Paco Farias and his team completed the shoot for "El Tux", the winning short of the 2008 HBO/NYILFF Short Film Competition. Producer, Jennifer Stetson, kept a log of the entire weekend's shoot.

"El Tux" Production Update - Day 1 (Saturday)

What a fantastic first day. Crew call yesterday morning was at 6:30AM. The director was determined to be the "key master" and was first to set at 5:15AM, school keys in hand, followed shortly by his producer, first AD and production manager. Craft service showed up early to get a delicious hot breakfast ready for the crew, and by 7AM, we were in full swing.

First shot up was in the limo, and we needed the two stars of the show: Bobby and the tux. Here they are below with director Paco Farias.

We were working with a few minors, and we had a great studio teacher, Jean Erikson, who checked everyone's work permits and made sure we were following the rules. One of our minors, Darlene Mendoza, had just had a quiceañiera of her own, so this was old hat. Here she is smiling with costume designer Ivy Thaide on the left and make-up assistant Carolina Salcedoon the right. Her "date", actor Ryan Weltzien, is standing behind her.

To view the rest of Jennifer's blog about the "El Tux" shoot, visit the NYILFF's blog.