behind the scenes

The FLF crew is back in the office after a fun-filled 3 days on set last week!  The filming went really well, and it was smooth sailing for the most part.  The only exception being the mystery virus that struck Lauren, Garrett, and Larry on Friday!

 One of our favorite parts of last week was shooting with our little puppy star, Hamlet.  I’m happy to say that because it’s rare… thus the notorious film industry warning, “Never work with animals or babies.”  

Puppy Actor Hamlet

Having worked with animals on set numerous times, we’ve learned a couple things that have made it easier and made us more successful in getting what we need.  That said, here are some tips for shooting with animals:

1)  Don’t just cast for the animal… the handler will play an equally important role in your success or failure.  Communicate with the handler… A LOT.  Make sure you’re comfortable with, and confident in, his or her style, and make sure they’re comfortable with you.  

Erika with puppy talent, Hamlet

2)  Be extremely clear about the expectations and requirements.  What may seem like a no-brainer to you may be a big challenge or just an impossibility for the animal.  Wearing a hat?  Looking at camera?  Walking in deep snow?   The clearer you are about your expectations, the better chance you have of finding the right talent for your job.  Also, will you be running sync sound during the animal’s scene(s)?  If so, make sure the animal can understand visual cues from the handler, not just verbal ones.

3)  Be clear about the conditions where the animal will be working.  Hot lights?  Cold weather?  Let the handler know exactly what the working conditions will be like so the two of you can plan together.  A little extra planning in the outset can make the animal much more comfortable, and will help keep the handler relaxed and focused.  

4)  Consider the logistics well in advance.  Not every hotel will allow dogs and cats, and not every location may even allow animals on site.  When working with animals, bring up that subject in every step of the production…   Make sure human talent isn’t allergic/ phobic, confirm the property where you’re filming will allow that type of animal, make a plan for animal feeding, watering, waste disposal, etc.  

Actor Drew Taylor and Wrangler Lloyd Cooper on location

5)  When on set, ask the handler what they need.  If an animal has been cooped up in a trailer or on a plane, don’t rush them to get suited up and in place.  Ask the handler how to best get them adjusted and ready… Does the animal need some rest?  Water?  To be walked around the set and not touched for a few minutes?   Remember, every animal has its own distinct personality and needs.

Nurse puppy in an FLF toy commercial

6)   Don’t underestimate the value of prep time.   For working animals, everything is a factor of “getting used to it,” and that just takes time.  Our puppy last week needed to get used to wearing clothes and sitting in a chair.  Our horses in The Sierra (the Western short film) needed to be “gun broke” (meaning, they needed to get used to having guns fired from their backs).   Sarah, our excellent handler last week, videotaped and uploaded her prep sessions for us, so we could see what strategies would work the best to give us the shots we needed.  It helped tremendously, and our clients told us it was their best experience ever with a dog on set.

Jungle set

Just checkin in from day 2 of our toy commercial shoot this week.  Today’s concept is super fun and zany. We’ll definitely post some pics and video when our dog talent, Hamlet, arrives this afternoon, but in the meantime, here’s a little behind the scenes tour of our stage, crew, etc.

Hey everybody — checkin’ in from the stage!  We’re on set today shooting for a national girls’ spot.  

Our little Los Angeles actresses today (4 and 9 years old) are the cutest little things.  Danielle, the 9 year old, is such a pro.  On our first shot this morning, our Assistant Director Garrett asked her to slightly adjust her gaze.  She responded, “Oh, you want me to cheat the eyeline a little?”  Little stars in the making!!

FLF Films is headed to the Baja today!  It’s Baja 500 time, and one of our filmers will be there embedded with one of the most respected, venerated teams there - Vildosola Racing - for a 20-minute athlete profile about Gustavo Vildosola Jr.

It’s a pretty cool story… “Tavo” comes from an incredible racing legacy.  His father is a world-renowned desert racer, and Tavo’s already made a name for himself at the young age of 27.  Check out this little video (NOT made by FLF) showing one of their vehicle tests in San Felipe.  Pretty badass!

Jerry will head down to San Diego to film more interview material and capture some beautiful action footage with Tavo next week. Stay tuned… The completed athlete profile should be ready in July!

Tecate SCORE Baja 500 Course Map 2009

Underwater RED Camera shot

One of the many highlights of the Tahoe Stand Up Paddleboard shoot was the appearance of the Glenn Group’s fire prevention team on set!

As we were shooting, a family of picnicers tried to light their barbecue with a can of gasoline.  This did not work out so well and the can caught on fire.  Then the panicked tourist dropped said can into a pile of pine needles.

Seeing this, the Glenn Group’s creative team, lead by BC, headed over to lend a hand (and foot, as it were).  The tourist had the right idea, trying to smother the fire by kicking dirt onto it, but his execution was less than desired: he was kicking more dry pine needles onto the flaming gas can!   “Adding fuel to the fire”…literally.   From this point, the TGG creative team kicked into high gear — stopped, dropped, and rolled the fire into submission.

Another tragedy averted!  Great day on the lake shooting and — perfectly — the next day was howling winds and grey skies.  Looks like we hit it just right.

For all the RED dudes out there, we used the Hydroflex underwater housing for the RED ONE.  It worked superb except for one instance where it overheated and locked up.  Nothing a reboot didn’t take care of… Unfortunately, it was after 20 minutes of frustration, 20 feet underwater, on the sandy bottom of lake Tahoe.  More pics to come!

J

Thanks to Ryan Fagan for taking some fun behind-the-scenes photos of FLF’s paddleboard shoot this past Sunday at Lake Tahoe.  Also — thanks to the peeps who hooked us up with some fun specialty gear… Tim from Burton for the lipstick cam, Matty from Action Grip for the gyro-stabilizer, Ray for the dry suit, and Mike the Intern for his scuba gear.

It was FLF’s first time completely submerging our RED Camera…  The closest we’d gotten before was sending it down a Slip N Slide for a Slip N SLide commercial.  It was a little nerve wracking submerging it completely,  but Hydroflex’s underwater housing did great… And our camera lives to tell about it!

It was a super busy weekend for the FLF crew… especially Jerry.  

On Friday, we had an interview shoot at Jerry’s ranch for Dr. Kent Sasse, an authority on weight loss, published author, and surgeon.  We also discussed an interesting potential project with him… One that would combine our love of documentaries with Jerry’s interest in medicine, and a very topical issue right now.   

Interview with weight loss authority Dr Kent Sasse

Jerry spent the day on Saturday editing, and Sunday shooting for a sports equipment brand on Lake Tahoe.  Or, perhaps more accurately, “in” Lake Tahoe.  Stay tuned for some pics of his underwater adventure…

We’re down in Huntington Beach, CA, today (just outside LA) getting some pick up shots for one of our recent toy spots.  Beautiful weather down here!   

Pretty small crew today — bare bones, really — and there’s a nice, relaxed vibe on the set.  Just thought  I’d post a few stills from the shoot.  Clearly, they were taken on my iPhone… No set photog unfortunately!

I was so excited to receive an email this morning from our stills photog Aaron Underwood!   Aside from shooting the product islands and product beauty shots for Cabbage Patch Kids, Dunkadoos, and Lucky Bee Bee, he managed to capture some behind the scenes pictures as well.  Here they are!

Most of these are from our Dunkadoos set, but there are a few from Cabbage Patch as well.  There’s also a few of our production coordinator Lauren having dance rehearsal for Lucky Bee Bee (she choreographed the dance in that spot).

Day 4 of editing captivity. I see a light …  Not sure if it’s the end of the tunnel or just a mirage.  That often happens in these situations.

The fun and excitement of 4 big shoots has now turned into the grim reality of piecing them all together. I believe the equation is something like 1 day of shooting equals 10 days of post.  If that’s the case,  that light is further away than I thought.  

The spots are coming out cute (I can say that cause I’m married).  I’ve been cutting at home on my laptop and 24 inch monitor.  Works really nice for simple stuff.   If I get too deep in compositing I need a bigger, faster box, but for rough cuts it’s perfect.  

When I try to edit at the office, it’s really hard to concentrate with all the hustle and bustle of the production team wrapping the job.  So I prefer to lock myself up at the Dugan Ranch.  Pictures to follow.

Cheers, I’m headed back to my cave!  Keep the light on for me.