We showcase two major practical effects creations in this Saturday’s shoot: the space capsule wreckage and the monster suit. So far, I have seen neither.

This is, as you can probably guess, not how things normally go. On a major shoot with real money and a solid cushion of pre-production time, set designers and makeup artists would run their work by the director and producer(s), who would then suggest revisions, and so on, until they’re ready to go in front of the camera in a way best fitting everyone’s collective vision.

We do not have time (nor money, nor manpower) for this.

What I’ve had to do is farm out the chores to people I can trust. My father-in-law, a handyman with a knack for creative tinkering, has built the space capsule exterior from scratch. Robb, our makeup guy, is currently sculpting a monster suit out of foam and paint. I’ll see the capsule for the first time tomorrow and the monster suit Saturday (probably not until it’s on Jacque, considering the time constraints of the shoot). Whatever they look like, that’s what we have to use.

It’s the same system I had to use for our first day of shooting. Aside from a few photos sent via cell phone, I didn’t see the Argo I interior until Shane brought it to the set. Luckily, that set turned out pretty good, and with that in mind, I await the weekend with cautious faith and knotted stomach. We’ll just wait and see. Literally.