Did I mention that our set was like a meat locker? I’ve heard that many of you have looked at the pictures and wondered why on earth we’re all wearing winter coats inside in Los Angeles... and well, our set was like a meat locker. It always happens this way, but it had been nice and warm in Southern California up until December, and it literally hadn’t rained in almost a year. But of course, it rains the first day we start shooting, and threatened to rain for most of the shoot. Not only that, but the mornings were in the low 30s, and it was pretty cold all through the shoot. Well, the several times we went to Central City Studios (which I can’t say enough good things about... the set or Lucy, the owner), it was warm out. Normal LA weather. I was in shorts, and so the sets were plenty warm. I never considered the fact that this is basically a warehouse, and when it’s cold out, it’s cold inside. And it was freezing.

No heat, except for a tiny space heater we brought and put in a small green room... which we didn’t even know existed until day 3, and once we found it and put the heater in, was constantly stuffed with people (especially the actors) crowded around the heater. The actors probably did have it the worst, however, as the rest of us could wear warm clothes at all times, whereas they had to take them off and do each take in their costumes, which of course weren’t nearly as warm. Doug was sick for much of the shoot (though he’s such a pro you can’t tell it at all on film), and I felt terrible for making him wait in the cold. And poor Autumn... her costume consisted of a skirt and heels... so she had to be just dying. In any take where you didn’t see her feet, we let her wear her fur lined boots, which helped a bit, but still. I felt bad for all of them.

Anyway, on to day four. We were in the main laboratory set for much of the day, trying to get every shot we needed in there, as another production would be taking over the next day. We’d be coming back to the location in a week, but we really didn’t want to have to tear down all the lights and everything, only to have to set them back up in exactly the same configuration. So, we didn’t. We really pushed and got everything we needed. This day really doesn’t even stick out that much in my mind, except for the cold and the way the day ended.

Everything went well, and we realized we were catching up to the point of being in a good spot for our last day of shooting, which would be the next Tuesday. And that’s when we did the FX shot. The shot in question involved a shot tracking from left to right (for the uninitiated, that means the camera was on a dolly... basically a cart on a track that allows the camera to move smoothly). The hard part was, the shot involved a beaker tipping over, the liquid spilling out and running down the table, past a sight gag and into another bin, which in turn reacted with the liquid, causing smoke to pour out in front of a working fan. Yeah, not easy. We had to figure out how to get the liquid to go where we wanted it. This involved a huge team effort, involving Lia, the production designer, Ben, the art director, and everyone from Scott, the boom op, to Mark, our AC, and everyone in between. The really came together and figured out how to make it work after several tries. Actually, the first try working almost perfectly, except that once the liquid got near the end, due to the way the fan was positioned, the wind blew the liquid off track.

Anyway, after several attempts, and figuring out how to use the natural grease off of one’s skin (gross I know, but brilliant), they got it. 5 takes. More than 2 hours to do it. Which is what threw us off track. It just takes forever to reset something like that in between takes... clean up all the liquid, reset the “track” for the liquid to flow down, clean out the bin and reset the dry ice, reset the camera, etc... Just a lot of work. But they did it.

However, while we had been way ahead of schedule, this put us way behind. We were finished in the lab, but we had one shot we really needed to get done in the office before the day was over. Luckily, Lia and Mike, one of the lighting crew, had been over there setting the room up, so we quickly rushed over to try and get the shot. This was a shot with Doug and Beth Castle singing, so that added to the rush... trying to get playback as well. But, we moved quickly and got the shot, and I think everyone was pretty pumped that we’d gotten what we needed and really caught up on our shots (especially after the 2nd day).

If you want to read a very detailed report on this day from another perspective, check out Anoray’s report at The Doug Jones Experience!