Chapter 6 #2
Bella smiles. “It’s the old-school way of doing it. Not all day-of, the team’s already scoping out the upcoming shooting locations, but we like to use the topography as much as possible. Depending on weather and lighting, you have to be ready to improvise.”
“Of course,” I chime in, “you can remove all those variables by planning everything in pre-vis and shooting it on a blue screen. But then it looks like lifeless CGI crap. Like all the other DM movies.”
Haley’s eyes widen, and she clamps her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Bella chuckles. “For the record, those are Mylo’s personal opinions and do not represent the official stance of the Electra Two production.”
I smirk. “But you agree with me, don’t you?”
“No comment.” But Bella’s grin gives her away, and Haley giggles again.
I hold out a pinky to Haley. “You can’t tattle on me for talking shit, got it? Inner circle.”
Haley beams and hooks her pinky through mine. “Inner circle.”
Lana calls Haley over for final touches. Keysha ducks in and tweaks Haley’s hair while Bella and I move to make sure we’re out-of-frame.
Lighting swivels into place, sound and cameras roll, Lana calls action, and it’s time for me to begin studying.
In front of the camera, Haley transforms. Melinoe rises around her like a veil of shadows, and she delivers her sinister, cutting lines with perfect malice.
Melinoe circles Electra, mocking her.
The subtle twitches of Christine’s facial muscles, almost concealed, are convincing enough that it might actually be the alpha’s ego getting irritated. Reading the lines on paper is one thing, but having someone spit them at you with convincing venom is another entirely.
Haley plays the role with seething, open hatred.
Now that I can work with.
And somehow, she knows exactly what to do with Lana’s vague notes. “More oomph, less pizzazz.” “Give it a little more love.” “Softer, but firmer.”
I’ll take a full-body burn over having to decode a director any day. This is where Haley really shines.
Lucky for me, I’ll have the benefit of Bella or Gabriel here to translate. Plus, as long as Haley can figure out what Lana wants, I can copy Haley.
After ten takes, Lana speaks those blessed words: “Moving on.”
The crew jumps into action, readying for the next shot. Now it’s time for the Texas switch. We block out the scene first, starting at our marks and talking through each movement. Haley and Christine say their lines flatly, saving the magic of performance for when the cameras are rolling.
I do one last practice run for the flip, then we all head to our marks.
Lana calls, “Three, two, one… Action!”
Haley gives Melinoe’s last taunt, while Electra resists the urge to chase her down, knowing it would be a violation of her heroic code.
Haley saunters toward me, and the camera follows her, guided by a camera operator, gliding carefully around to keep me out of frame while using a low bush to hide the mini trampoline. What small slivers of the tramp get through will be easily edited out in post.
Once Haley’s out of frame, I wait a heartbeat, then stride forward.
I channel Haley’s mannerisms—Melinoe’s mannerisms—into my run, into how I hit the springboard, how I hold myself mid-air.
I whip through the front flip, and my feet land perfectly on the boulder, settling my weight into a brief crouching pose before springing up and out-of-frame.
“Cut! Looking good. Let’s go back to marks. Melinoe, let’s try a little more snark. Electra, I want to feel that fury.”
As Lana rattles off a few more commands to the camera operator, I jog around the back of the boulder, taking my spot again.
As soon as the stars are back in their spots, everyone else is already ready to go: cameras reset, sound rolling, clapboard already updated with the take number incremented up to two.
“Action!”
I can’t think too much about what I’m about to do or how I’m going to move. If I do that, it all goes to shit. So I clear my mind, watch Haley, and prepare for the energy she’s going to pitch to me. All I have to do is catch it and carry it through the rest of the shot.
And so I do. I lose myself in the rhythm. I become Melinoe, the Mad Shadow, daughter of Thanoseid and nemesis of Electra. Moving with the predatory confidence of a cat toying with a mouse, I channel the coarse, explosive energy of a soul driven by hate.
Springing into the air, I flip just to show off, landing with a sultry poise that dares Electra to chase me.
Without thinking, I flick a glance over my shoulder, sneering at slow, sad Electra, bound by her hero’s code, while I run wild and free. A quiet, cruel laugh whispers from me as I vault off the boulder and vanish into the dark night.
As I land, I cringe, but not from any pain. Fuck, I ruined the shot looking back toward the camera. That was probably a good one, too. Goddammit. Amateur mistake.
“Cut!”
I jog around the boulder, bracing for a sharp correction from Lana.
But instead, I see her pumping her fist. “Yes! Brilliant, Mylo! That’s perfect, that’s the shot. Bella, let’s get Haley up on that rock for some reference footage. Their profiles are so similar, I don’t think we’ll need much…”
Gobsmacked and relieved, I simply give Lana a nod of appreciation before slinking around behind the camera. The same PA from before offers me a bottle of water, and I take it with a murmured “Thanks.”
My nerves have just settled when a voice over my shoulder and a punch of salt winds them tight.
“An inspired performance.”
I keep my eyes on Haley carefully posing on the boulder, trying to match me angle-for-angle. She’s doing a great job, so she really was paying attention. If I turn to look at Christine, I’m not sure I’ll be able to control my face right now.
“What can I say? I’m getting into Melinoe’s head.”
“So you’re a method actor.”
“I guess so.”
“Good. Keeps things interesting.”
“Because anyone not kissing the ground you walk on is so novel?” Shit. Fuck. I did not mean to say that out loud. I’m going to get fired.
But Christine just chuckles. “You get it.”
I cast her a wary sidelong glance as loathing curls in my gut. It’s the best possible reaction for my career, and yet… God, she’s insufferable.
“You ready to spar later today?” she asks.
“I’ve been trying to not think about it.
” It’s an honest answer. The fighting part is going to be easy.
The drowning in alpha stink, not so much.
We need to rehearse tonight for one of the ground combat scenes so we have at least some practice working together before we go up in the big rig.
Even though that scene’s from the movie’s climax, there’s only a narrow window of time where our permission to shoot at that location and the weather line up.
Plus, getting it out of the way ensures it won’t delay finishing the movie later.
“Don’t worry,” Christine says with a cool confidence that I’m sure works on other people. “I’ll go easy on you.”
She aims a light punch at my upper arm, but I’m not expecting it, so it sends me stumbling off-balance. And, okay, maybe I ham it up a little.
I cast a glare back at her, and her brows raise in genuine surprise.
She flexes her hand. “Eh-heh… oops.”
I straighten up and fold my arms, not entirely keeping the smugness out of my voice. “And that’s how a real professional sells the action.”
I want to see her jaw tighten like it did when Melinoe was mocking her; I want the satisfaction of getting under her skin.
But she won’t even give me that. Her surprise shifts to that dumb, wide grin of hers. “Hey, nice. You’ll have to teach me.”
“You’ll have to keep up.”
“Bet.”
I’m spared more of her smugness by Lana calling a wrap on this scene.
Bella finds me again. “Let’s get you back to wardrobe and into the corset. We’ve got some jumps to shoot.”
“You’ve got it.” I head up the gravel road back to the trailers.
“Don’t forget to keep something in the tank for me,” Christine calls.
Instinct takes over and I turn over my shoulder with that same smug, I’d-like-to-see-you-try look that I pitched her from the boulder.
Christine only smiles.