A Distant Nostalgia: Dead Poets Society - Saint Andrew's School ...

WELTON Continued from Page II
admitting that perhaps weather control was a
little too much to demand. I thought they were
being kind, but later realized that they had
merely been saving me for other more difficult
tasks when the shooting began.
On a typical day of shooting, the trucks pull
into the driveway somewhere between 5 and 6
a.m. I have been awakened, probably fifteen
minutes earlier, by my alarm, and am searching
for my coat and hat as I see the headlights of the
first truck pass by my window.
Wielding my tool belt, I head for Founders'
Hall to unlock whatever rooms we will be using
that day. Then I head for the gym to unlock the
"dressing" and "wardrobe" rooms of the dayanything
from the dance studio to the Cameron
Room. By this time someone has opened the
camera truck, and I stop by to pick up a walkietalkie.
This I mount in its holster on my belt,
along with my keys, beeper and perhaps my
camera, all slung across my shoulder. I feel like
Rambo, ready to attack the day. Just then the
cast and crew buses pull up and the activity
really begins. And so, eighty-odd people go to
work for about 12 hours to create what will
eventually amount to around two minutes of the
final film. This daily pattern was repeated for
the better part of three months until what at first
had seemed like hectic chaos became second
nature.
I learned many things working on Dead Poets
(I suspect, you can work just as hard, or harder,
on a lousy film as you do on a great one -either
way, standing up for fourteen hours a day makes
your feet swell), but what I found most
fascinating was the colossal amount of effort,
money and time that goes into creating this
entity, for lack of a better word, which will, if it
is successful, fill a mere two hours of the
public's recreation time. It makes money, of
course, but still it is a fundamentally absurd,
however wonderful, idea. A film is the illusion
of ultimate glamor, created in the most
unglamorous manner imaginable. The film
making process swallows up all involved, as
many members of the St. Andrew's community,
myself included, came to understand. Perhaps it
is the sense of urgency that the constraints of
time and money lend to the effort, which makes
it almost hypnotic, catapulting its victims into
perpetual motion. Perhaps that is why people like
Wally Williams (among many others) hurled
themselves with abandon, for which I thank them
heartily, into what seemed like the abyss of
production.
As for myself, I am writing to you from Los
Angeles, where I have begun the pursuit of a
career in film editing. So what can I say but the
abyss has, at least for now, claimed another
victim. 0
Who's Who
Who's What
Who's Where
SAS Alumni Directory
Now Available!
A complete listing of names and addresses
of alumni from Classes 1934·88, plus
geographic and class listings
A complimentary copy of the Directory will be
sent to all alumni who returned the 1987 Alumni
Survey.
To purchase a copy, send $7 to: Alumni Office,
St. Andrew's School, Middletown, DE 19709.
Name
Address
Alumni Directory Order Form
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City State Zip _
Checks should be made payable to St. Andrew's School.