Ricky's House

So it's kind of surreal to walk into a strange house in Regina for the first time to find framed photos of Sam on the fridge, the mantelpiece, the dining room hutch, and side tables... There are more photos of Sam in his movie house than in his real one! I'm not sure if any of them were caught on camera, but I snapped a few before we left for the last time. I didn't take any of the house, really - but I wish I had. It's incredible what a difference lighting and the camera frame make.

The house is for sale and my first impression was that it needed quite a bit of work - new kitchen, repaired floors, new windows, and more. The rooms are small and cluttered in a "we're moving soon" kind of way, but it's cozy and has a century-home charm. Depending on which room was being used or was "hot" (could be seen on camera), Jeremy and I tucked into a corner of the living room or dining room. We sit for hours at a time, so there is a lot of opportunity to look around.

On day two, we flipped from the den/living room scenes to shoot a few dinner table shots in the dining room. We came back from lunch at the CBC Soundstage to find the dining room all set up. It already looked different with a dressed scene - plants, table set, nice lighting. But when I stepped around to look at the shot in the monitor, I couldn't believe how beautiful the room looked. The pale yellow stucco walls were glowing softly, and the wooden trim, sconces, and recessed bookshelves looked like shiny, rich mahogany. Remarkable. Look one way and see normal house; look at the monitor and see movie house. It really is almost magical. And I think I understand why 90% of time on set is spent doing exactly this ...

(whoops - sideways video. But you get the idea. Camera angles and lighting. And lighting. And lighting :) 

Working with Kim Coates

It's Sam again! Yesterday, I finally remembered to bring my vest back from tutoring. I was very proud of myself. The production wants to pull us out of tutoring as quick as possible, but we usually manage to convince them to let us have 5 more minutes so we can count our time. But one time when we couldn't, we had to do high knees all the way to set, and still had time to do 5 push-ups before the shot to count as P.E. We got our time in. But tutoring isn't what I'm going to talk about today. Today, I'm going to talk about working with another actor in The Adventure Club.

Kim Coates is awesome. When we first got here,and looked at the cast wall, we noticed a character was missing. The director told us they hadn't cast him yet. He had a fairly big role in the movie, and we were only 5 days from shooting! So the producer got a list of stars they had in mind, and found out who they could grab. They found Kim Coates, known for his role in Sons of Anarchy. He wanted to meet us before the shoot. So he came over and talked to us, then watched us do a scene. He's a really nice guy. He was really enthusiastic. He had to leave, but the next day, we had a full day of shooting with him.

He told us that he changed lines all the time, but our cue lines would stay the same. We were off to turtoring when we were saved by Kim, who wanted to run lines with us. So we switched them up a bit. They still got the same idea across, only better. We learned from him that sometimes, if it feels more natural a different way, you can change your line. But since we're only kids, we ask the director first. He often says yes. I think Kim's a really smart guy. Like Geoff said, he is a seasoned veteran in the ways of acting.

We all noticed that during the scene, he'd just pick something up from his desk and start tinkering with it while talking, which worked really well with his character. It was always something different. And when he did the scene, it was never the same. He said something different all the time. He said whatever was natural to him. Sometimes, when we had to laugh a bit, he'd change the line so it was funnier. And when we had to be scared, he'd change the line so it was scarier.

Before every shot, Kim got into character. He'd be talking to us even before the camera was rolling, and acting like he was his character. He was talking like we were still in the last scene. So when the cameras started rolling, it was like it was one continous scene, and we were all in character.

I found that he is very good at improvising. Sometimes, he would start a sentence without even knowing where he was going with it. But that just made it more realistic when he was searching for words. So he just made that sentence flow into the sentence from the actual script.

Kim gave us some good advice about acting. He told us as long as you listen, really listen, that's the only trick to it. He told us that acting is listening.

So, I'm running out of things to say here, and I got stuff to do. Gotta go now, but this isn't the last you'll hear from me.

Learning and Forgetting

Working on The Adventure Club has been a blast. You've heard about what it's like on set.  You've heard all about some of the other actors, and about how to prepare for scenes. But you've heard about all of this from a mother's perspective. It's me this time. The one you've been hearing about all along. It's Sam.

I am still yet to read the blog, but that won't stop me from writing in it. Don't worry, you'll still hear from the master blogger, my mom. But every now and then you might hear from me. I'm something like a guest writer.

Anyways, like I said, shooting this thing has been awesome. It's by far my favorite shoot. And one thing you haven't heard about is tutoring. Since I am still just a kid, I need to keep up my schoolwork here in Regina. So, a tutor is on set for me and the other kids. Her name is Kathy, and she's great. We need to have minimum 10 hours a week of tutoring. So we can just pop in and do 10 minutes of work every now and then, right? Nope. The rules say we need to be working at least 30 minutes to count our time, though we count anything more than 25 minutes as half and hour (Shhh!).

Because we can't do all of our tutoring during shooting, we have to "bank" hours. That means we do tutoring beforehand, so we don't have to do it later. I'm in a lot of the scenes, so I don't get as much tutoring as the others do. I've been a bit behind, but by the time I'm done writing this, I'll be caught up. We're in the suite right now. Back to tutoring.

The tutor has her own trailer, but shares the room next to her with some production room. While tutoring, we often get thrown around, because the trailer shakes whenever a guy gets on or off. Jakob is always looking for ways to skip school work. He'll stall as much as he can. He's been trying to convince production to let us count riding our bikes in the movie as physical education. No luck so far. I doubt he'll give up anytime soon.

And for some reason, I manage to lose my vest in the tutor trailer every single time I leave that place. I take it off when I get in because of the heat, and I'm so rushed to get back to set that i just hop out. Luckily, the second assistant director, Taylor, is always quick to remind me. I once left the trailer, crossed the street, and walked into the set, forgetting the whole time I'd left my vest back in the trailer. They needed me for blocking (figuring out where I would walk, stop, and walk again), so the poor wardrobe lady had to run back and get it for me!

My parents were in the movie! In a scene where my friends and I bike up to the science museum, they are walking down the sidewalk in the background. My dad took off his glasses and zipped up his coat so he could be another extra again if they needed him. The other parents got to walk out the front doors as we went in. Little did these two know, by volunteering for this job, they would have to do it over and over because we could still see them in the next shot. My parents, on the other hand, could happily sit and observe while enjoying a nice cup of coffee.

I have to go off to tutoring shortly, but I'll be writing more soon!

Making My Son Cry

Sam's ability to produce free-flowing tears on demand won him the leads in The Adventure Club and Winter Hymns. Not because those characters have to cry all the time, but when they do, it really has to work. These are not scaredy-cat, cry-baby tears that make you want to give the boy a shake. These are tears of pain and heartbreak that make you want to give the boy a hug. Both directors made a point of saying "you got us with the tears..."

Well, it's one thing to cry on tape or in a small audition room. There aren't many people around. You have to do it once, maybe twice, and you're done. And you have nothing to lose, really.

It's something else entirely to cry on cue when you are surrounded by a crew of 10 or more plus the director (and often one or more of the producers) ... not to mention the other actor in the scene, who are all counting on you to get this done. And then you've got to run it over and over. Scene 10. Scene 10A. Scene 10B. Scene 10C. .. each from a different point of view. Wide shots, tracking shots, "coverage" (close ups), over the shoulder reverse-angle shots. And who knows how many takes for each. We had to dump a take yesterday because emergency response vehicles screamed up the street all the way through it: "Still rolling: take it again from the top..." {cue fresh tears}

Fortunately, Sam had great training ground in Winter Hymns. He cries in the opening and closing sequence of that short film - first, tears of embarrassment and disappointment, and then tears of fear and sadness. Those scenes, totalling maybe seven minutes of film time, took more than seven hours to shoot. Both times, Sam ran dry in the first hour. So he called me in to make him cry.

We'd duck into the bathroom (or in the case of the last scene, in which he wasn't allowed to move between takes for continuity's sake, I'd crouch on the floor next to him), and we'd whisper about scary and sad things that make us both emotional. Like losing him at the Dragonboat Festival or losing Grandpa Ashe. He'd hold back tears and then I would duck away (or into the closet in the bedroom scene) just as the cameras rolled. It made me cry every time, too. By the end of the day, I was wrung out like I'd cried for a week. Partly because it goes against my instinct to make my boy cry. But it worked.

So when Sam prepped for the emotional scene yesterday, he had the "mom trick" in his back pocket. He kind of hoped that he would just have to get glassy-eyed when he tells his mom how much he misses his grandpa and asks if she thinks he could ever be like him. Up they went to "grandpa's den" for rehearsals while Jeremy and I set up a vantage point behind the monitors in the living room. A few minutes later, I could hear "Sam's mom?" rippling through the crew. "Where's Angie?" Yup. Big tears required.

I ducked into a small spare bedroom with Sam, who asked for a knock at the one-minute warning. I could hear them lighting the scene and then clearing out non-essential crew to give him some privacy. I reminded Sam that he nailed this himself in the audition and he told me what he was going to think about - how he couldn't imagine losing us, never seeing his parents again, how sad he feels for Jeremy, who doesn't have his dad or see his mom. He made me cry while he stored it all up and then took a deep breath and took his place at grandpa's desk, old photo in hand.

And blew everyone away.

I was watching on the director's monitor in the hallway and was crying myself! (And Jeremy could feel crew eyes on him as he fought tears downstairs.) You could hear a pin drop when Geoff called cut .. and then Sam said, "Sorry for being late on the Science Museum line" and Geoff replied, "Are you kidding me? You. do. not. have. to. apologize. for. anything. WOW!" Gabrielle Miller (Corner Gas), who plays his mom, told him he performed "beautifully" and remarked that he was very talented. They did two takes of the two-shot, just one of Sam's close up, and a couple (fire trucks, camera angles) of Gabe's close-up.

Geoff said not to worry about tears for the over-his-shoulder angle, but Sam said he wanted his cry-voice to sound right and to do his best to help Gabe's performance (which she thought was the sweetest thing ever. Geoff said, "Well, I am not gonna say no to that..."). Sam popped back into the spare room with me each time to prime the well, but he really just needed to see me share in his own preparation - my emotions make him emotional, too. We're all that way about our mothers.

One day, Sam won't need to whisper-share his fears and sorrows with me to prepare for an emotional scene. He won't need me on set at all. I might shed a tear when that happens. But one thing is for sure: no matter who he is pretending to be, I will always cry when I see my son cry.

Day 1 of 15

This is our "Day 1" selfie. A new tradition.. :)

We get our "call sheets" at around 8:30 p.m. most days, which tell us when we'll be transported to set, what scenes are going to be shot and in which order, who all 60 people on set are and what they do, plus 1000 other points of interest -- such as the forecast, sunrise/sunset times, maps of the sets, where the nearest hospital is, and who is catering "lunch" (the hot meal is called lunch no matter when it's served - we had lunch at 10 p.m. this week!). We get a 1/4-page-sized booklet version every morning, but that drops the font down to what I call "Tinkerbell," so I keep my phone zoomed in on the doc and consult it a lot.

The only thing that's in bold all caps is what film day it is out of 15. Nobody speaks in days of the week and "company off" days don't have a number - it's like they press pause on Wednesdays and Thursdays and come back the "next day." So much so that when we arrived on set on Friday (the "start of the week"), people asked how our "weekend" was - fair enough - but also kept referring to the Tuesday shoot as "yesterday." Set time is warped. Which explains why the assistant directors actually have to remind the cast and crew to be quiet when shooting on residential streets after midnight! (What? We just ate lunch?)

I'm getting ahead of myself: this is a Day 1 of 15 summary. All the kids had an 8:45 p/u (pick up) for a 9:00 call on the clubhouse set. Gerard - transport coordinator (and sometimes executive producer) was out front in a minivan for the six of us. I suspect he's out there a while before p/u - his motto is "on time is late." He radioed ahead as we neared the set, which I thought was just so the two location guys at the gate were ready to let him through, but a lot of people are on that walkie-talkie frequency and they all apparently leap into motion when they get the news.

We pulled right into the "circus" - the collection of trailers and tents that include hair, makeup and wardrobe (HMW), production offices, tutor's trailer, craft services, washrooms (honeywagons), and more. The production assistant, Taylor, is the first and last person we see in a day. She keeps the timesheets. She opens the van doors, spells out the kids' instructions, and offers to "make a plate" (bring breakfast to the trailer). Sam has 10 minutes to get into wardrobe, move to hair, and then over to makeup and a quick photo by the continuity girl. Then he is actually transported to set. About 500 feet away. Production prefers that the talent goes "radio to radio" so there is always someone official who has "eyes on Sam." It's a well-oiled machine!

The kids each have a small private room complete with a nap couch and washroom in a large single trailer. "Ricky" is written on door number one. Very fun moment stepping into that first set trailer! The TV and stereo system aren't hooked up, but it turns out that Sam spends no time in there anyways. He's in so many scenes that any spare time that pops up is tutoring time (Crew says Sam is "In school" when they are setting up). So that's where he dresses and where we dump coats, bags, etc. in the morning. There's a space heater on in the morning (3 degrees) and an air conditioner on in the afternoon (22 degrees) - crazy October weather!

Sam started the shoot with about 25 trips up and down a lane-way on set - which is an out-of-service agricultural science station, full of old greenhouses and warehouses. There is a farm on one side and a private golf course on the other side. Really nice country views and big blue sky. I was a little worried because Sam was suffering the effects of a crappy cold and mild asthma and the whole film was beginning with an hour of bike riding -- but he was fine. They did pan shots, dolly shots, and (funnest), aerial drone shots of him zipping towards his clubhouse, where his friends were already waiting. By chance or design, it was the perfect way to warm up on set. Sam could get a feel for the director's style and the only thing he had to worry about was not biking faster than the dolly cam and remembering to glance towards the clubhouse a few times. No lines, no real blocking. Nailed it!

The rest of the 8-hour day (days are 8 or 10 hours, plus an hour for lunch) included a lot of lines and blocking, but every shot was rehearsed - first by the actors and then by actors and cameras. Everyone in the warehouse where the clubhouse is set up knows what's going on because the ADs all shout "Rehearsals up!" or "Cameras up!" or "Soundspeed, rolling!" No one has ever said "Quiet on set!" though occasionally we hear "Quiet, please!" when the first shout doesn't do the trick. The director did say, "I'm only going to say this once, but 'Let's do one for safety," which apparently is a cliche and means that the take was great but
you can't be too careful, let's go again.

There isn't much time between takes and scenes. Even when the cameras "swing around"  to set up for a reverse angle shot or to do the whole scene as a close-up on an actor (after the "wide shot," all three kids get a close-up cam for reaction shots), the camera guys are busy but the director wants to talk to the kids. Time is money, so hair and makeup do touch ups while others (or mothers) offer drinks or small snacks (or a neck massage, as was the case when Jakob had a heavy contraption on his head for hours). It's not hard to see how actors can start feeling like royalty, being waited on hand and foot. But it's pretty intense action. That's why there is often a half-eaten muffin on Sam's cast chair!

Sam loves working with Dalila and Jakob, who are so comfortable on set and very well prepared. And everyone seems thrilled with Sam's work (he is the cast "wild card," as the unknown actor). He nailed all of his lines and had great instincts about how to deliver them. When he did get direction, Geoff only had to say it once. Production wrapped at 6:00 on the nose, to everyone's delight! Jenn and Javier said "day 1" is always a little tense because it sets the tone for the rest of the shoot. I didn't notice any tension until I saw the smiles on everyone's faces as we wrapped for the day. So glad this is going well!

The Adventure Club

It's a funny coincidence that I last posted in this blog during the same week Sam first performed on the Ottawa International Children's Festival stage ... and loved it! The part I left out was that he quizzed us on the way home that day: "How do kids get to be on TV?" he began, and the back-and-forth led us to Googling AMTI, the Ottawa-based modelling and talent agency I knew about. We found ourselves at their open call a few weeks later.

We took our time doing the acting classes and audition training, finally registering him on Casting Workbook and Actors Access in January 2014. His first commercials, for Zoomer Dino and Dukoral, began airing about a year ago. Last December, he booked Winter Hymns, a short by Inflo Films -- who also cast him in the The Big Crunch in August. And he got the role of the classroom bully in a Lifetime TV feature called Mommy's Little Girl. Things seemed to be happening quickly, but we were surprised when he landed the main lead role in Trilight Entertainment's The Adventure Club!

We were flown in to Regina five days before shooting started so the young actors could get to know
each other and build some friendship chemistry, get their wardrobe sorted, and "front load" some tutoring (which is sometimes hard to work into a shooting day). It was a bit surreal that the driver who met us at the airport just bee-lined to Sam - he recognized him from his head shot which, it turns out, is pinned up in every production office of the CBC Soundstage! We had a day to settle into our suite, do a grocery run, and just relax. (Sidenote: Jenn and Javier - the other parents on set - are awesome and I am learning a ton about the business from them!)

From Sunday to Thursday, Sam hung out nearly nonstop with his The Adventure Club cast mates, Jakob Davies and Dalila Bela, playing a lot of Xbox, soaking in the terrace hot tub, hitting the arcade, and sharing meals. They were instant friends and have had a blast on set and in the suites! Director Geoff Anderson is clearly relieved. This movie just wouldn't work if the kids' relationships looked strained.

He also got a tour of the CBC Soundstage, where they were creating the clubhouse (which is just so cool..) as well as building some other set pieces for the Science Museum scenes. Geoff offered him his pick of the BMX bikes they club uses to get all around town, and he got to see the go-kart (Penelope) that "Bill" loves with all his heart. Then it was on to wardrobe, where they pulled together six outfits that work for "Ricky" and that Sam feels comfortable in. He really likes the clothes (and he gets to keep them - bonus!)

Of course, the run-up days were also all about running lines and talking through the scenes. It was especially important to Sam that he was well prepared and could nail his scenes - given that the other two actors have dozens of major film and television credits under their belts. They've been doing this since they were 5 years old! (Momager pride: Sam has been totally solid with his lines and has taken direction like a pro).

Hard to believe we're here, but Sam is taking it all in stride - like this is just the way he planned it...