An Object in Motion

Chapter 7: Motion

"Just let us shoot this version in addition to what you want. We'll start with yours and however much we can do with whatever time we have left, we'll take for this version of the story. And if you leave it on the cutting room floor, so be it. I have never asked you for anything."

Dean looked torn then, between doing what was right according to the production team versus doing what was right by his daughter. Harlow wasn't lying when she said she had never asked her father for anything. Not even in her darkest moments, those were hers to face alone. But when she needed her dad, really needed him, it was now. And she desperately hoped that he wouldn't let her down.

"Please, dad."

It hurt Harlow to watch Dean wince when he heard the desperation in her voice. She didn't want to hurt him, she had never expected to take this approach. But there was something deep within her nagging her to make the change happen, and it felt wrong to ignore it.

"Fine." Dean agreed and Harlow felt a rush of cold spread over her skin. "But we're not wasting time on this, you two will shoot the original version now while Chris makes your version as flush with the rest of the script as possible."

"And Amanda." Harlow interjected and Dean shot her a tired look.

"What, you get one win and suddenly you think you can get them all?"

"Yes?" Harlow tried again, hoping her good fortune hadn't run out.

"Fine, Amanda, too. You two go get the blocking directions now." Dean stepped away to explain the plan to the writers and Harlow and Roy turned toward the set and walked toward it.

"Nice job, kiddo." Roy stealthily offered Harlow a high five by his side and she lightly tapped his hand with a heavy sigh.

"I thought we'd lost." She whispered.

"I thought we had too." Roy admitted. "But it looks like he appreciated your honesty."

"Or just felt guilty." Harlow suggested. "I, um, went a bit below the belt in the end. Pulling out the 'daddy' card."

"I probably shouldn't be admitting this but as a father myself, the 'daddy' card only works if you know your kid is right."

"That is definitely dangerous information to be putting in the hands of a daughter." The two shared a look, mostly of relief, for all of their late nights having some pay off in the end, even if they both had an unspoken feeling Dean only agreed to film their scene to shut them up and that the footage would never see the light of day.

Harlow and Roy learned the blocking for the scene while the set designer tested out lamp options, earning approval from Dean with the creamy brown lampshade that matched the brass base. It took them about an hour to film the contents of the original script and when they finished, they were handed the new script to learn. Lucky for the crew, Roy had a tried and true mnemonic device for memorizing scripts and Harlow had a decent photographic memory, so there wasn't too much time spent memorizing the new lines. They ran lines while blocking the scene with the cameras, Dean using the opportunity to change the angles of the camera to evoke the power imbalance between John Cleary and Virginia Smith.

Harlow started to get nervous watching the clock as Roy was changed into a clean shirt and new squib so they could film without him looking like he'd already been shot, knowing they couldn't eat into the extra hours of the shoot with their side project, so the moment they had an opportunity to start filming, she and Roy fully leaned into the new scene. It was familiar, thankfully, so the hours they had spent talking it through and practicing how they would play it weren't wasted.

It was eerily quiet on set, Harlow noticed between takes, only the quiet murmuring of the crew to Dean, who conveyed the adjustments through a microphone he held, allowing him to stay seated behind a monitor to observe the footage.