Chapter 93: Daily Work Routine 1

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Daily Work Routine 1

When Irene arrived at the Burbank production office for The Italian Job, the air was filled with the smell of coffee and the energy of a busy set.

Assistant Vera Cecil came over immediately, holding a schedule.

"Good morning, Irene. Here’s today’s agenda."

Vera handed her a folder. "At nine, the stunt coordination team will present the storyboarded action sequences. At ten-thirty, we need to lock the shooting schedules for Venice and Los Angeles with the production manager. In the afternoon, you’ll review the final concept art from the art department and sit in on the meeting about the car chase sequences."

Irene took the folder and walked straight toward the conference room. "I gave notes on the stunt team’s pre-visualization last week. I hope they actually made changes."

Inside the conference room, the stunt coordinator was setting up the equipment. The screen lit up and a simple blue-and-white animation started playing.

"Director, we redesigned the route for the pier car chase based on your feedback," he said.

The animation showed the storyboard. "We added two tight drifts and planned a close vehicle collision at the second turn."

Irene watched carefully. "The second collision feels forced. Cut it and replace it with a moment where the car loses control and just barely avoids a crash. That will build more tension."

"Got it, Director."

"I only have two requirements: realism and safety. All vehicle stunts must be rehearsed ahead of time, and everyone’s safety has to come first," Irene said, her expression serious.

Everyone in the room replied, "Understood."

Just as she finished, Executive Producer Brown Charles pushed the door open, carrying a thick folder with a half-finished iced Americano balanced on top.

"Sorry I’m late. I was confirming filming permits with Venice," he said, spreading the folder on the table and pointing to the packed schedule.

"The window for shooting in Venice is only from July 15th to the 22nd. After that, tourist season starts and the local authorities won’t approve large-scale filming. We won’t be able to get boats or locations, so we have to finish all the canal scenes in those seven days."

Irene scanned the schedule quickly and spoke to her assistant. "Seven days is enough. We’ll fly out in early July. Vera, make sure to book flights for everyone involved."

"On it, Boss," Vera said, taking notes.

Irene flipped through the shooting schedule, running her finger down the dates and pausing to confirm with Vera. "Scene 12 is the wide aerial shot of the canal, and Scene 15 is the close-up of the lead on the boat?" After Vera confirmed,

Irene circled two dates with her pen. "Switch these two scenes. The light in Venice is best during the first two days, and there will be fewer tourists. Let’s shoot the wide shots and long shots first, since they depend heavily on the environment. Close-ups are less affected by light, so we can rush them later or do pickups if needed."

Charles nodded and marked the schedule. "Got it. I’ll sync this with the camera crew and the actors so everyone knows the new plan."

As lunch approached, Art Director Anna Garcia came into the conference room with a stack of concept art.

"This is the final design for the modified Mini Cooper," she said, showing the vehicle renderings.

"As you asked, we kept the classic body lines so it’s still recognizable, but we added a wide-body kit, lowered the chassis, and swapped in sporty wheels. It looks aggressive.

For the interior, we replaced the steering wheel and seats with racing versions and updated the dashboard to an LCD display. The sporty look and details are all there."

"Make the wheels even more extreme," Irene said, marking the design with a pencil. "This is an action movie. The look needs to hit hard. It should stick in people’s minds at first glance.

Also, the lead’s driving suit needs more functional details. I want to see real pockets and attachment points for gear."

Garcia immediately pulled out a marker and sketched quickly on the drawing. "Understood! I’ll change the wheels to a multi-spoke design and make them bigger. I’ll add the pockets to the driving suit exactly where you want them, making sure they’re useful but don’t mess up the silhouette.

I’ll send the updated designs to the factory this afternoon so they can start building prototypes. We should have the actual car and costume samples next week."

"Perfect."

The afternoon meeting about the car chase sequences ran for three full hours and didn’t end until six o’clock.

Irene closed the meeting notes, rubbed her temples, and said to Vera beside her, "Compile all the car chase specs we finalized today and send them to the stunt team first thing tomorrow. Tell them to practice to these standards. I want to watch the on-site rehearsal next week."

"Got it, Director," Vera said, writing it down. "Also, the stunt team just messaged that the brake systems on some of the modified cars are still being tuned, so delivery might be two days late."

Irene frowned slightly. "Tell them one day late is the maximum. It can’t affect next week’s rehearsal. If they’re having technical problems, have them call the mechanical team right away. We’ll send someone to help."

"Understood, I’ll tell them now." Vera turned and left the conference room.

Irene stood and walked to the window, watching the sky grow darker outside. She suddenly remembered to pull out her phone and call the director of photography, Martin. "Martin, is the aerial gear for Venice ready?"

Martin’s voice came through. "Most of it is set, except for one high-resolution telephoto aerial camera. The supplier says it won’t arrive until the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow works. Keep an eye on it, and calibrate it as soon as it gets there so it’s ready when we land in Venice. Also, when can you get me the lighting plan for the Los Angeles locations?" Irene asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll email it once it’s organized, and we can meet to go over changes the day after," Martin replied.

"Great, thanks for the hard work." After hanging up, Irene went back to her desk, opened the detailed map of the Venice shoot locations, and marked several key spots.

Just then, Charles knocked and came in with a document.

"Irene, this is the proposal from the local security company in Venice. If it looks good, we can sign it," Charles said, handing it over.

Irene flipped through it quickly and pointed to one section. "The security perimeter here needs to be bigger. Tourists will probably crowd around during the canal shoot. We need to keep the filming area clear while also making sure tourists stay safe."

Charles nodded. "I’ll tell them to adjust the plan and get you a new version tomorrow. By the way, the actors have confirmed their schedules. They’ll all arrive in Venice on July 10th for pre-shoot rehearsals."

"Very good," Irene said, setting the document down. "Have the cast review the lines and blocking for the canal scenes ahead of time. Once we’re in Venice, they can jump straight into rehearsals with the camera crew to save time."

Charles agreed and left. Irene checked the time. It was past seven. She rubbed her lower back, sore from a long day, and looked at the stack of documents on her desk. She patiently organized them.

After that, she stood and left the office. At the door, she turned to the staff member on duty. "Keep an eye on messages from all departments tonight. If anything urgent comes up, call me right away."

The staff member nodded quickly. "Don’t worry, Director."