Day 03 Blog – Bugs; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Dear Backers’ Club Members,

Exterior Woods. That was the setting for the first shot of Day 3.

We moved our operation down to the bank of Wascana Lake in Regina. You can get a good feel for what it was like on set by watching today’s Video Blog, but I wanted to highlight three BUGS I met during today’s shoot.

Bugs, The Good

News travels fast when a big guest star arrives for a cameo. What are they like? Did they grab the hotdog or the salad for lunch? Something entertaining to yap about at the craft table (and by the way, “craft table” is movie-speak for snack table – just keeping you in the loop).

We had our second huge guest star on set for our shoot by the woods. BUGS BUNNY! That’s right, this morning an adorable bunny rabbit by the name of BUGS (and Bug’s twin) had the pleasure of acting against the amazing Eric Peterson (“Oscar”). They seemed to have great chemistry – although Bug’s insistence on Caramelized Carrot Risotto served in his trailer was a bit diva.

 

 

Bugs, The Bad

Our first set up of the day was a patch of bush just north of Goose Island. It has been raining really heavy in Regina this spring so everyone in the van en roue to location was chatting about mud. For a few days now I’ve been bringing out my “I was born in Saskatchewan” story to ensure credibility with the local crew members, but my Toronto certainly showed through when I realized all I had brought for working was ‘fancy’ shoes – no workboots. Lucky for me, it was actually really good conditions and our crew had laid down wooden planks for everyone to walk on. Unlucky for me, mud isn’t the only thing in Saskatchewan to follow a good rain. Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes the size of, well, HUGE SCARY MOSQUITOES. We coated ourselves in bug spray a few layers deep, put up our hoodies, and slapped those suckers as they tried to bite us over and over (quietly when the cameras were rolling, with just a bit of zest when they weren’t). That’s when I spotted our camera crew and Director of Photography huddled around a mosquito coil! Now that’s a bit of prairie nostalgia. There’s nothing like a little bit of anit-pest smoke with a touch of formaldehyde to compliment a morning of fresh prairie air.

 

 

Bugs, The Ulgy

When I say “Digital Crew”, there’s actually three of us. Myself, my camera guy Dave, and out intern Marc. While we were shooting down by the lake, Dave picked up the third member of the animal kingdom for the day – a tick! Yes, a tick in his leg. Who said filming wasn’t dangerous! Dave’s fine, by the way. He avoided the usual removal methods of burning the little guy or smothering him in Vaseline and simply yanked him out.

 

 

OK Backers, that’s it for today! Don’t forget to watch our video blog for more from set, and our interview with Eric Peterson (“Oscar”) filmed right on the shore of Wascana. Tomorrow we’re on the streets of Regina.

Davin and the Digital Team