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Film Diary
09.11.2007 - Take One!
Dear Diary,
This is my very first entry. Today work on our film began officially. It sort of happened. We went to the Imperial Chapel, to rehearse with famous conductor Franz Welser-Möst. When we arrived, three cameramen and a sound engineer were waiting for us. The director, Curt Faudon, said hello and congratulated us on the first day of shooting. He told us a bit about the film: It is going to be a real movie, 90 minutes long (I hope the film will get a cinema release; that would be cool. You could tell all you friends to go see you at the movies). The film will be available on DVD, and the soundtrack will be available on CD.
All four choirs are going to take part, and everyone will have a small role. The crew will follow our normal routine, in Vienna and on tour, and the main scenes of the film will be shot in a big studio, with a green screen. We will also film on location: The Silk Road! I wonder which choir gets to do THAT. (Last year, we went to the Caucasus, and that was the best tour ever, and totally different from anywhere else.)
When Mr Welser-Möst arrived, we started rehearsing Schubert's Mass in G for High Mass on Sunday. It is a short piece, and the soprano soloist has quite a bit of work to do. Konrad and Manuel were taking turns at singing solo. Rupert had rehearsed it too, but he wasn't asked to sing. It was pretty exciting. Mr Welser-Möst was very nice; he explained what sound he wanted, whether we should sing louder or quieter, or simply with more energy. Sometimes he told us not to breathe. On one occasion, he said we should try to sound like ghosts. That was fun. The cameras were filming the entire time; and the cameramen slunk around the room to find the best position. The director told them where to go and what to film.
In the end, Mr Welser-Möst had a quick rehearsal with Konrad and the grown-up soloists. The rest of us tiptoed out and then hung around the staircase, being ghosts. But we didn't have to wait long. When we got home, we celebrated the beginning of "our" film: We had grilled cheese sandwiches and fizzy lemonade. You are not supposed to drink that before singing, on account of the unwanted noises. But afterwards, it tastes excellent.
We are all very excited, and are looking forward to the next day of filming.