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Copyright 2006 by |
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Photographs Copyright 2005/6 by Phillip Moon |
The camera is going backward down the hallway, pointing the whole time at the actors who are walking about six to seven feet behind it. The camera is on a four wheeled “truck” that is pulled (or pushed as need be) down the hall. On the back of the camera truck is a square sail of white cloth (reflecting light onto the actors) which is being held by two grips on either side of the truck. The sound man is walking beside the truck, as is the camera focus operator, the 2nd AD and about four other people including a photographer who is taking promo shots for advertising. As this mass passes me, my job is to wait until they are all by me, and then I make an attempt to pass between the camera and the actors while going the opposite direction. There is about a one second window where I can pass without taking out the camera or the actors. I did bump the promo photographer once, and rubbed shoulders with one of the actors, but otherwise, made every pass without a miss. This is why I get the big bucks. Oh wait, I don't get the big bucks. That's right, I do it for my art. Gack! Never mind.
A day or two after this shoot on Gilmore Girls, I came across the BG actor who claimed to have heard the only remark attributed to Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) that keeps being repeated by the gossip chain. She claims to have heard Lauren say, “hear come the cockroaches”, on seeing the Background actors come on set. Alas, I don't believe her, and the reason is simple. I listened to this woman all day, and not once did she have anything nice to say about anyone or anything, and whatever she said was stated with a tone of imperial authority. Nope there was no arguing with this gal, because she was building her reputation on having dirt on every show and actor she came in contact with. I can't imagine why she would still work as background if all she has ever had is bad experiences, unless she can become someone by bad mouthing others.
For one of the crosses I was to make, the AD grabbed a bag of groceries from the shop and gave it to me. I have worked in retail for quite a few years, (fifteen of them at Fred Meyer) and having bagged thousands of items into paper bags, I can tell you that the bag she handed me felt wrong almost before I touched it. Good reason for that. Complete Props in North Hills, CA made that paper sack, only it isn't paper. It is a carefully manufactured cloth fake that can take a beating and still look like a fresh crisp new paper bag even after months of use on the set.
He also likes to hold court, where he tells stories and imparts thirty years of advice to background actors who may not have been doing this long, or to those who are thinking of going the acting track.
On day two, we got to shoot on Stage 11 where the emergency room (familiar to viewers of the show) is big and looks real and, for some reason, shot up. Many of the glass doors and windows have been replaced by shattered glass and tape. The cameras are set up so that as the actors and the gurney they are pushing into the ER come into view from the back of the ambulance (which is a fake back end of an ambulance that only extends a few feet from the back, giving the appearance of a real vehicle parked in front of the emergency room). This is the “real” ER, and as such, it has the front receiving room, the treatment area and many of the other rooms that are used in the show.
Another actor on the film is Billy Burke (24, Monk and Gilmore Girls) who plays Rob Nunally in the film, and at the point I see him, is also playing a dead Rob Nunally. Rob is lying at the half way point of the stairs at the end of the hallway, his hair is badly matted with what appears to be blood and brain matter, and blood is smeared and splattered down the steps. All of this was accomplished by the ladies and gentlemen of the Special Effects Department. As a matter of fact, the brain matter was being toted about in a Dixie bowl in a Glad Air Lock bag, and when ever too much time had passed, the ladies of the FX Dept. would walk up to the actor and with plastic spoon in hand, apply more brain to the top of his head. This guys hair had to be a real pain to clean.
I started out as a church goer in the scenes we were filming (and those of you who know me will know just how funny that is), but as I was sitting at the end of the pew (having just been placed there), the Director and the Producer (Paul Resier of Mad About You Fame) were talking, and the Director was pointing at me and saying, “I like him. He would do.” And Paul said, “Don't point. That's not polite. Not someone else?” and the Director said, “He'll do.” Paul looked at me while the Director was getting the attention of an AD, and told me, “you're all right.”, and the next thing I know, I am being ushered to the front of the church where I am being put in the robes of a church elder and moved to a chair just behind the shows main actors.
We're shooting a baptism scene of a baby girl, played by a baby boy. Actually there are three boys playing the baby girl. Later on that comes in handy as we have one that is the dry baby girl, and one that becomes the wet (post baptism) baby girl. Also, having three babies increases the odds of having one that will choose not to cry during filming. There came a point when the Director set up the three cameras so we could shoot as many of the angles as possible to catch the baby before he got tired and started crying.
The story line behind this show is not unlike others of late, with two sisters who are in conflict (one getting everything she wants and the other feeling left out of the material awards). The big name on this show is Ed Begley Jr., who is their father and the author of a best seller titled “The Code of the Dead Sea Scrolls”, a clear knock-off of a more recent best seller, right down to the colors of the book cover. The cover was well made and hid the title of the book that was used between the cover, Mary Higgins Clark's Two Little Girls in Blue. While standing in a fake line, reading the fake book, waiting for the fake author to sign it for me, I had a chance to glance at the book within, and decided to bring my own book to the set next time.
'Holding was in the old Daily Planet building that was, only a few weeks ago the set of Ike Ryan's Bar and Grill. The place was gutted. Here are two pictures that show what the set looks like when it is, and is not in use.
