Seb enters the studio hall, still on his crutches, feeling it's a bit safer that way. He thinks he's less stable outdoors, and the significant advantage of crutches is that most people are willing to help him, while others tend to avoid him. Bo holds the door open for Kaan, who follows behind. Inside, Bo and Seb each go to their own makeup artist, getting dressed for the first scenes.
Kaan sits in one of the chairs in a corner of the hall. It's set up like a living room without walls. Several large Persian rugs are on the floor, with abandoned chairs and three large sofas scattered across them. It seems like a strange mishmash of objects, pieces transferred from different sets. With a large mug of coffee and his laptop on his lap, he has nestled himself in the corner of one of the big couches. He has the next four hours entirely to himself, no Rick, no Bo, no Seb. But before he can get into his work, he hears someone clearing their throat next to him.
"Kaan?"
"Maxine. Is there something?"
"No, not directly. I think Seb might be a bit nervous."
"Bo isn't?"
"Also, but he's mostly afraid he might hurt Seb during the massage."
"I've demonstrated it to him, and he had the chance to practice at home. But he didn't want to."
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm afraid it won't look good later. D'Judge asks if you'd demonstrate it on set."
"No problem. I'll walk with you."
In the dressing room, Seb is sitting with a robe on and a bath towel over his legs when Kaan walks in. Bo follows behind him, looking a bit defeated. It seems like he's received a scolding.
Surprisingly, D'Judge suddenly appears in the room.
"Guys, we're going to shoot two scenes soon. I'd like to go through them with you. The first one is massaging Seb's leg. In the second, we'll shoot the conversation. Do you know your lines?"
Both nods.
"Kaan, can you demonstrate how to massage? And the exercise Seb needs to do. We'll be on set to set everything up in half an hour."
After he leaves, Kaan stands up.
"Seb, can you lie down on the table? Bo, you help."
Bo supports Seb as he stands without his crutches, lets him lie down carefully, and stands at Seb's feet.
"Good, now take his good leg and hold it with both hands, lift it up. Gently push his lower leg so that his knee bends. No force, then slowly apply a bit of pressure. Seb, give a bit of resistance against Bo's hands with your foot. Until you feel tension in your muscles, then let your foot be pushed towards you. Initially, not more than slightly less than ninety degrees. Repeat this a few times. Now the other leg."
As Bo holds Seb's foot, and Seb tenses his muscles slightly, Kaan places his warm hands on the knee that has been spared for so long.
"Push gently, Bo."
Kaan's hands form a circle around the knee.
"Anything, good, now Seb, increase the tension. Good, now hold on for a moment. Slowly let it come towards you, Seb. Feel any tension? Or are your muscles stiff?"
"I think they're stiff, it's okay, doesn't hurt."
"Bo, how is it going?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid I might break something or something."
Kaan can suppress a laugh.
"That's not going to happen so quickly. Push a bit more, Seb. Let the knee come a bit closer to you, good, a bit more. Stop here. Slowly push it back, Seb, Bo, let the foot come towards you in a controlled manner. Great. And now one more time. Seb, do you feel where you can go without pain or discomfort?"
"This is going fine."
"On set later, you'll do nothing more or less than this. Both of your legs, this leg last. Don't be afraid, I'll be there. If anything goes wrong, I'll step in, regardless of who or what is being filmed. Clear?"
Not much later, Bo pushes Seb in a wheelchair, as a prop, to the set. The lights are on, and the decor consists of a large white space with medical posters, a small desk with a few chairs, and at the treatment table, two cameras are set up on the right, one focused on Bo's face and hands, and the other over Bo's shoulder towards Seb's leg and face. Setting up the camera angles takes the most time. Filming the whole scene doesn't take more than a minute. It's repeated twice, and then there's another scene they want to shoot, a conversation. Kaan watches all of this, and it looks so different from what he sees on the screen, it will be entirely different later. Shaking his head, he leaves the set with Bo and Seb. He goes for coffee, while they prepare for the next scene.
YOU ARE READING
the essence of life is love
Romance[english version of de essentie van leven is liefde] A search by young men for themselves and for love. They meet each other along the way. perhaps for a longer period of time. the whole thing takes place between Bo and Seb. two young men in their e...
