Posted by Shannon and Sara Burns at 9:45 pm on Mar. 18, 2008.
This past weekend we traveled down to Indiana to shoot a battle scene. Thursday afternoon we arrived at the Atherton family’s home in southern Indiana. The girls stayed at the house while the boys stayed at the home of some friends of the Athertons. We spent Thursday evening preparing for Friday and Saturday’s filming.
Unpacking the U HAUL
The field where we filmed
A planning session on location
On Friday morning the filming started and the rain started. Filming in fields and woods without a shelter can be difficult in any weather, but when it rains, it becomes more of a challenge…and an adventure! We had about twenty extras on Friday who were all very helpful.
Constructing one of the army tents in the rain. (these tents are really just for looks…they don’t keep out the rain!)
There was plenty of mud to go around
A portion of the “Lunch Brigade” from right: Shannon Burns, Sara Burns, Grace Sauve, Christina Atherton, Victoria Atherton, and Hannah Atherton
God answered our prayers and sent the perfect weather on Saturday. It was cloudy, foggy, and dry. We could not have asked for better weather for the scene. We used seven horses at once—more than we have ever used in one scene. What fun it was having all the horses and riders. They looked awesome. Another prayer that God answered was providing safety with the horses.
Saturday’s sunrise was spectacular!
The tent camp
Samuel Atherton was our assistant photographer this weekend.
Nathan Webster was our second cameraman for the weekend.
Eponine Ledden watching the excitment
Posted by Shannon and Sara Burns at 2:34 pm on Mar. 4, 2008.
A Post from the Director
Early last week, all our plans were going wrong; it was a very, very stressful time for the old director. By Tuesday night there was too much snow at our selected location, and all our horses had de-materialized. Frankly, watching our carefully laid plans going up in smoke was difficult.
Then on Wednesday afternoon, my Uncle Andy began making cold calls from the phone directory to stable owners in the area. On the third call, he found the perfect stable, and the owner said that we could use her horses. It was truly a divine appointment. We needed to bring 20 people in and have four actors on horses for a day and a half as we shot a bunch of scenes. We needed snow, large open fields, open woods, and dense woods. We needed to be in medieval costumes, carry weapons, set up a dolly track, rip down tree braches in the way of shots, use her bathroom, and “disasterize” her kitchen for lunch. This is a lot to ask of a perfect stranger, but Sheryl allowed us to come in and basically take over, giving us the horses and free run of the farm, on which she had access to some perfect wooded trails.
Because there was about eight inches of snow on the ground we had to use our 4×4’s (ours and a friend’s which the Lord provided) to get back into the property. This was also okay with Sheryl. Saturday was quite a cold day, but we shot from about 9 a.m. till dusk. The horses, which had long winter coats, were perfect for our need. A friend of Sheryl’s, Betty (also a perfect stranger to us), came over to help out with the horses – she was simply fantastic and helped us get a lot out of the horses. On top of all that we worked with a new second camera man who we flew in from
Oklahoma City. He did a great job. The Lord really blessed and provided. Thank you so much for your prayers.
One of the trails on the farm
King Ambrosius riding Teddy (a thoroughbred)
Artos
Wenneveria taking the lead in the hunt
Steve can’t get up again!
Sunset on a blessed day
Posted by Shannon and Sara Burns at 2:15 pm on .
Saturday was another early winter morning for the Pendragon crew. By 7:30 the van was on the way to the horse farm on which we had been filming the day before. By nine o’clock, the cameras were rolling. Although there are always risks and limitations when working with horses, the four horses we used worked extremely well. We received so much help from Sheryl and Betty, who worked with the horses, and even they were amazed at the horses’ cooperation.
God provided a beautiful day. The sun shone and there was not too much wind, but even the warmest below-freezing temperatures can be bone-chilling. Early on in the shoot, we began passing out hand warmers. Almost everyone had warmers in their boots and gloves. One o’clock was lunch break, and we all headed into the house. Lisa made chilly and the steaming bowls helped to thaw out our frozen bodies. After lunch we continued filming the horses, and we were able to complete every shot we needed. The whole day went more smoothly than we could have hoped it would. Filming wrapped up at a reasonable hour, and by God’s grace, the shoot was a big success.
Marilyn warming her face
Cadeyrn astride Gideon
Posted by Shannon and Sara Burns at 11:06 pm on Mar. 3, 2008.
Early Friday morning, the crew headed out to the Northern Burns’s pond. God decorated the set with crystal snowflakes—the effect was perfect. The freshly falling snow helped to cover the tracks we made in previous takes. We filmed a section of the scene in which Artos, Wenneveria, Cadeyrn, and Ambrosius go boar hunting. After five hours of filming, we grabbed our lunches and piled into the vans to set up in our next location, a horse farm. Sheryl graciously allowed us to her horses and to film on her beautiful farm. The day was full, but pleasant, and we thank God for His many answered prayers.
A brief meeting on set
Caleb and Gabriel, two of Cadeyrn’s henchmen
Peter and Nathan were in charge of sweeping the snow off the actors between takes.
John-Clay Burnett, who came up to run a camera for this shoot did a great job.
Aaron astride Gloria
