Sunday, January 9, 2011

Shooting continues -- Day Three

1/8/11, Wanda the Wonderful Dallas Shoot, Day Three

Today we are back at the Dallas Heritage Village.  Several different buildings are being used as sets.  Shooting is finished in the first building, an old Dallas train depot.  The scene is Wanda buying a train ticket to Idaho.  The Director of Photography’s grandmother is an extra in the scene.  She is just one day shy of 88 – and game for working as an extra.  She thoroughly enjoyed seeing her granddaughter Kimby in action behind the camera.  It’s a sunny day, but the building interiors are cold.  She looked great in the 1920’s clothes.

The crew and talent are now shooting a few scenes in a tiny shotgun house.  In this scene, Wanda leaves her baby Lamonda with another woman, Virginia, to take care of her.  Because the space is so small, only the essential crew can fit inside.  I haven’t ventured inside for a look because the space is so tight.  Occasionally, Barker yells (I’m resisting saying “barks”) “lock it down, quiet on the set” that gets relayed and yelled by a few more production assistants (Jenna and Sophie) stationed outside around the buildings.  We all stop moving and talking so the scene can be shot without any interference – say a stray production assistant walking by an outside window – therefore ruining the shot. 

During a break in the action, the still photographer Jordan Mathis (his work can be viewed on his website, Jordanmathis.com) showed us some of the stills he’s taken.  The pictures are stunning.  Here’s just one of images he’s captured:   



Pictured from left to right are the Assistant Director Barker White, my sister the Director Carolyn Macartney, Kimby Caplan, the Director of Photography, Arianne Martin as Wanda, and the makeup artist Hannah Handshy touching up Arianne’s lips before a shot.  The cast and crew are amazing.  While some are getting paid, most are volunteering, or providing their services for a greatly reduced rate.  Some crew members are even providing equipment -- Mike the explosives tech brought along his haze machine that’s provided the great atmospheric light.

It’s now 4:30 and almost time for the Extra’s 5:00 call.  We’re shooting more travelling circus audience scenes after the sun goes down.  Colin and Michaela will soon be overrun with 15 or so Extras needing the exact clothes we wore yesterday.  Wardrobe and Makeup are using a separate building that is one of the relocated small old homes.  Lucky for wardrobe and makeup, Patrick the production coordinator, located a Heritage Village staff person who knew where the furnace switch was located.  It turns out the building has heat after all!  The staff person wasn’t aware that the AC was on, not the heat.  Patrick got it sorted out – so now the talent and extras don’t have to shiver while getting ready for the action.  Patrick also tracked down some much needed toilette paper for the bathrooms in the same building.  Details matter.

It’s now about 11:30 pm and we’re done shooting the audience scenes.  The extras are done with the shoot.  They were all very game to hang out in the cold circus tent for hours to be background.    

Earlier in the day – while I was blogging about Kimby’s lovely almost 88 year-old grandmother, I missed the haze machine setting off a fire alarm in the train depot.  It was a quiet alarm and luckily the fire department did not appear with lights ablaze – they would have ruined the shot.

Soon after darkness fell – we had a slight animal emergency.  Jenna, one of the production assistants, spied an opossum nosing around near the Craft Services table.  We had to quickly mobilize and move Craft Services to a well-lit location – and away from the hungry opossum.  Just before that, another production assistant had to make a run to a pharmacy to get an emergency eye patch.  One of the grips needed it to cover up a possible case of pink eye.  While I’m not sure if a black patch will stop the spread of pink eye, it sure makes it easy to know who to stay far away from.     

It’s now about 12:41 and we’re still shooting – almost done for the night.

This is however my last blog from the set.  I’m heading back to Denver tomorrow – weather permitting.  It’s supposed to snow here in Dallas AND in Denver.  So, I may make it back to set after all.  

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