Humid coastal air clings to the leaves of oak and magnolia trees lining the street of a picturesque southern neighborhood in Wilmington. Regal houses stand proudly among the hum of bugs in the tree moss, their constant sound an ode to the stagnancy of an 85-degree day in September.
A loud sound disrupts the scritching insects in the canopy above. It’s a director’s voice — accompanied by a chorus of people brandishing walkie-talkies, earpieces and large swaths of cables connected to carts full of complex screens, cameras and other intricate-looking machines to the untrained eye.
The snap of a clapperboard reverberates down the street, cutting everyone to attention.
“Three, two, one, action,” director Jonas Pate says, leaning in to examine a trio of monitors while listening in with a headset.
Similar to the call-and-response of the birds in the trees above, producers and crew members cue waves of jargon across the neighborhood-turned-film set. Interjected phrases like “Pictures up!” “Rolling, rolling!” “Cut!” and “Reset!” slice through the street’s quiet facade as a miniature village bustles outside a million-dollar home — the day’s set for Pate’s latest project.