Happy Holidays 2022 - Filming in a Winter Wonderland!

                    Happy Holidays for 2022!

Let's celebrate with a Winter edition

of Survivor's Club!

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). 

This set of scenes includes a big fight between the hero Lily and the villain Asarai that takes them all around the house, up a spiral staircase, and even outside on a balcony.  They aren't outside for long but you can clearly see that not only is there snow on the ground (and the railing) it is actively snowing as well. It took probably about 10-20 minutes to film that short clip and although that's not a lot of time outside in the cold and snow, it still wasn't pleasant considering both actors were in sleeveless evening gowns and I think Nina might have been barefoot.  Yikes.

Later in the day we filmed a scene from earlier in the script. The light was just starting to fade and it was still snowing.  Annamarie, again wearing no sleeves, had to come in from outside for multiple takes, standing in the snow waiting for her clue and trying not to freeze her arms off.  You can see the snow from inside the windows, but it's easy to miss if you're not looking for it.  As winter shoots go it wasn't too bad, but still not great.  In fact, it was a very pleasant experience compared to other snow shoots!

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.  

I wanted to contrast the two by filming the Mortal World scenes in the cold and barren winter landscape of a forest.  Well, I certainly got the cold part right.  The bare trees and grey sky were perfect.  There was even snow on the ground which added to the winter look.  However, the snow was mostly melted rather than blanketing the ground.  It was also muddy due to the melting snow, however the temperature must have been dropping during the day because despite the muddy ground it was freezing cold.  Muddy, snowy, and cold. Sounds like February in Illinois to me!

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!"

It would be another four years before I made the actors film in the snow and boy howdy was it rough for them!  We filmed Dream Chasers in the late fall of 2002.  In late November there was a snow storm that blanketed the most of Southern Illinois where we were filming. That's a little too early in the year for that much snow, so I was not expecting it to say the least.  It was several inches, possible a whole a foot of snow, so a lot. As it often happens in Illinois in the winter once it snows then the temperature drops even more. Usually in November the snow wouldn't stick around for long, but this one did. 

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. 

The winner for warmth that day was Syndi Eller whose character always wore a black leather duster coat. The loser was Paul who had to fall backwards onto the snow covered ground in nothing but a short sleeved shirt. Oof, that was not fun to watch and even less fun for him to do.  I, of course, could wear a coat but I'm not sure I did since I sometimes ditch my coat in solidarity with the freezing actors.  Sometimes, but probably not that day. If I'm too cold I can't operate the camera.  Speaking of the camera I'm not sure if we had problems with it due to the cold, but I think it was okay. The actors were not and the leads gathered around the hot air dryers in the bathroom to warm up their frozen fingers after the shoot was over. 

We did go back out later to shoot a scene after the sun had set in the same place and another actor ended up falling into the snow, but he had a robe on and warmer clothes under it so it wasn't as bad for him. Of course he actually had to stay laying down in the snow for a while so...it was pretty bad, especially since it was even more cold at night. Despite the lack of sun during the day there wasn't any wind, however at night there was a bit of a breeze. 

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.

The last day of filming in the snow for Dream Chasers was several days later - and yes the snow was still around because it was still way too cold for it to melt. In fact it might have warmed up enough to snow again then the temperature dropped back into the early 20s or late teens.  I don't think we ever actually filmed outside in single digit temperature - yet. I'm not that cruel. Yet. It was a short scene with the actress playing pre-curse Maria throwing a tantrum and getting cursed. JR braved the cold and did a great job. She also got to wear a coat. I'm pretty sure she would not have agreed to do it without the coat. 

That was in 2002. The next time we filmed in the snow was in late December of 2009, so seven years later. That day we filmed Twisted Tales: Hulde in a blizzard.  We've never filmed in a blizzard before. It was an interesting experience - fun in its own way - but one I don't care to repeat. I pretty sure the actors feel the same way. It was so bad we didn't even manage to finish filming all the outdoor scenes because the actors ended up being too cold and the equipment quit. You can read more about the Hulde Blizzard in this Survivor's club post.

Exactly one year later we finally filmed the last scenes for Hulde, as well as filming Twisted Tales: The Stranger which is SFF's Christmas movie. I didn't plan on having snow of course - I can't control the weather as much as I really wish I could - but it was fantastic that it happened to snow one or two days early and dumped as much snow as the blizzard had the year before. It was perfect continuity for Hulde and a kind of needed for the script in The Stranger. Since The Stranger was a Christmas movie I am REALLY glad there was snow - and a lot of it.  

There were only a few outdoor scenes and we started with filming the last two for Hulde. The first was short and went well but the second had a little problem.  Annamarie ended up flinging herself into a pile of snow (it was her choice this time, I swear!) but since she was in a snow suit it wasn't a problem. The problem was that the scene takes place in the road and the road VERY icy. Jen Weber had the carefully drive the car and Annamarie had to navigate slipping and sliding on the ice to get from the side of the road into the passenger seat - having to go around the car to do it. 

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.

That was the last time we filmed in the snow. Once I moved out of Illinois to be near my niblings I rarely came back to Champaign.  I did live there again for four years but I was really busy with taking care of my parents and didn't do a lot of filming.  We did film Spoon River Anthology with two shoots - one in October of 2016 and the other in February of 2018.  That was the last winter shoot to date and obviously did not have snow.  Will we ever film in the snow again?  Maybe, maybe not.  It all depends on timing and the weather gods.  Filming in the snow has many challenges but it can be fun - as long as everyone gets to wear a coat. Which rarely happens. So it's probably better not to film in the snow again.

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

Ryan Davis

Morgan Dietkus

Syndi Eller

Christi Gerrish

Mike H.

Jenny Hart

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

Jen Weber

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.