Crew Diaries:
GEORGE BRAINARD
Still Photographer

excuse me, but where the hell am I?

My experience on the film was a unique one, in that though I've been a successful professional photographer for years, I had never before worked on a movie set. The circumstances leading up to my being a part of "Still Breathing" were fraught with chance. It was really a series of flukes that led to one of the most wonderful experiences I've had as a photographer.

In the late spring of '96 my girlfriend and I decided on a whim to go to Bandera, Texas for the weekend. No reason... we just thought we'd go check it out for lack of anything better to do. That night after dinner we decided to go bar hopping and check out the two or three honkytonks in town. The first place we walked into was perfect. Sawdust on the floor. Longnecks and cowboy hats everywhere and the band was singing a Hank Williams tune. (Sr., not Jr. of course). We stayed.

We'd been there about an hour when a pack of tourists even more obvious than ourselves walked in. A tall skinny guy with long hair and a goatee walked up to Mary and me at the bar and said to us in an Australian accent, "Excuse me, but where the hell am I." We laughed and told him he was at Arkey Blues' Silver Dollar Night Club. He told us they had driven up from San Antonio where they were doing pre-production on a movie they would be making there soon. Mary and I were teaching him and one of the women in the group how to do the Texas two-step. For those of you who don't know, this is the preferred dance in Texas honkytonks. What we call "boot scootin'."

While the band was taking a break I got to talking to my new dance partner and found out her name was Marshall, that she was the producer of the movie, and that they were looking for a still photographer.

The next week I drove down to San Antonio from my home in Austin. I met with Marshall and Jim Robinson (the director). I showed them my work and somehow convinced them that even though I had never shot movie stills before, I was the perfect man for the job. For some reason they took a chance on me and luckily for both of us, it paid off.

Working on the movie was much better than I ever could have hoped. Everybody was incredibly nice and patient with this dumb Texas boy. There was no Hollywood ego B.S. to deal with and by the end of the Texas portion of the production, I felt like all of them were a second family to me.

Actually seeing the movie the following spring was again a surprise. I knew we had done something good but, until I saw it, I had no idea how great it would be. I went into the theater knowing exactly what would happen, having read the script. Plus, I had seen the majority of the film acted out live in front of me. And yet the suspension of disbelief was incredibly powerful. I found myself totally wrapped up in this film, like I was seeing it for the first time. It is such a beautiful film and I am so proud of my family, and especially Jim, for having made it. I am eternally grateful to Jim and Marshall for giving me the chance to have been a part in the production of this incredible film.

...George Brainard - Still Photographer

Director's notes: Because the still photographer has to stand next to the camera to get his shots and because I am one of those weird, old-fashioned directors who has to stand next to the camera instead of sitting in a "video village" watching video assist -- I got to know George REAL well -- as well as anyone can know someone two inches away from them in a hot film set for hours and hours each day. George doesn't know it, but besides taking great stills, he contributed to the film a lot by having a great attitude and providing an instant audience for the actors and myself.

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