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Steaming bathroom curtains. Cooking 15 pots of spaghetti noodles on four burners in 20 minutes. “Crowd-controlling” a herd of giant, biting ants –

One thing about interning in the art department of the film Hopeful Notes is there was no typical day. There was no typical task. When I arrived home at night and my roommates would ask me what I did that day, I could only grin and say, “Well…”

As the first “real” production I’ve been a part of, everything was a learning experience. Not in the traditional “oh-my-God-I-learned-all-these-tricks-and-can-now-apply-them-to-every-future-movie-I-make way,” but by observation, seeing the ways things work: the good, the bad, what might have worked better, the reality of the way it is. I learned trivial things, like the boisterous grip-and-electric team enjoyed singing. I also got to observe the stress, the tension, and the on-set love. All of these things wrapped up in a strange reality: the reality of filmmaking.

I started interning before the cameras were rolling. The art department had a lot of prepping to do the week prior to filming: pulling the sets together, painting everything (including a never-ending hallway) with not just one color, but several colors, stressing them so it would look like the paint was peeling and cracking.

The first week was probably my favorite - and it was certainly different than any of the following weeks. The main set was in an empty museum. In the morning it was always filled with people. I enjoyed working with them all, working to achieve a larger goal. At night, usually only a few people stayed–they were from the Art Department. Those hours were my favorite. Perhaps it was simply because I am a night owl, but I think it was more than that. During the late hours, everything was simpler. No crowds. No rushing. (Well, some rushing, but in a relaxed way.) We could just turn up the music  and work, remembering why all of us were there, knowing that only a film set could bring us together to accomplish what would seem to an outside eye - like crazy and often counterproductive tasks.

As the days rolled on, I spent more time on set while the filmmakers were filming. This brought a new experience and yet a new level of chaos. I helped setting the scene and resetting the scene for each take. However, seeing as the art department can’t work while the cameras are rolling, I found myself having more time to observe as well. I got to watch others at work: the actors, the director, the cameras. In truth, all of it might sound more interesting on paper. However, at the same time, there is something about being on-set that’s immensely more interesting, more complex: something that can never be put into words.

- Julie Dugger (09) completed her Hopeful Notes Internship in January 2009. Originally from Longview, Texas, she finished her high school years by producing and directing a feature-length film, The Midnight Test, which was a 2006 Finalist in the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. She is currently interning on A Year in Mooring in Traverse City, Michigan. Although an avid painter, her long-term goal is to direct her own films.