The month of July marks the half-way point of film production and with a finished product in sight the cast and crew pushes forward with energy and anticipation. A steady rhythm has manifested on the SHINING STAR set and each day of filming moves smoothly like a well-oiled machine. In the recent weeks principle characters TROI (Yvonne Orji), QUENTIN (Micah Thomas), TYREE (Khafre Powell) and RANSOM (Tyrell James) were welcomed to set. Without scheduled rehearsals, the actors were forced to establish long friendships, family bonds and romantic chemistry just moments before the shout of "Camera rolling...ACTION!"
Though a challenge, actresses Ashlei Dabney (KEYSHIA) and Yvonne Orji were able to establish a trusting and playful college friendship on screen beautifully. Actor Micah Thomas and Yvonne, who portay a newly in love couple, also developed a connection quite naturally in front of the camera. And without missing a beat Khafre Powell, who portrays TROI'S little brother TYREE in the film, was able to capture the essence of an annoying little brother effortlessly. Though watching TROI beat up her little brother brought a great deal of laughter on set, at times the crew was a little nervous that little TYREE might actually get hurt! Haha! :-)Though filming progresses smoothly, production has not been without minor set-backs. At times SHINING STAR is no match for the uncontrollable weather elements forcing the crew to improvise during rain and cloudy days. Other days lighting difficulties eat away at the set time causing filming to run over into the late evening/early morning. However, with the addition of Production Assistant, Da Ibanez who has proved to be a lighting guru, illuminating the set has become much easier these days.
With about 3-4 weeks of production remaining a few of the largest and plot advancing scenes have yet to be filmed. These scenes involve a large party, a church and character MARTY'S biggest secret revealed to the audience. Though a lot of work remains the cast and crew are anxious to complete the project. And with post-production drawing nearer the crew is beginning to focus on publicity and promotion of the film. This month be on the look out for details about the "Get Your Shine On" film promotion party as well as a trailer to be viewed online!
