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Production Journal:
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This is a behind the scenes look at what successes and misadventures the intrepid production crew encountered while trying to make a television program outside during the coldest winter on record.....(well it felt like the coldest at least!!). Written each day by the producer after finishing the day's shooting.
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat/Sun Nov 20 Nov 21 Nov 22 Nov 23 Nov 24 Nov 25 / 26 Kelly Kelly Farm Farm Nov 27 Nov 28 Nov 29 Nov 30 Dec 1 Dec 2 / 3 Ramsey Gammel- Farm garden Dec 4 Dec 5 Dec 6 Dec 7 Dec 8 Dec 9 / 10 Murphy's Landing Dec 11 Dec 12 Dec 13 Dec 14 Dec 15 Dec 16 /17 Murphy's Fort Landmark Landing Snelling Center Skoal Hall Dec 18 Dec 19 Dec 20 Dec 21 Dec 22 Dec 23 / 24 Murphy's Fort Bakken Landing Snelling Library Bartholmew Ft Snelling House State Park Crosby Farm Park
Wed. Nov. 22 - Kelly Farm
First day of shooting and we really needed warm clothes...the word sunny was misleading since the wind must have been a thousand miles an hour...we all have found the advantage of those toxic chemical hand warmers...We shot at the Oliver Kelly Farm, a historic location..realistic to 1870. David Yanko played our farmer who in the first scene is leading an oxen pulled wagon (yep, real oxen named Berry and Bud) and then later building a coffin for his wife who died in childbirth....Other cheery scenes included a surgery room in the bottom stalls of the barn circa Civil War...we enter the scene right after Sam Bloomer has lost his leg and James Patin playing the brother of Isaac Taylor who also died in Gettysburg. Sounds like living in Minnesota in the 1800s meant a lot of dying.
Jim Kron, Joe Price and Rich Brown made it look truly beautiful...the barn cats helped in the coffin making scene and John LIghtfoot, Nate Herzog, James Patin and Jill Jacobson can tell you lots of stories about battling the cows and the wind all in great style! Ask Jill about being pregnant, while you're at it...All in all a very good day one...we'll keep you posted.
Thurs. Nov. 23 - Kelly Farm
Back out at Kelly Farm this time doing mostly the slices of life of Harriet Nichols (played elegantly by Jill Jacobson). We began the day by recording the grunts and squeals of the pigs (named, Ham, bacon and sausage). Jill actually got into the pigpen and fed the little (200 lb.) darlings...One piglet tried to eat Jim Kron's jacket as he was kneeling in pig dung shooting the high 8. Next stop was the hen house....the chickens were very noisy much to our delight...We tried to fill the henhouse with fog but the fogger popped out on us....so we were saved the ultimate experiment...does roscoe fog juice kill chickens....Kron kept talking about the canaries in the mines. Then some spectacular stuff in the kitchen as Jill made a vegetable stew, a la 1855. The highlight here was the Kroncrane....a short crane move accomplished by Jim Kron standing up and then sitting down (we told you our budget was small)....
One of the great glories of the day, however was a Dr. Dave Markegard invention...a flicker control....Working on the soundwaves off of an AM radio talkshow, the lights flickered randomly and when jelled amber....looked like a fireplace..a candle..a giant kerosene lantern. imagine the golden flickering flames as we move through Sam Bloomers room lingering on his turn of the century artificial leg. Yeah, well a fun time was had by all. Monday is Ramsey House...the rich folks side of the story.
Monday, Nov27 - Ramsey House
Today...Governor Ramsey's big old mansion. Did you know that the family (actually 2 spinster sisters) lived in the place until 1963. Then all members of the family were gone. There are no living relatives of Governor Ramsey today. But, we had Walter Ritter as Governor Pillsbury (he looked just like the picture in his moustache and beard and black suit) reading letters about the grasshopper plague from his constituents and contemplating how to ease their suffering. Type casting huh? Actually when Walter sat down dressed in his other role, an uncle of Sam Bloomer writing during the Civil War...he mentioned that 1863 was probably when Human Resources began the process of rewriting the employee manual.. Patty Hegman helped us out by playing the elegant Mrs. Longyear...In 1918 receiving letters from her son during WW 1. She did a superb job of reading and rocking...though we had to direct her to be less young and more matronly...All in all a good day inside a beautiful house with beautiful irreplaceable priceless artifacts that we couldn't touch unless you had one of the regulation sets of white gloves from Jean the mistress of the artifacts (and only Jim Kron got a set...mmmmmmmm). Tomorrow a simple day battling at the History center to shoot stills and then Wednesday we go off to Scandia to set up a "day of prayer and fasting" in an old church (Governor Pillsbury's solution to the grasshopper plague...he didn't want to "strip the poor of their moral fiber by giving them handouts"...) and Melody Gilbert's daughter as Louise, the little girl with typhoid...sounds like living in Minnesota was tricky...
Wed. Nov. 29 - Gammelgarden
Today we were in Scandia....a lovely Swedish location Gammelgarden (that's with one of those little marks over the a in garden)...The church was built in 1854....and then used for years as a school house...taken apart and put back together and now restored to it's original rustic glory. They have a beautiful Santa Lucia day service everyyear...this year is Dec. 9 or 10.
So we continue our study of the effects of Roscoe fog on all of us....out latest was the effect in a freezing cold wooden 1854 church filled with us and senior citizens playing Swedish parishioners (actually filled is a poetic exaggeration...it was 6 senior citizens recruited from the senior center across the street to put on costumes and shawls over their heads and recite the Lords Prayer and sing a song in Swedish. The man playing the preacher (because Joe Price couldn't fit into the seminarian outfit) is a wonderful 86 year old man....His wife was a parishioner.....no one died from the Roscoe fog or the cold and their faces were so beautiful ....candles, fog, swedish prayers, below zero temperatures.....
We also met the daughter of the woman who owns the city newspaper the county messenger while we were laughing and talking at lunch. We invited her over to see the shooting and then when she walked in decided she would fit in one of the costumes so gave her the "great angle" on the story....to actually be one of the participants (i.e. freeze, wear an 1870 dress and sing a song in Swedish (now that wasn't my idea!!). She took pictures of all the Canadians and sang well and then hurried off to write her story.
Other parishioners suffering in the cold and Roscoe fog included Leslie Kelison and Nate Herzog...their Swedish got better and better...
Melody Gilbert's sweet 5 yr. old child Jenna played Louise the daughter of Harriet Nichols (that's Jill Jacobson's alter ego) with Typhoid. She was wonderful after the initial necessary giggle and delighted the crew with her ability to not crack up during the shooting.....she also has one of her front teeth very loose...just about to come out and go under the pillow for the tooth fairy.....that wonderful, tip it with your tongue loose tooth feeling....hard to remember but....
Again today, John Lightfoot, Joe Price, Lisa Johnson and Jim "I am my camera" Kron were creative and inventive and great fun to be with.....Some more stills tomorrow and then Monday, Dec. 4...Murphy's Landing.... brrr it's cold in Minnesota and I didn't wear warm enough clothes.......
Mon. Dec. 4 - Murphy's Landing
Today, out at Murphy's Landing to do grasshoppers and other adventures. As you recall from earlier updates, southwest Minnesota was invaded by locust (that's super grasshoppers) from 1873-1876 and it devastated the area. Today we actually shot our grasshoppers...these grasshoppers are expensive little bugs...4 live ones and one that died on us for $50....and we got them from a guy that works at the MN. zoo and breeds bugs for fun...he has something like 200 different kinds of bugs in cages at home (most of us try to not have bugs in our homes in any way but this guy is different.)..So we set up scenes for the starring grasshoppers, coming out of a bag of cornmeal, crawling over a letter, walking in the pantry over the only food left (potatoes)....well the thing with bugs of course is when it's cold, they sort of slow way down.....like waaaaaay down...So the starring monsters of terror were motionless as they hit the cold window sill of the cold historic house...then you add Roscoe fog...well you can picture the scene.....we'll fix it in post. We did have some big bugs in formaldehyde or alcohol...well dead already...from Carolina Biological supplies (these are the ones you dissect in high school)...if you need a little memory jolt for those old days of biology class, ask John Lightfoot to give you one...we've got plenty to go around.
A couple of real successes however....John Lightfoot as young farmer was almost upstaged by the horse Buddy who ate carrots while reading the letter over his shoulder. A sheep got a crush on Joe Price and followed him around while shooting at the farm.... and Nate Herzog, James Patin, Stephanie Mosher and Joe Price tried to capture chickens...(did not succeed in the attempt since the chickens can fly a bit)...And Lisa Johnson was quite at home as horse wrangler and friend to Buddy.
Then Stephanie Mosher played a Civil War era woman wrapping up eggs, butter, bread and milk for James Patin, civil war soldier...and Norbert Een was absolutely hysterical as the bored Railroad depot attendant who kept spinning his pocket watch in boredom as the roof leaks in front of him.....Good work done by all....Jim Kron, Joe Price, Lisa Johnson, John Lightfoot, Nate Herzog, James Patin, Stephanie Mosher, Norbert Een, Buddy the horse, and Joe's new friend, the sheep.....next shoot December 11.....more soon...
Mon. Dec.11 - Murphy's Landing
Even people slow down when it's 32 degrees below zero wind chill and you are working in historic buildings heated by wood stoves. Vern Norwood our intrepid newspaper editor, almost froze his toes, literally (when he said "I can't feel my feet" we started to worry--I've heard of what happened in those north pole explorer diaries!!!) Finally 3 pair of wool socks and a couple of those toxic hand warmers and he thawed enough to chomp on a cigar and grumble appropriately while reading the Shakopee Auger circa 1850. He also looked like a pro putting together letters to set up the type print...of course, who knows what he was spelling.
Tom Cushman brought lilacs to Rita Beatty as two 1850s Lutheran missionaries. Tom played Mr. Laugherty who travels up river to meet and marry. Rita played Miss Smith, the woman set up for him...Miss Smith falls immediately for this handsome (if stuffy...) pious gentleman, Mr. Laugherty is not so sure about Miss Smith. As Lisa Johnson said, "who wouldn't fall in love immediately upon looking at Rita..Tom is going to have to do some real work at acting!" They end up engaged and married within a week...so much for courtship in the 1800s in Minnesota. Tom and Rita looked like they had stepped right out of 1853...amazing. We told them we had some great material for a NewsNight Rollout!
The big scene of the day included 7 children (including Miles Norwood and two of Jim Kron's nephews ) in a one room school house (with only a wood stove for heat...we should be GRATEFUL for Minnegasco bills) being taught by Father Guido himself...Dan Thomas. Dan was terrific walking the aisles holding a hickory switch and tappin on the boys slates and books...The boys were good bad kids..took a little coaching to get them to let loose and be true ruffians...but all took the challenge with great zest once we got started. The boys favorite part was when we pull out Mr. Fluffy, the bullfrog. (Names by John Lightfoot after a friend's pet alligator...hopefully now deceased). Mr. Fluffy, performed nobly until his body temperature and therefore metabolism started matching that of the air in the school house. However, like the grasshoppers...Mr. Fluffy seems to have survived and John Lightfoot has grown quite attached to him..he eats one mouse a week...Mr. Fluffy that is, not Mr. Lightfoot....oh, send get well cards and good wishes to Joe Price-bad cold in the bad cold- a true trooper (it's his Marine training!)...and finally today we did some audio...real audio that Lisa could record. Mr. Kron was his usual chipper and creative self, even at 6:00 a.m. in the morning...so, more shooting on Wednesday...Fort Snelling to get that soldier thang..and a fire circle for the fur trader...we are all learning to BRING WARM CLOTHES..(otherwise you are miserable here in Minnesota...) more updates soon....
Wed. Dec. 13 - Fort Snelling
Today we were at Fort Snelling. In the morning we were turning Tom Shaw, their history expert, into Nathan Jarvis, MD. Jarvis was a doctor at Fort Snelling in 1833 and wrote home graphic descriptions of the life at the Fort. Most surgeons thought going to fort snelling was like going to serve in hell. Jarvis made the best of it and writes a letter home telling his sister about how his horse dies and they drag it outside the front gates for the wolves to eat...then as sport send their dogs after the wolves....And you thought you knew how to have fun!
So once we made it through the snow drifts and got the alarms turned off and climbed over the imbedded restraining posts and plexiglass protectors, we were ready to make our mark on history (or historical objects that is). The highlight of that scene was when Jim Kron was moving something from under Jarvis' bed and actually discovered Jarvis' dog...yes, with a shriek, Mr. Kron announced that there was a dead dog under the bed. When we looked, it was proved to be truth...indeed there was a dead, stuffed dog....a real dog...stuffed and looking to all the world like it was asleep or dead and stuffed. We were able to fit it into the scene...how could we resist?
Next scene involved the hospital infirmary and 4 hardy civil war soldiers and a nurse made it through the snow to enact the hospital after the battle of gettysburg. Unfortunately that was June and this room had a broken furnace...so indeed they were hardy souls...enduring endless takes of moaning and groaning and looking and sounding like they were going to die all in 20 degrees Minnesota December weather. The great star was our intern Albert Lee (on loan from Newton's Apple) who agreed to take off his sock and let his foot get painted up to look gangreneous...and lie in bed for the shot...toes exposed...a great contribution. We tried Lisa's foot since she had a toe crushed by a horse recently and we thought it would look gross but it looked too good so Albert won the civil war foot contest.
upon the conclusion of these adventures, we walked outside to try and set up for the exterior shots to find ourselves pelted by stinging freezing rain and the camera beginning to be coated with a layer of ice....needless to say, the evening got canceled and we'll try to reschedule. I am actually thinking we should shoot it in Cancun but that's another show concept all together! Tomorrow, Landmark center and a 1920s Hibbing Dance hall!
Thurs, Dec. 14 - Landmark Center / Sokol Hall
Today was the first day in many weeks of beautiful weather, bright sunshine, warm temperatures, blue skies....and of course, we were scheduled to work all day INSIDE.....such is the road of fate known as production....
so we were INSIDE at the Landmark center for the first half of the day. Tim Brady played Alexander Christy, a Minnesota man raised on a farm who goes to Washington D.C. to work as a mathematician in 1883 for the Governor....and writes home to his brother on the farm how awful the urban life is. Tim is a natural and played the frustration and longing to the exact level. We sat him in one of the beautiful rooms in Landmark center, doing math equations with pencil and paper and crumbling up the mistakes....it seems he has had much rehearsal crumbling up papers....
Next was Steve Spencer as a depression era construction worker trying to get a job and walking down the hallways, climbing the stairs, coming out of rooms rejected...He was also wonderful...and frustrated, depressed and still carrying on....Steve at his best!
The next scene was at the Czech hall-Sokol Hall on west seventh. Now this would be a great place for a staff party! we filled 50 helium balloons, crepe paper decorations, confetti on the floors and had four 1920s dancers doing the shimmy....Erika Herrmann was one of our lovely 20s gals and rounded up the others from the Dancers Studio...they were all dancing their hearts out in a dance hall in Hibbing where the shimmy and other cheek to cheek immoral dances were banned...festive to be sure...especially when the folks at the Czech hall pulled out the mirror ball for our use. Of course we had to share the space with dances classes that were happening there and every so often stop for a rendition of Mack the Knife by Bobby Darrin being rehearsed in a swing step. But that's part of sharing as John Lightfoot says. Lisa actually got to do some audio again today (shuffling on the floor with the dancers) and Joe found ways to make the mirror ball shimmy itself. Mr. Kron braved his safety in the middle of the dance floor for the shot and we had a successful day.
Tomorrow, landscapes and then Monday....loggers, a finnish miner, and the open out at Murphy's Landing...light a candle for good weather for us....
mon, Dec. 18 - Murphy's Landing
Out at Murphy's Landing again on Monday. But instead of it being 135 degrees below zero wind chill like the last two Mondays (experienced by Vern Norwood, Tom Cushman, Rita Beatty, Stephanie Mosher, Dan Thomas and Mr. Fluffy the frog) it was downright balmy at 22 degrees above zero...Goodness, we could get spoiled this way.
We started the morning working with Mr. Jeff Weihe as a pissed off Finnish miner writing home about the 1907 strike on the Mesabi range. Jeff looked great and acted even better, with tilts of his head as he thought about what he was writing, searching glances out the window. All would have been perfect except for the fact that the letter takes place in August and it was December...so that meant every time Jeff took a thoughtful sigh, a cloud of warm breath manifested itself. We finally took to getting Jeff to hold his breath during the takes. I must admit he was a great sport...I have never directed anyone when they can Breathe before...he can hold his breath and act at the same time........(a great feat..try it sometime)
Then Rosie the dog and 3 children dressed a loa 1850 farm go running in the pristine snow...of course the problem with the snow right now is that it has an inch of thick ice coating ..not only is it gloss instead of mat but dogs chasing sticks so sliding...children running end up face down like a scene from the movie A Christmas Story...but the kids love it (and so did the dog). The rooster that Rosie almost caught for lunch loved it too.
Next scene shot was the open...Jerry Lakso in a red union suit putting on warm clothes..cut of socks, cut of muffler, hat coat, mittens, boots...clomp, clomp clomp int he night through the snow, closeup of his hand and lantern, opening a wooden door latch. Going to milk the cows? feed the chickens? The shot pulls wide as the door slams shut...it is an outhouse....
The highlight of the day shooting however was the next scene...the loggers and Horace Glenn. Horace Glenn, a young man from St. Paul, goes up north to work at a logging camp to make some money. While there, he writes home and describes the scent of Norwegians and Swedes and the state of affair with live...a very funny and somewhat nasty letter. We had D.J. playing our cleancut young St. Paulite (destined to become a top lawyer) and the likes of Dick Lynn, Norbert Een, Rick Isenor, Bernie Beaudry, John Lightfoot, Jerry Lakso, Nate Herzog all playing the scratching, drinking, card-playing, joking Norwegian and Swedish loggers. What an unruly team of players!!! all beared up and dressed in long johns, sitting in front of the fire, hooting at each other. Give these guys a chance to be rough and tumble and they certainly rise to the occasion. It was a ridiculous and lively scene...particularly when they started teasing Horace (D.J.)...Dick Lynn even played the fiddle (as him about his version of White Rabbit!) and Jerry Lakso turned out to show his ancestry...a dry Finnish sense of humor. You all should have been there.
So another long, exhausting and good shooting day for BWC-special thanks to John Lightfoot, Erika Herrmann, Joe Price, Jim Kron, Nate Herzog, and new tot he team for the day, Shawn Walsh...chasing the challenge of audio...tommorrow more...Fort Snelling, west seventh street and the Barthlomew house.
Wed. Dec. 20 - Fort Snelling / Bartholmew House
Day ten went fast. Started the morning at Fort Snelling. Sunrise over the stone walls, reflecting off of the snow. Joe Price and God doing a pretty good lighting job. Looked like a postcard but waweeee was it cold. The wind whipping off the bluff down between the old stone buildings was vicious...everyone was blowing their nose alot. Not even bad SA coffee and donuts from Dunking Donuts helped. Everyone had those red "healthy looking" windburned cheeks. We dressed up a fort snelling fan (Keith) as Gustavus Otto, the private from Detroit who was in the army to avoid being in the jail. His letter is whining about how cold and awful it is winter at Fort Snelling (wait a minute, wasn't I just doing that!!!) and begging his wife to get him out of the army. He swears he is no longer a drunkard and is still not guilty of adultery. We had Keith aka Gustavus Otto standing on guard in full 1840s regalia....he looked cold alright! Then Jim Kron tromped through thigh high snow drifts to get those charming "detail" shots that a producer always wants....stacks of wood in the snow, ice crystals on old glass....freezing crew. Lisa Johnson would try to get audio but continually grimaced....knowing that Fort Snelling is audiohell---on the freeway and the flightpath...She should have stayed in bed a few more hours....come to think of it, it was a bad audio day all around....the audio version of a bad hair day...she should have just stayed in bed period.!
After freezing our little you knows off, we traveled to west 7th street where Val Mondor played a grim police matron from Hibbing 1920 putting up posters warning people to not dance the shimmy. She marched up and down that street in her sensible shoes hammering on all doorways. She was great and grim and looked like she could easily be sitting outside ringing a bell for the salvation army....in fact several people stopped and tried to give her money....
The final adventure of the day took us to the Bartholmew House in Richfield. This is a great old farmhouse (on the historic registry) on Lyndale and 69th. It is staffed by a terrific group of Richfieldites and worked beautifully for Linda Benitt, (in our world known as Esther Robinson) listening to the beginning of World War 2 while candling eggs (Ask her or John Lightfoot what candling is if you don't know...it could win you points at the next trivial pursuits game). With old glasses and her hair braided, Ms. Robinson looked strikingly like Linda Benitt, a wonderfully literate writer of letters about life on the farm at the end of the depression. Well, we were left with several dozen eggs at the end of the day and some beautiful footage. Tomorrow is our last location day of shooting and then on to the trials of dark little Avid rooms.
Thurs. Dec. 21 - Bakken Library / Fort Snelling State Park / Crosby Farm Park
last day of location shooting for Bring Warm Clothes. We started the day putting a beard and moustache on intern extraordinaire, Nate Herzog for him to play George Nelson, fur trader. Nate has probably made the most cameo appearances in BWC. When he is a big star and being interviewed by an ageing Letterman we are sure they will pull out the old scenes. "Remember Scandia", Letterman will chirp. "Oh, my" Nate will reminisce."that was cold". I think that is what all of us will remember...even through an Alzheimer's haze....That was cold. However I have become very attached to those little chemical hand warmers. I've been thinking of sending a case of them to Laurie and Dan in Russia.
So with snow shoes attached we trekked up a hill at Fort Snelling state park to have Nate stumble...I mean ...glide through the pristine snow. Lisa put two wireless mikes on Nate in a desperate attempt to get some audio...any audio....! Joe Price worked again with the Big One and tried to coax the sun from behind the clouds for the "cathedral" look of shadows and trees. The sun stubbornly stayed behind the clouds until we finished shooting the various angles and were ready to move to the next location. AND then it showed up...so what did we do...yep, you would-be producers guessed it. WE DID IT ALL AGAIN!!!! and it was truly beautiful...(yeah, sure , it was just fine without the sun and the shadows and who is going to notice anyway???!!!!) Perhaps though the most wonderful moment was when a bald eagle appeared and began circling above us. We dropped everything (including the lens) and shot it's graceful swirl in the sky. It was close enough for us to see it's white head...so beautiful and as it flew away, a small feather floated down over us and landed in the creek. We started the first day of shooting at Kelly Farm with the arrival of an eagle. We thought this to be a very good sign on our last day too.
Next scene...at Bakken library. This lovely mansion is on Zenith and 35th and dear deceased Mr. Bakken invented the pace maker. So he donated his house and his money (we suppose) to create a library that is focused on the study of "electricity in life"...now this is not your turn the switch household variety of electricity. The library includes a cool exhibit of the Frankenstein story and it's various interpretations of life and technology. The house is spectacular and I hear the gardens in the summer equally beautiful. We took Ms. Alex Sivertson over to play the strong willed Sarah Christy who writes a letter to her father arguing that algebra is not a "masculine attainment" and that she will get an education come what may. An 1862 feminist. Alex was wonderful in her feathered hat and little glasses and somber navy blue frock. and the house was a beautiful backdrop.
Dinner tonight was actually a sit down event in a heated restaurant ...(a bit unusual for this motley crew)..we went to Saigon Uptown where Nate was introduced to his first spring roll (This show has been a true growth experience for him!). And had a heated discussion amongst the crew about the opening of gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I had no idea that there was such a controversy of custom in this culture....the staunch Eve folks included Jim Kron, Nate Herzog, Lisa Johnson and equally forceful were the morning openers John Lightfoot and Joe Price. I must admit I am glad to be Jewish and not have to contend with this difficult decision.
After dinner, as the sky grew darker we drove to Crosby Farm Park and journeyed into the woods to build a fire for the old fur trader George Nelson to sit by and write in his journal. Of course, we did wonder what kind of fool Nelson was to be stuck out in the woods in the snow in the dark all alone....but since we had little choice in the weather or the season in which we are producing this show, we made good use of our recently renewed artistic license. And in the dark woods with a warm golden fire crackling and the still snow (except for the occasional helicopter noise)....it seemed like a great way to end a great shoot with a great group of folks. (Jim Kron, Joe Price, Lisa Johnson, Nate Herzog, and John Lightfoot). And a special thanks to all of you who helped by bringing the letters to life (see Bring Warm Clothes on the water cooler..day one through ten for reminders of all the great actors amongst us)...and to all of you reading these....thanks for your fond attention and have a merry very merry holiday.....