Scene 2: Animals

They say that when making a movie, you should always avoid working with kids and animals. Well, I took their advice and put both in my film. I had some concerns about having a horse in the film; the kind of concerns that involve hooves making contact with glass lenses, but being the cockeyed optimist that I am, I figured we could handle whatever he decided to do. Of course there are some precautions that we took, but if a one ton animal is really pissed off, there's not going to be a whole lot you can do about it. I guess the main precaution we took for this film was to put him in a wide open space far away from anything, and there is a lot of that in Colorado. Pretty much goes for miles, doesn't it?

We also made sure to keep him away from stuff until we actually needed him, just so he wouldn't get fussy. But all in all, Whiskey is a pretty good horse with a very bony back, and he was patient for this shot. His prima donna moves would come later. He didn't kick my DP, which is very nice, even though Ryan and his light meter were all over the place. One thing about directing from atop a horse is that it's kind of like a director's chair, and you can see everything. Plus, people leave you alone unless it's absolutely necessary, because they don't want to get stepped on. The downside is that it's a director's chair with a mind of it's own, and if he decides he doesn't want to stand still while you discuss what the shot is, there's not much you can do about it. Plus, he requires a bit of my undivided attention at times because I also want to make it through with all my limbs intact, which means a certain amount of appeasement must take place. You'll notice our "understudy" horse in the corner (Tex), who also served to keep Whiskey company and be an example of what it looks like to stand absolutely still. While Tex is the most reliable actor for the scene, I still chose Whiskey because he doesn't have any white on him, and I wanted the darkest horse possible. So, true to the bidness, I didn't necessarily choose the best man for the job, but the man who looked the part.

Oh well. Anyway, I think it's going to be a really pretty shot.