The Veldt : CCCP video

So much drama in the Old Brooklyn Naval yard.
K.D. Sadler  -Producer
JJ Jaffe- Daughters of the Dust - Director of Photography.
The Veldt, w/ Jill G & Cheri C chose a young, bright guy - Kevin Bray as Director - one of his first projects. 6am to 7pm shoot. The day started slowly, which gets the restlessness flowing, which always yields well thought out, safe, productive events. A van came through the West village for David, Danny on E 3rd /1st and Daniel and Marvin 3rd/A  Dark, because its 6:00AM Cold, 'cause its NYC
Lumbering around the heaps of old metal containers and twisted rusted machines that
afternoon between takes, was umpteen times better than sitting around a crew eating fruit, drinking water in a crowded RV. The rhythm section began kicking and demolishing old indiscernible industrial revolution second generation machine parts, and rotten wood, and bottles and windows. That seemed fair game.
There were several giant old brick buildings held together partly by the volume and quality of the graffiti on all its surfaces. We delved into the intricacies of our relationships and our career goal projections. The soundscape was classic CHHS  XC bottle breaking sounds, so even though Brooklyn is a ghost town, it felt homey as we analyzed short term life plans, on and off the stage. We casually meandered over giant jagged rubble or slippery slimey  broken boards on the docks that run from the side of the warehouses to the river.  we'd compare our philosophical do's and dont's, occasionally staring from water level across the East River at all those landmark buildings.
Away from the Crew, away from record company attitude, the cameras, Danny and Daniel (were not into hiking / hucking objects), the Beastie Boys single on repeat, and the excitement of waiting on set had dissipated.

 The RV for the band was full of food is now empty of everything. This gigantic acreage has nothing.No stores - no sidewalks. Just places to slip or stumble and eend up getting a tetnus shot in St Vincents.At least Village pizza is across the street. Staring over the East river at the FDR - imagining my favorite spots down various cross streets all the way up to midtown. There's plenty of silent complaining, so Burris and I decide to trek around while they set up shots near the Ferris Wheel and another shot. Still youthfully wandering through another warehouse like an Accidental Tourist, which just came out two years prior and played in Cameron village (for 6 mos -sheesh!), an old Raleigh slave homestead at Oberlin. Similar to "Broken land" the river laden Brooklyn. We talked and nonchalantly threw a few bottles, toyed with a discarded refrigerator and old naval crap. Glad to see no one was using this area as a home. Likely, because your certain to wake up dead. Dark and boring with no significant finds, we head back to more daylight.
  On the outside was our denouement. 
  Straight giddy, but still in wardrobe we beelined for two already stripped and ruined compacts on the rocky lot creating a Mad Max meets Escape from NY set. One last..,few..dozen, or bakers dozen, rocks through the couple windows remaining on what was a mustang and a chevette?
 Bleak, bare, half buildings and boarded up docks. No warning signs. There is no help around here, but millions can see down on you. Desolate. From far away buildings  No reason to be here - unless desperation forces some shelter seeking. You never know if you'll have to do it.
  Walking up to the vintage ruins. A voice asks us what we are doing -  BROOKLYN cops found David and Marvin walking next to a stripped down, obviously old, stolen cars and were about to turn us NYPD black and blue...until the film crew and the Twins came running over, and found us around a corner near the dock and piles of wreckage. We stood there, relieved the cavalry showed. Really relieved Cops resheathed the knight sticks, sadly.
Our faces covered in makeup, wearing wardrobe's flowing garments and high soled creepers- everything spotless. "Yeah - we demolished this car..." Burris said. "we just got here, look how long they've  been here!""I know, look at us, we are on that set..", pointing to the bombed out looking building. I said feeling like an occidental trailertrash  toddler.
 This blogger.com post is great.
http://kensinger.blogspot.com/2008/03/brooklyn-navy-yard-admirals-row.html
 this does not have the total open dockyard and wasteland look (rubble in forefront looking at Manhattan view), but one of those big warehouse buildings looks like the shoot where we heard the song Illcommunication 10 hrs straight. (I love the Beastie Boys) While David Dinkins is helicoptering around to rooftop tennis with Lewis Lapham. Can they look down at this decay and lob some investors over there? It has been a wasteland for 25 years.