We were super lucky to have found this spot, as there were very little footprints around, and the sand was beautifully smoothed out by the winds naturally. Learning to shoot in the elements was challenging, and I made sure to setup gear very slowly, so that I could avoid getting any sand getting all over the place.


Overall filming went really well on day 1, better then I hoped for. I captured some decent shots, IMO, and got some great overhead drone shots that really gave the area a wide angle look. Do I think this film will be worthy of anything insanely dope? No, but I using it as a creative outlet, and a learning experience to understand storytelling in this format a lot better.

A figure in black attire and head covering poses dramatically against rippling sand dunes in the desert at sunset.
A camera operator in black clothing films with professional equipment in a desert landscape under cloudy skies.
Figures in dark robes traverse a vast desert landscape with dramatic shadows and rippling sand dunes in sepia tones.
A black and white photo series showing people in dark hooded jackets with a dog in a snowy winter landscape.
A series of black and white photographs showing hands holding professional video cameras against snowy landscapes.
A photographer sets up equipment on a sandy beach under dramatic cloudy skies in black and white.