recording acts

Scene 11, take 1. Long shot.

The performance was somewhat intense after a long day of shooting all the scenes, everything was carefully organized to keep to schedule. Shooting a scene on the Ferris wheel under the sunset proved difficult to coordinate. They had been improvising for half an hour; the script itself only detailed ten long scenes of five minutes each. The old Ferris wheel at Prater Amusement Park demanded much from both Billy, acting as Jesse, and Julie. For Billy, embodying Jesse was a way to bypass his thoughts and vocalize them. Jesse was silly, sensitive, sociable, and had no more limitations than just being himself.

-So, I think men should be more mature when it comes to expressing their feelings. We women do our best to express our thoughts, even if it seems illogical... you guys make everything complicated, - said Julie, gazing at the sunset.

-It's not like that; that's just a woman's idea. Sometimes we don't need explanations for our moods, although, with certain people, it's worth it, - said Billy/Jesse, approaching Julie.

-I'm just a cowboy, - said Billy, resting his forehead on Julie/Celine's. Interestingly, Jesse was a character with Texan roots, and the line made his co-actress smile as she leaned against his chest, tilting her head slightly to rest it on Billy's neck.

-You're silly, - said Julie, pulling away.

-When I'm up here above everyone, I always think that the whole human race is this body, and we are all cells in the body. It's a messy, amazing, and exquisite disaster, isn't it? - said Celine, from the other side of the Ferris wheel. The camera's approach was perfect; tension was beginning to build, and even Richard was thrilled.

-Yeah... I want to change the subject for a second. This could be a pivotal moment. I don't know if you noticed, but we're alone in this car. The sun is setting... Before the night is over, can we assume we're going to kiss? - said Jesse/Billy.

-Maybe, - replied Celine.

-Probably, - said Celine.

-Probably. Then I suggest we fast-forward to that moment when we would naturally do that (probably a couple of hours after some awkwardness and all that stuff) and bring that moment back to the here and now, given this ideal setting. It'll be a great way to remember not only our first kiss but also this great sunset, the Ferris wheel, Vienna... - said Billy/Jesse.

Celine made a similar face to the one she made when Jesse asked her to accompany him around Vienna; it was a logical thing.

-How come every time you want me to do something, you start talking about time travel? - said Celine.

-Just kiss me; I can't be coherent for the rest of the night if you don't, - said Jesse.

It was a brief kiss, a silly little kiss, as Celine would call it, a high school kiss. In Richard's script, there was only a kiss mentioned, but nowhere else was something similar mentioned, only in the final version that was in his head, a tender kiss. Jesse simply waited for Celine to approach, gently grasped her hips, and pecked her lips. They were stopped, but they were slow and deliberate, with no tongues involved.

This touched Celine and Julie.

"Cut."

The worst part of acting is when you immerse yourself so much in the performance that sometimes, it's only a matter of time before the awakening happens with a cut. It was strange to enter and exit the performance; it was a time of surrender. It was a strange time of virtual time, of cameras; that's why acting caused a certain random sensation.

Is acting a fleeting moment? But sometimes it's more than a fleeting moment and begins to endure over time; he still remembers some practices from his budding acting career.

Richard gestured for them to be brought down, although the Ferris wheel fair hadn't closed; half of the people were hired as extras, the "Chelin," 300 chains just to stroll around the fair and calm down. They were paid for the time of their stay, something that was repeated most of the time; he could say that he had hired about 400 extras during the shooting period. As a minimum.

-We'll do some shots quickly, not too fast, but fast enough to make the most of the time at the fair. Try to create various improvised scenarios, - said Richard.

-It's freezing, - said Julie.

-Well, let's have some wine and don't bother, - said Billy.

The script was still in its infancy, but the script in Billy's head complemented many important aspects that the main script didn't cover. It filled in the blanks and responded to phrases, even though they were improvised. Many ideas helped achieve the aspect that Julie and the director wanted to convey, although Billy preferred to add a certain touch, one that was more elegant and organized.

-Yes, let's drink wine, and then let's stare into the void like mesmerized idiots, not caring about anything more important than the thing right in front of us, - Julie began to narrate, imitating a man's voice. - Do you want wine, darling? If you give me wine, everything would be better. -

-Okay, I understand. Billy said you guys don't like being part of the other side.

-There are no sides! Get ready; we have to keep working! - Julie commented.

Seeing that Richard was already directing the extras, his assistant was taking some basic preliminary shots to calibrate, just some quick shots. Adjusting their position, most of them wore thermal pajamas used to endure the night shoots. They continued with different angles, like Vienna's restaurants, bars, parks, and streets.

Scene 12, take 1.

-But I don't think it matters which generation you were born into. Look at my parents. They were these angry youth of May '68 rebelling against everything: the government, and their conservative Catholic origins. I was born shortly after, and my father became a successful architect, we started traveling all over the world, and I grew up with all the freedoms they had fought for. And yet, for me now, it's a different kind of struggle. We still have to deal with the same shit. But you really can't tell what or who the enemy is, - said Julie/Celine.

They walked through the park.

-They start kissing, and the Ferris wheel keeps moving. Everyone's parents screwed them up. Either they left or stayed and taught them wrong. Rich kids' parents give them too much, poor kids' parents not enough. You either get too much attention or not enough. My parents are just two people who didn't love each other much, who got married and had a kid. They tried to be nice to me, - said Jesse/Billy.

-Did your parents divorce? - asked Julie/Celine.

-Yes, eventually. They should've done it earlier, but they stayed together for the sake of my sister and me. Thanks. You know, my mom once told me, right in front of my dad, when they were in this big fight, that he was very, very angry when he found out she was pregnant with me, that I was a big mistake. Looking back, I think that shaped my mindset. They walk in silence, observing everything around them for a moment. A couple passes by, but they're both completely in their worlds. I saw the world as a place I wasn't meant to be, and if the people who created me had had more control of the situation, I wouldn't exist, - said Billy/Jesse.

-That sounds sad, - said Celine.

-I think I finally found solace in that. As if my life were my creation or something, - Jesse replied.

-My parents are still together, and I think they're happy. But I believe it's a healthy process to rebel against your parents and everything that came before. In a way, more than rebelling, it's about feeling like we're finding a new way to face love, sex, society, everything. We should always have to reinvent and remake it, - Celine responded.

They walked in silence, observing everything around them for a moment. A couple passed by, but both were completely in their worlds. They exchanged nervous glances, sweet looks that made the lovers' time special. Jesse hugged Celine, in a gesture of longing.

-Lately, I've been wondering... Do you know anyone in a happy relationship? - Celine said.

-Yes, I know happy couples, but it seems they have to lie to each other, - Jesse responded, almost instantly.

[3 points of emotion]

-We can live in a lie, no matter the lie. We live ourselves in our lies, - Celine said.

-My grandmother was married to this man, and I always thought she had a very simple and uncomplicated love life. But she just confessed to me that she spent her life dreaming of another man she was always in love with. She simply accepted her fate. I was so sad. But I also found it very beautiful that she had all those emotions that I never thought she would have, - Celine continued speaking, with all she could. Now they were at an intermediate point between love. After Jesse and Celine's kiss, they experienced a change. A certain spark was ignited, but the step taken was enough for both of them to act differently.

....