Okay, so we were supposed to do the other camera angle today for our 360 Film THERE IS A MONSTER IN THE PLAYGROUND (so we could cut between the two 360 shots) but Lyric was acting like a total diva.
It started when I was trying to get him dressed in the same outfit he wore the previous day (as I tried teaching the kids the meaning of the word "continuity"). Lyric has his own idea of what he wants to wear, and to be honest, it's pretty different than what we usually try to dress him in. "I don't like dressing handsome", he'll say to me. Lyric wants to wear superhero clothes and very specific superhero clothes at that. Lately it has tended to just Robin shirts and green pants. If he could, he would wear his underwear on the outside ("superhero style") so we had to make a rule that he can't leave the house like that. I managed to get him in the same jacket and a hat somewhat like the hoodie he wore the first day, but I buckled on the same pants. So much for continuity.
It was a beautiful morning, so to my surprise there were other kids in the playground. We shoot super-early (starting at around 7a) so this was somewhat unusual. regardless, though, we went at it. We got one solid take in, but then Lyric started... freelancing.
Lyric stopping Zephyr from using his sword. "No no no! You can't use that!" he said.
At the crucial point in the scene where I chase the kids, Lyric just stood up to me and looked at me, smiling. I thought maybe he was trying to make friends with the monster at first (which comes in our "script" a bit later) but he didn't really approach me. Zephyr got the swords for our fight scene, but Lyric kept stopping him, saying "No no no! You can't use that!" He did this three times, every time Zephyr picked something up. I gave Lyric a moment to see what he was up to, but then I got it: He wanted to exercise his power. If he wanted to stop the film and ruin the take, he could. He was throwing a Lohan-esque diva tantrum to show the director who's boss.
I stopped the take and told Lyric that I wanted to see stronger listening from him (which has essentially been a recurring theme with him the past few months). I told him he had to follow the action we laid out to make the movie make sense, but he stood firm. Lyric has a lot of willpower, from one perspective. From another perspective, though, he is just SUPER STUBBORN. He'll smile when people chide him, and I can't quite tell if that's because he's trying to look cute so he doesn't get in as much trouble or if he enjoys seeing people get worked up over him.
I tried going over with him what I wanted him to do (again), but Lyric said he wasn't going to be in the film and walked off to play with the other kid in the playground. I was kind of stunned. I figured I'd try going ahead with filming anyway. He eventually came around and tried to get back in the film, but stayed more in the back with his new friend.
Regardless, just in the one good take we did get, I think we got what we needed. Some clips:
