filming in Pierrefonds May 2011
May. 8th, 2011 05:48 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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merlinlocationsI didn't know if I'd write a report as well, but here we are! Apologies for any duplication of info with my earlier posts re my photos.
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asifidletyou and I, and her young son, were lucky enough to spend last week in Pierrefonds, and had the privilege of seeing a fair bit of filming.
Monday was a relatively quiet day for us, as they were filming a banquet scene inside. However, a troupe of jugglers, clowns and acrobats were there to entertain the gathered nobles in Camelot - and while they were waiting in the courtyard, they entertained us as well, so that was fun.
On Tuesday we saw a lot of Rupert Young (Sir Leon) and Adetomiwa Edun (Sir Elyan), as well as Angel Coulby. Stunt doubles for Rupert and Tommy rode their horses into the courtyard at breakneck speed, which was all very exciting. A number of different courtyard scenes were filmed, involving numerous extras, so there was always something going on. We also had a scene with Angel Coulby late in the day.
I was lucky enough to say hello to Alice Troughton (Director), who seems just as delightful as all our Merlin people. And we already know how talented she is, so I am very excited to see what she will craft for us!
One of the highlights of the day was an extra teaching our young companion how to fight with the wooden sword he'd bought at the gift shop. The extra was very kind and attentive - until of course called back to work! Suffice to say that my friend and I were soon giving serious thought to buying ourselves helmets and shields...
Wednesday began with Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (sans Lancelot) riding off on an adventure with Merlin in belated pursuit. There was also a scene involving Angel, Bradley, and Eoin Macken (Sir Gwaine). I must say that while poor Colin is still in the same costumes he's been wearing (so nicely) all along, and the knights were all dressed as expected, Angel's costumes this year are new and beautiful. The colour and cut really suit her, as does the way her hair is styled.
My highlight of the day was watching while Dale McCready (Director of Photography) and Alice (2nd Assistant Camera) filmed new establishing shots of the Chateau. This was necessary due to the change in film format this season.
Andreas Petrides (Stunt Coordinator) arrived late in the day, and set about training Bradley, the knights and extras in various fights, going on into the evening. During this training, there was also filming happening inside the Chateau, so the knights had to pause occasionally when silence was called for. At one point, Rupert was really getting into it - and when he was interrupted in mid-fight by the usual call of 'Silence, s'il vous plait!', in a mock fit of pique he hurled his sword down into the grass so it stood there quivering, and immediately began a mute yet furious game of 'rock, paper, scissors' with his opponent. LOL! ♥
Thursday involved filming the fights they'd rehearsed the previous evening. It was a long hot day out in front of the Chateau, and I found it hard enough to cope with standing around in the shade - I couldn't have managed to do anything of what Bradley, Rupert, Tommy, Eoin, Tom Hopper (Sir Percival) and the extras achieved, out in the sun for hours and hours, fighting first with green batons before moving onto maces and two-headed axes as well as swords. While of course the fighting isn't 'real', it's real enough - it's quite shocking to hear the whack of a prop mace against a shield, swung with vigour. Even though it's so much lighter than a real weapon, I'm sure they end up bruised and battered regardless.
On Friday, we were asked to keep clear of the Chateau, while our heroes filmed in the grounds. This involved something complex and potentialy dangerous with stunts and horses, and they wanted to minimise all distractions. Of course we were perfectly happy to respect such a request, and took ourselves off to Parc Asterix for the day! Which was rather fun, as it is also a Merlin Location due to the cast visit memorialised in the season one video diaries. (I'll do a seperate entry about that later.) We have since heard via Alice on Twitter that all went well with the day's filming.
All up, we had a marvellous time. I learned that Eoin is pronounced 'Owen' - so I may be brave enough to say hello to him next time I see him! I also learned, after diligent research, that the Cafe Liegeois at the Court Paille grill in Compiegne is the best in the area, and I highly recommend it. Thanks are due to my friends for their constant companionship.
And, as you'll have gathered by now, you can see all my photos on flickr. About the only real spoiler you'll find is one shot of A New Actor who has joined our regular cast.
I was delighted and flattered to find thatluisadeza of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
oxmotic_icons has created some beautiful icons from my photos. You can find them here
asifidletyou and I, and her young son, were lucky enough to spend last week in Pierrefonds, and had the privilege of seeing a fair bit of filming.Monday was a relatively quiet day for us, as they were filming a banquet scene inside. However, a troupe of jugglers, clowns and acrobats were there to entertain the gathered nobles in Camelot - and while they were waiting in the courtyard, they entertained us as well, so that was fun.
On Tuesday we saw a lot of Rupert Young (Sir Leon) and Adetomiwa Edun (Sir Elyan), as well as Angel Coulby. Stunt doubles for Rupert and Tommy rode their horses into the courtyard at breakneck speed, which was all very exciting. A number of different courtyard scenes were filmed, involving numerous extras, so there was always something going on. We also had a scene with Angel Coulby late in the day.
I was lucky enough to say hello to Alice Troughton (Director), who seems just as delightful as all our Merlin people. And we already know how talented she is, so I am very excited to see what she will craft for us!
One of the highlights of the day was an extra teaching our young companion how to fight with the wooden sword he'd bought at the gift shop. The extra was very kind and attentive - until of course called back to work! Suffice to say that my friend and I were soon giving serious thought to buying ourselves helmets and shields...
Wednesday began with Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (sans Lancelot) riding off on an adventure with Merlin in belated pursuit. There was also a scene involving Angel, Bradley, and Eoin Macken (Sir Gwaine). I must say that while poor Colin is still in the same costumes he's been wearing (so nicely) all along, and the knights were all dressed as expected, Angel's costumes this year are new and beautiful. The colour and cut really suit her, as does the way her hair is styled.
My highlight of the day was watching while Dale McCready (Director of Photography) and Alice (2nd Assistant Camera) filmed new establishing shots of the Chateau. This was necessary due to the change in film format this season.
Andreas Petrides (Stunt Coordinator) arrived late in the day, and set about training Bradley, the knights and extras in various fights, going on into the evening. During this training, there was also filming happening inside the Chateau, so the knights had to pause occasionally when silence was called for. At one point, Rupert was really getting into it - and when he was interrupted in mid-fight by the usual call of 'Silence, s'il vous plait!', in a mock fit of pique he hurled his sword down into the grass so it stood there quivering, and immediately began a mute yet furious game of 'rock, paper, scissors' with his opponent. LOL! ♥
Thursday involved filming the fights they'd rehearsed the previous evening. It was a long hot day out in front of the Chateau, and I found it hard enough to cope with standing around in the shade - I couldn't have managed to do anything of what Bradley, Rupert, Tommy, Eoin, Tom Hopper (Sir Percival) and the extras achieved, out in the sun for hours and hours, fighting first with green batons before moving onto maces and two-headed axes as well as swords. While of course the fighting isn't 'real', it's real enough - it's quite shocking to hear the whack of a prop mace against a shield, swung with vigour. Even though it's so much lighter than a real weapon, I'm sure they end up bruised and battered regardless.
On Friday, we were asked to keep clear of the Chateau, while our heroes filmed in the grounds. This involved something complex and potentialy dangerous with stunts and horses, and they wanted to minimise all distractions. Of course we were perfectly happy to respect such a request, and took ourselves off to Parc Asterix for the day! Which was rather fun, as it is also a Merlin Location due to the cast visit memorialised in the season one video diaries. (I'll do a seperate entry about that later.) We have since heard via Alice on Twitter that all went well with the day's filming.
All up, we had a marvellous time. I learned that Eoin is pronounced 'Owen' - so I may be brave enough to say hello to him next time I see him! I also learned, after diligent research, that the Cafe Liegeois at the Court Paille grill in Compiegne is the best in the area, and I highly recommend it. Thanks are due to my friends for their constant companionship.
And, as you'll have gathered by now, you can see all my photos on flickr. About the only real spoiler you'll find is one shot of A New Actor who has joined our regular cast.
I was delighted and flattered to find that
luisadeza of oxmotic_icons has created some beautiful icons from my photos. You can find them here
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