SuNsHiNe DaIsY

June 8th, 2008

Call time was moved to 2:00 pm.

1:50 and I take my heavy backpack out of the car and nervously walk towards the line behind the sign that reads "Extras".

After a while I finally reach the door, past which a few tables are installed. We receive a paper we must sign and then head into the auditorium and wait.

Minutes later another line is formed, and in groups we are directed to a classroom that has been arranged for Costumes and Wardrobe. We are handed tops in red, for East, and in blue, for West. I get a red shirt and a blue pullover (which comes in handy later on, when it gets colder). They are our paycheck; if we don't return them, we don't get paid.

Cafeteria for breakfast, even though time is close to three o'clock. Then back to the auditorium to wait... again. Finally we are taken to the basketball court. Today we are filming the big basketball game.

Words stuck to my mind. Words which I could still clearly hear when I woke up the next morning: "Rolling!"... "Background... action!"... "ACTION!"... "Background... pantomime"... "and CUT!"... "check the gate"... "Print!"

It was fun, I must admit. Cheering for East High, then changing tops and cheering for West. Seeing the same scene being filmed from five different angles, having to move and reenact the scene from five different places. All that screaming, and sighing, and laughing when the ball didn't reach the basket. Waving pom-poms and signs (and foam fingers). Watching Zac Efron throw a basketball at Corbin Bleu... which landed perfectly on his distracted head and made us all burst into laughter. Oohing and ahhing imaginary games. Cheering silently... I must say, everything was fun and perfect.

Oh and the end, how could I ever forget those last hours of filming? It is 3:20 am and we all are very tired. There are two more scenes to go, both need very little extras in the background. Still, the crew must fight to get us to participate: we are that tired. I decide to lay down on the bleachers and watch. I'm so glad I did. I won't give out details of the scene, but it includes Zac Efron and it lasts --I'm guessing-- no more than eight seconds. However, it must be perfect. Between takes, there's only time for two women to come up to the young actor and spray his face with water: he's supposed to be dripping in sweat. Let me say, the "dripping" part they really got. I could see the drops leaving his chin, all the way from my comfortable bleacher-bed. With all this, I say --again I'm guessing-- they are shooting one scene per minute, at least. It is three-twenty in the morning when they start, but in every shot there's a little detail: Zac's head is too high, his chin is too low, the angle is wrong, and so on the list goes. It is four-ten when it's finally over. I was happy for Zac, he started to look angry after a few takes, but we could tell how pissed he was by the end.

But there was one more scene left to do. Gladly, this one was shorter. By 4:30 we were done, so we changed back to our own clothes and lined up --again-- to return our signed papers. By the time I walked out of East High School and got into my dad's truck, it was five in the morning and dawn in Salt Lake City.