5Ella Sonrie
She smiled happily despite her tears and I had to force myself not to pause. I'm sure even if she weren't beautiful in every other aspect, her smile alone would entrance me.
"I just can't."
The tears clouded her eyes, making the blue shimmer in the faint light.
She reached for his hand, her tears spilling over as he pulled away from her both figuratively and literally.
"Jake…"
"Katie, stop."
She nodded sadly, defeated and with a river running down her cheeks.
Jake's whole body seemed to soften at her defeated look. His eyes were just as sad as hers, apology clearly written there as well.
This time he was the one to reach out. His hand lifted toward her cheek, and hope seemed to fill her. At the last second, his movement halted and his hand dropped down to his side before he could touch her.
"I'm sorry."
And the river flowed.
"CUT!"
The director's yell broke the silence and suddenly the set was swarming with people as the actors broke away from each other. The movements of the scurrying crew shook me from my trance and I was extremely grateful that this job was second nature to me now. I knew that even though I hadn't paid any attention to what I was doing, my body worked on autopilot and my finger had kept pressing the shutter in my zombie-like state.
The entire process of filming; the makeup, the costumes, the sets, the lights, all the people around, it never failed to distract me from my own job as part of that entire process.
Watching as the crew shifted around some props, and some of the actors ran between wardrobe and makeup, I slipped around the chaos snapping photo after photo. I figured some of these would work for a behind-the-scenes feature on the DVD.
Slipping back into autopilot, I moved to my left to capture the director talking animatedly with the cinematographer and the production manager. I had no idea what he was describing, but it seemed complicated and involved a lot of grand gesturing. I'd never really liked the man, he was a little too exuberant and nosy for my tastes, but he made for good photos.
From there I moved onto various crew re-arranging aspects of the set, sometimes pausing to just watch. I honestly wasn't completely aware what the plot of the movie is, only that it involved a lot of romance and kissing between the main actors, and a lot of tears from the female lead. I knew it was a movie I would never pay money to see in a theatre, but it was slated to be the next big box office success and it was my job as a stills photographer to document it. In some respects this assignment was the worst of them all, but in others.. It was well worth the sappy atmosphere.
We were already three weeks into filming, with another month to go. Considering all the other opportunities I would have to photograph the bees around the hive, I quickly strolled off to find something else to capture.
I often walked around to take advantage of some of the empty sets, photographing them before they were tarnished by the heavy traffic or dismantled and rearranged to make way for a new one. It was unusual to find them empty. There was always someone touching up the paint, or moving props or setting up lights but I'd managed to catch a few unoccupied.
I circled around the current set which was little more than fake grass and a green screen, to the back of the sound stage where I knew a set was completed for an upcoming scene.
I thought it was empty at first.
The built-in lights were off but the large lighting rig on the current set cast some lights into the empty three-walled room. It was still dark but it allowed me to see more details. It was a long parlor, with high ceilings and sage green walls. Brass lamps were fixed to the wall and it was furnished in dark wood furniture, all upholstered with some type of burgundy fabric.
Although the centre of the room was clear, the corners were still hidden with only vague shapes indicating props were there. The sparse light played off the tall furniture, casting long shadows that rose along the walls, making warped shapes. It was eerie yet stunning and I captured it.
It was these shadows that not only distracted me but hid the person sitting on one of the overly plush parlor chairs next to a table in the corner.
A bright light turned on in the next set- filming would be starting soon- and it caused more light to dip into this room, chasing some of the shadows away and allowing me to observe the person.
The woman in the chair was staring down at her feet, seemingly unaware of my presence or the change in lighting. Her black hair hung in her face and almost made her merge into what shadows were left, but I could tell who it was immediately
Jayna Tomas.
The lead actress, rising starlet and apple of the press' eye. The main reason I was always distracted during filming.
It always made me feel more like a stalker than a photographer watching her on the sidelines during a scene. Even still, as soon as a scene began, it was like my whole body dropped into a trance, running completely separate from my brain so that I could take photos while still observing her as she worked.
She was incredibly beautiful sitting there, even with tears still streaming down her face.
I headed off the trance-state early this time, and walked toward her slowly.
"Jay?"
She always asked that everyone on set call her Jay, rather than Jayna or Ms. Tomas. The girl was genuinely nice, one of the few actors I'd worked with who interacted more with the crew than her co-stars. We'd talked a few times, but not often, with her always asking questions about my work. Occasionally looking over my shoulder as I showed her photos on the screen, one of her hands gripping my shoulder and her breath skimming my neck.
She lifted her head, not surprised and looked up at me through eyelashes glistening with tears. She smiled happily despite her tears and I had to force myself not to pause. I'm sure even if she weren't beautiful in every other respect, her smile alone would entrance me. It was by far her best trait. I quickly raised my camera to capture the image.
"Hope you don't mind?"
More tears spilled over as she shook her head, "It's your job."
When the tears continued to make tracks down her cheeks, I searched my pockets for a tissue and came up short. I began checking the camera bag hanging at my side, sure I could find something, when I heard her giggle quietly. She grabbed my hand, pulling it from the pocket it was in. Her fingers grazed along mine as she let her hand fall back to her lap.
I probably could have went comatose from the airy feeling in my head and tingling in my hand if it weren't for the few tears that began trailing down her face.
"Are you alright?"
She released a small, watery laugh, "Oh, I'm fine. It's just hard to turn off." She gestured to her leaking eyes.
The assistant director- I couldn't remember if it was the first or second but at that moment I didn't care- popped up beside us before I could say anything. The perky older woman handed Jayna a tissue and told her to head to make up.
She stood up but hesitated in front of me.
"I'll see you later, Dominic?"
I only nodded and she patted my arm, then walked away. When she was partway across the set, she turned and looked over her shoulder at me. The only evidence she had cried was her smudged makeup.
I sucked in a breath when she smiled, brighter than before.
AN: I definitely had something much longer planned for this, their whole story is mapped out in my mind but after having this on my computer for more than year I think it's time I just posted it.
Read and review! x TS