meetings - part 2
An addendum to the previous post about meetings. Please feel free to file this one under: "Only in Hollywood." Alternatively, you may file it under: "Birds: The Real Hollywood Power-Players."
As a preface, I need to mention that one of the other people in attendance at today's final pre-production meeting was our animal handler. Now, that fact alone isn't worthy of the "Only in Hollywood" files, but the following details are...
-- On the master schedule, our animal handler is referred to as a "bird wrangler." Read on and you'll see why...
-- Our "bird wrangler" is training three birds for us in the hopes that at least one of them will be able to make an entrance on cue and land where we want him to land.
-- In the event that the real birds don't want to cooperate, we have a stand-in... yes, a stand-in... for the birds. In answer to your first question: The stand-in is a fake bird that looks like a real bird; if needed, we can place said stand-in bird where we want him and then film him in such a way that you, the viewer, would never know it was a fake bird. In answer to your second question: No, none of the actors have stand-ins. Just the bird gets a stand-in.
-- We also have a "bird double." The bird double is a real bird (a pigeon, actually) that looks like our trained birds (and their stand-in). In answer to your first question: The bird double will be used for one of the flying sequences; it will be filmed in such a way that you, the viewer, will never know that it is the bird double and not the stand-in or the real bird. In answer to your second question: No, none of the actors have doubles. Just the bird gets a double.
-- One of the production report pages is devoted entirely to the "start work" and "finish work" days for the bird. By contrast, all the actors are listed on the same production report page.
-- The bird wrangler has an assistant.
-- The bird wrangler's assistant is a professional magician when he's not assisting in bird wrangling. The fact that he uses birds in his magic tricks is the reason he was hired as the assistant.
This job never ceases to amuse me... :-)
As a preface, I need to mention that one of the other people in attendance at today's final pre-production meeting was our animal handler. Now, that fact alone isn't worthy of the "Only in Hollywood" files, but the following details are...
-- On the master schedule, our animal handler is referred to as a "bird wrangler." Read on and you'll see why...
-- Our "bird wrangler" is training three birds for us in the hopes that at least one of them will be able to make an entrance on cue and land where we want him to land.
-- In the event that the real birds don't want to cooperate, we have a stand-in... yes, a stand-in... for the birds. In answer to your first question: The stand-in is a fake bird that looks like a real bird; if needed, we can place said stand-in bird where we want him and then film him in such a way that you, the viewer, would never know it was a fake bird. In answer to your second question: No, none of the actors have stand-ins. Just the bird gets a stand-in.
-- We also have a "bird double." The bird double is a real bird (a pigeon, actually) that looks like our trained birds (and their stand-in). In answer to your first question: The bird double will be used for one of the flying sequences; it will be filmed in such a way that you, the viewer, will never know that it is the bird double and not the stand-in or the real bird. In answer to your second question: No, none of the actors have doubles. Just the bird gets a double.
-- One of the production report pages is devoted entirely to the "start work" and "finish work" days for the bird. By contrast, all the actors are listed on the same production report page.
-- The bird wrangler has an assistant.
-- The bird wrangler's assistant is a professional magician when he's not assisting in bird wrangling. The fact that he uses birds in his magic tricks is the reason he was hired as the assistant.
This job never ceases to amuse me... :-)
posted by MP at 7:05 PM
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