The 12 Days of SFFXmas 2022!
You have to have a Suvivor's Club entry in any list of new blog posts, right? So here's the Survivor's Club - Christmas edition!
Over the years we have filmed a LOT in the cold. Since most if not all of us were in high school, then college, for the first five years of filming it was natural to plan film shoots during winter vacation. In the later years when people were scattered across the country it was easier to get people together to film when they were home for a week at Christmas. That meant there has been a lot of filming in the winter which has to many frozen fingers and toes as well as more than one cold and/or flu.
However, there were not that many film shoots where there was snow on the ground, and even less when it was actively snowing. Just because there was snow on the ground didn't mean it was colder than on other days of filming, but it was a visible indication of just how cold it was that day. So for an Xmas Survivor's Club post, let's talk about the times we filmed in a winter wonderland of bright white snow!
The first time we actually filmed outside when there was snow - and when it was actively snowing - was during the big, long shoot for the last set of scenes in The Dragon & The Unicorn. The scenes take place inside a house at an elegant dinner party so everyone is dressed in evening gowns (well, the guys are in suits, although if they had really wanted to wear evening gowns that would have been okay with me).
The first scene we filmed involved Rachel Zoralee and Nina Samii coming inside from the cold and having a conversation by the door. Although we don't really see the snow due to the bright light from outside, the actors had to come in and out multiple times and even wait outside while we get things ready between shots. At least they had coats draped over their shoulders (it took to long for them to actually take them off in the shot).
The next time we filmed in the snow was a month or two later. Before I was done filming The Dragon & The Unicorn I began another production, which was very typical for me at the time. The next production was a musical fairy tale called The King of Elflin's Daughter. Although most of the scenes take place in the beautiful spring and summer of Allerton Park - I mean "Elflin" - there are a handful of scenes that take place in the Mortal World.
It has to be a certain temperature to snow, 32 degrees F to be specific. If it's too cold or too warm it won't snow, but once it does snow there is no limit to how cold it can get and still have snow hanging around. It was MUCH colder on the King of Elflin's Daughter shoot then it was when we filmed The Dragon & The Unicorn. It was definitely in the 20s when we filmed. Bitterly cold is the best way to describe it.
Unfortunately the costumes did not allow for coats(except for Melanie who needed one with her partially sheer dress - she got a cloak). So I told the actors to layer up under the costumes and they wore coats between shots when possible. I remember Annamarie MacLeod declaring to the camera that she had no hands at one point because they were so cold, and Ryan Segovich, who was on clapboard duty that day, announced "Really cold day, Take 1!"
Shortly after the snow storm we were scheduled to film the Council scenes in the little amphitheater on the side of the Student Center, so at least we were close enough to an indoor location the actors could warm up between scenes. Unfortunately the main Council scene is pretty long and - of course - the main actors were not wearing coats. They weren't even able to layer their clothing for continuity reasons. So all three girls were freezing their butts off. Between shots they huddled together for warmth. Unfortunately I don't have that footage anymore because I lost the tape, so we don't get to see their desperate attempts to stay warm, which is sad because it was really funny to watch. I'm such a sadist.
The other actors weren't in as bad of a situation, except for Christi Gerrish who also couldn't wear a coat but could layer up a little. The actors who played the Council members were all wearing fancy robes and could wear whatever they wanted underneath - including coats - as long as it didn't look too bulky. Although the robes did not provide much warmth it was still far better than the leads had to deal with.
Although I really didn't like the snow on the ground for asthetic reasons - I would definitely have preferred clear ground for it - I was happy to snow for the scenes we filmed the next day at Fort De Chartres. The setting was supposed to look abandoned and desolate so the snow worked well for that. Unfortunately that turned out to be the coldest day of filming on record to date - with it actually being colder inside the stone fort then outside by the snow! You can read more about it in this the Survivors's Club post.
While I was filming the previous scene with Julia Mayfair the other actors were actually dancing and skating on the ice minus the ice skates. That's how slippery it was. Thankfully that was the only scene in the road. Given how icy it was I'm surprised we all made it safely too and from the MacLeod farm!
Most of The Stranger was filmed inside, so that was very nice for the actors. The first scene outside involved Mark MacLeod, Annamarie, and the dogs but the dogs are Huskies so they love the snow and everyone else was wearing coats so it wasn't too bad. It took quite a while to film since working with animals is unpredictable and never easy, but we got it filmed in the end and then enjoyed a hot meal indoors.The only problematic part of the shoot was when Annamarie had to transform into Mary and was basically wearing a curtain as a dress and a thin veil thing. She was able to wear her snow pants underneath but the rest of her was freezing cold. She agreed to freeze her buns off for one short shot, but insisted that I only got one take and that was it. Oh and she was sick for the whole shoot so that was...fun. You can read more about this shoot in the Production Diary.
To all those who filmed in a Winter Wonderland of snow, ice, and frostbite, I thank you and salute you:
Rachel Anderson
Mike Baym
Danalyn Byle
Paul Costello
Syndi Eller
Christi Gerrish
Adam Herricks
Chris Hutchens
T.J.
Dan M.
Don.M.
Annamarie MacLeod
Jacob MacLeod
Mark MacLeod
Julia Mayfair
Virginia McCreary
James McKinley
Diana Neatrour
Joe Ojeda
Margaret Olson
J.R.
Nina Samii
Kieth Segovich
Ryan Segovich
Holly Simons
Edward Stasheff
Morgan Thomas
Melanie Travers
Brittany Ann Whalen
Rachel Zoralee
Willow, Bone, & Lucy
Now here’s a blanket and some hot tea – go warm up inside.
Jack Frost had been nipping at your nose long enough - go enjoy the chestnuts roasting on the open fire.
