On Location with Getting Caught – ASH Lounge, Bloomfield, New Jersey

Saturday, September 12, we were back on location at one of our favorite places to shoot, ASH Lounge, 141-142 Bloomfield Avenue in Bloomfield, NJ. We discovered the lounge via a bi-weekly, Monday night music event that showcased new and seasoned talent in electronic dance music called ThinkSoul presents “Demonstrations In Nu Sounds”. JJCMedia.net was hired by ThinkSoul (TKS) to shoot their live performances and interviews with DJ’s and scheduled recording artists. Chris B., JJCMedia.net’s Administrative Director/Assistant also handles administrative duties for TKS thought that ASH would be an ideal locale to shoot the restaurant scenes in Getting Caught. ASH’s forward-thinking owner/operator, Hiram Ortiz welcomed JJCMedia.net with open arms and on May 31st we began shooting at the lounge. Ortiz graciously allowed us full access to the lounge and we couldn’t be more thankful for his generosity.



The night before the 9/12 shoot, Jerry was busy finalizing last minute details with cast and crew, as well as going over the shoot’s checklist with Chris B. They were both unable to sleep, too excited about the long day of filming ahead of them. The next morning was cloudy but a tad warm as intermittent rain showers soaked the ground.By 9:45am the crew was set up and our Director of Photography, the talented Gary Powell. A seasoned DP, Powell has worked on multiple films such as Attackazoids, Foxy Mammas and Killing Mark Twain to name a few.


He signaled our fearless leader, Director/Producer Jerry J. Cunningham that he was ready to film. Their relationship is a unique blend of interrelated visual ideas that complement each other. Cunningham doesn’t express absolute authority and allows Powell to discern what a shot needs and what it doesn’t.



Our wonderful cast, Amanda Yachechak (Jenny Rivers), Derek Brantley (Dave Holmes) and Keisha Zoller (Zach) arrived and quickly changed into wardrobe and were off to makeup courtesy of Shakira Gills. Our host photographer for this shoot, Johanna was snapping away taking “before and after” shots of the actors while they were sitting with Ms. Gills in makeup. The extras, Wang Smith, Todd G. and Daniela were also primed and prepped our fearless leader. After grabbing donuts & bagels then washing it down with cups of hot java, “Are we ready to shoot?” JJC exclaimed and the cast and extras made their way on set.

Watching the script come to life is thrilling as Jerry instinctively reaches inside of the actor’s core and draws out the tenderness, angst, doubt and self-awareness demonstrated so effortlessly by the actors. Working through several takes and a few five minute breaks, the aroma of lunch blanketed the set as ASH’s serve staff brought out the delicious looking buffet of breaded fresh chicken in lemon sauce, pasta with Alf redo and marinara sauces, a tray of toasted miniature oval bread topped with seasoned fresh tomatoes and chopped basil. Somehow lunch seemed to have made it’s way into the next take as the extras brought their “mile-high”, food packed plates to the bar to eat on camera. Before we knew it, it was 5pm and we still had an hour left to work, however Jerry informed us that we were done and he captured what he wanted and content with the day’s shoot.


Everyone took a minute to rest before they start to pack up. As the cast and extras gathered their belongings, they left the lounge saying their goodbyes group by group. Only JJC and the crew remained as they started breaking down the set. Chris B. watching everyone while taking care of paperwork realized that the end of the production is fast approaching and he felt a little sad about it. However, he was overcome with a feeling of accomplishment and looked to Jerry and asked, “What did you think about today’s shoot?” and through his bright smile, being a man of few words, he remarked, “Good job…good job,” as he turned and continued to pack the equipment. Stay tuned for more of “On The Set” with the Getting Caught crew.

On Location with the Getting Caught film crew!

Our short film is no longer a "short" film. After all is said and done, it looks like we're clocking in at an hour and fifteen minutes. Originally, we did set out to do a "short" but imagination and creativity got the best of us and we are now a "feature" film. We're happy about that! Over the weekend of Aug 29 - 30, we managed to shoot 3 scenes, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. We had a very productive day on Saturday. Call time for the crew was 7:30am, 8:30am for the actors and administration. However, we didn't start shooting until 11am, things happen, oh well. Next. I always enjoy the shoots at the Newark location, courtesy of Kesha and Alex. This amazing three story building was once a very active department store back in the 1950's & 60's. Kesha and Alex purchased it about five years ago and singlehandedly renovated each floor into three beautiful, ultra hip apartments. We shoot the scenes that take place in the main character's (Mike Andrews) apartment on the first floor, it's the biggest space out of three apartments in the building. The decor is very modern but minimalistic fitting neatly with that character's persona.

We had to make a few "on-the-spot" script adjustments that worked out fine, but as we were inserting new dialogue, I noticed that this script on our hosts Macbook was an older version of the script (I wonder who printed that out? Hmm?) so Amanee Rice, our new production assistant and I had to make a mad dash to my place to do the rewrites on the latest script and get back on set in 20 minutes! Fortunately, I live nearby and we made it back on set in 10 minutes. Phew! Once we arrived with the script changes, we quickly handed them to the director and actors. In about 15 minutes, they were ready to shoot the scene, "Quiet on set", Jerry J Cunningham, our illustrious director yelled out. "Action", he commanded as the actors began the scene. Watching Jerry direct is fasincating. He is masterful at taking the script to the next level, zeroing in on the smallest detail whether changing an actor's gesture or the way he would quickly reworking a line in sync with that gesture or movement. CJ Maldonado (Mike Andrews) and Amanda Yachechak (Jenny Rivers) are just great. It's a blessing when you find humble actors to work with. Jerry leaves the floor open for them to give their input and we all exchange ideas to make whatever scene we're shooting work. Juan Silva, our PA and budding screenwriter extraordinaire was on set for a bit to help out where he could. He's a wonderful and very talented writer, someone to watch for in 2010. After several takes, we broke for lunch (how'd you guess, Chinese!) and by faith everyone received their correct order. A few more takes, some different angles, sound bites and stills taken, the shoot finally came to an end. Everyone felt confident that we all did our best and it was another great day of filming.

For Sunday's shoot, we had to trek to Montclair, New Jersey to film two of the office scenes. It was a sleepless night for the crew but we had a job to do and managed to somehow walk into Sunday's dawn bright-eyed to say the least. But before we filmed at the Montclair location, we (Jerry and I) were on another project he was working on in New Brunswick, NJ. It's a short documentary that featured a section on the 60's R&B vocal outfit, The Four Kents. I had a great time interviewing this awesome group and they still had the pipes after 40 years of not singing together! Once that filming was over, we made our way to Montclair to set up. I hung in there unloading the equipment and taking it up three flights of stairs to the office we were going to shoot in. I was happy to see Amanee when she arrived and we began the arduous task of transforming the set into Mike's office. These two scenes staged and shot singlehandly by Cunningham is independent "guerilla" filmmaking at its best. It's a beast of a position to be in, solitary yet totally in control, never exactly following protocol but getting the job done. He's adept at conceptualizing a scene and with his quick fire dissassembling and reassembling of the script whereby the actors taking his direction perform in a more logical, streamlined manner.

Juan even stepped in the actor's role and filled in for the part of Alex Martin, cast originally for Joey Mintz. Joey called and said he was stuck in traffic and would be arriving around 5pm. We had a late call time anyhow and not to waste the moment, we shot the scene with the Juan portraying the character of Alex. He did a good job for his very first time at acting on film. This is "guerilla" filmmaking at its best! Soon, the other actors began to arrive, our resident comedian (we love this guy!), CJ Maldonado (Mike Andrews), the lovely Renada Romain (Debbie Alford), Steven Van Attema (Oscar) and last but not least, Joey Mintz. As I got them all settled, checking wardrobe and makeup, they started to prepare for shooting rehearsing their lines. Once they were ready, I brought them upstairs on set. By 7pm, it was all over and I was exhasted but we had to restore the office to its original state, clean up, breakdown the equipment and pack it in the truck. With all of that, we still maintained a high energy level. Where did it come from, God only knows! The important thing is that we got through it and we were happy with what was captured on film. We want to take this time to thank Mr. Eddie Nicholas and Mrs. Beek for use of their Montclair facility. The Wood Pit restaurant on corner of Bloomfield & Maple Ave, also in Montclair, for their great barbeque and hospitality. Our production assistants, Amanee Rice and Juan Silva, you guys are the best! Thank you so much for your time and support. Gary Powell, you know you are da man! Kesha and Alex, thanks for the use of your Newark location, we love you guys to death! And, lastly all the actors for believing in this project and bringing it to life. We, at JJCMedia.net applaude you all.

CB Flowers