e. gustavo petersen | cinematographer

I’ve been back a couple of weeks now, fully re-acclimated and quite over hearing the joke “are you thawed out yet?”! I finally found time to sit down and finish jotting down my thoughts, remembrances, impressions, notes, and observations.

While in the land of Canada, I kept a daily journal and what follows are some of the key points from each day while I was there.With a broad stroke let me offer this from the top. It’s good to be back – back with my wife, my dog, my friends, things, and my city. No lie, I do miss the new friends I’ve made and think (or at the very least, hope) that it won’t be long before I see them again.

WEEK ONE:

7 Feb 09: Today is a big day! It’s our first day of shooting. Arrived at the farmhouse about two hours ahead of our initial burn. The plan for the day was to burn a house. You read right, burn a house. AWESOME!

↑ View of the farm house from the road.
→ Art Department and firefighters build the pyre. It was build between the house and the tree line windbreak. From the road, it looked like the house was on fire from the ground up.

↑ Michael (1st AC) gets the camera ready.
→ Ready for the cold.

↑ This was a solemn moment. A local pastor prays before the house goes up.

→ There she goes.   

↑ The camera didn’t want to behave under the cold conditions. Once the fire got going, so did the camera as the space around the house heated up.

8 Feb 09: Film school crash course today. The producers, the 1st AD and myself demonstrated for some of our actors who haven’t been on camera before what to expected on set. We went over all the calls, floor marks, etiquette, etc.

9 Feb 09: Need to eat more greens! Electrical department stuck in Winnipeg – snow storm.   

10 Feb 09: The official Day One of principle photography and I hear it’s a snow fall. In fact, I hear it’s the worst one in a decade.  So More roads closed and Corbin drives in today from Regina.

↑ Chris A. (Prod) can be an angel some of the time.
→ Our ride in and out of this location get stuck in the snow.

↑ Camera crew is cool.

11 Feb 09:

↑→ The “visitation” set.

12 Feb 09:

Are we missing anyone?!

Michael makes sure it’s all safely secured.
Up, up and away!

Please don’t let me fall!

13 Feb 09:

↑ One of our extras looking a bit like famed coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
→ Horror frost at the cemetery.

↑ What a handsome fellow.
→ I love this shot.

14 Feb 09:

↑ And the town come out.
→ What a handsome duo.

↑ Getting the camera back to temp. Notice that Meghan is using a hair dryer on the lens.

↑ Night all.
→ Barbecue to end the day. Nice.

15 Feb 09:

↑ Everyone making friends.
→ Where’s Meghan?!

↑ Lovely.
→ Inspired. Our lights on wheels.

WEEK TWO:

16 Feb 09: Today was a day off but we still managed to take care of some stuff.

↑ Who knew!? A basement. We had intended for Corbin to “walk amongst the ashes” of the burned house. Instead, became around.
→ Inspired.

↑ Opps!.
→ Crew meal.

17 Feb 09:

↑ The beast!
→ Brilliant!!! We needed to shoot a pickup of Preacher in a cemetery. Corbin found a cross, burried… BAM instant cemetery!

↑ Could this be the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head?

↑→ Calm in the center of a storm.

18 Feb 09:

  
↑ Snow, snow, snow.
→ 1/2 of our doco crew.

↑ Our super, fantastic, really neat, cross-your-fingers-it-works, long dolly shot…

19 Feb 09:

↑ Curling with the lighting.
→ With a little help from our friends.

↑ Petersen on ice.

20 Feb 09:

↑ Corbin checks out the shot.
→ Nearing the end of a tough day.

21 Feb 09:

  
↑ Love that hat!
→ Make it work.

↑ The dreaded auditorium scene that turned out to be wonderful.

↑ What a delightful bunch – now back to work.

↑ The men.
→ Big night shot.

↑ “so how does this work?”
→ I was allowed an honorary status.

22 Feb 09:

↑ She’s a winner.
→ Cast, crew and community photograph. Corbin thanks everyone.

↑ Camera department fun.
→ Guiding the light.

↑ This is what it devolved to. The bar is closed and now, it’s measuring tape competitions.

WEEK THREE:

23 Feb 09:

  

↑ Love this shot. (Thank you João)
→ João – bless his heart – comes out on our off day to lend a hand. Positive attitudes like that made this movie possible.

↑ Corbin on the road again with our fake sign. We had thought of leaving it there and seeing how many folks start asking, “We have a new town called “Taft”?”.
→ Fancy.

↑ Corbin signs a script for one of our actors.
→ The town comes out to see a teaser of the film. Every emotional. I hope they’re as proud as I am – only which the project was better. (At least I know the truth.)

↑ Oscar Night at the Red Paper Clip House – I won shiny things I can’t bring over the boarder.

24 Feb 09:

  
↑ Chasing the dragon again.
→ Corbin and the cold… lots and lots of cold, and snow, and more snow and cold.

↑ You guys are wicked cool!
→ Look ma, snow, again.

↑ China lamps and Kino Flos
→ Flurries and a big light – it’s like the “bat signal”, yes?

25 Feb 09:

   
↑ I love this photograph. The whole camera, electric and grip crew.
→ The fire’s aftermath and the snow – from about 14m up in the air in a death trap.

↑ Heat pads, black duvetyne, car battery heater, heat lamp and a 2K – all to keep our little camera going.
→ Check out the frost on my mask. I need a nap.  

↑ After a painful set of woes with our light – we’re up and running on yet another very cold night.   
→ “O merry, merry, merry are we, Happy as birds that sing in a tree!”

26 Feb 09:

↑ What a hell of a day to take a bike ride.
→ Riding in the back of the van.

↑ What a happy bunch. Steven, me, Skye, and Geoff. The last day and last scene the bulk of the “family” is together.

27 Feb 09:

↑ Ah… the last day. We shot a few shots of the truck driving into town, i.e. Regina.