An Amazing Week

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

Snow 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