Calling all people and horses!
You are officially invited to be cast as an extra or a crew member for the filming of The Lion Vrie Book Trailer™ scheduled for Saturday, March 24th at 10:00am EST in Chaumont, NY, with a rain date of Sunday, March 25th at 2pm.
As part of the promotion of Book II of The White Lion Chronicles, Grandath Films is producing the second Book Trailer™ for Christopher’s upcoming novel, The Lion Vrie, due out June 15th 2007. The trailer will be edited into three different lengths, the longest of which will be around two minutes. It will be available online at Christopher’s site, as well as on YouTube and numerous blogs. It will also be played in select movie theaters across the country.
We will be filming a large battle scene as well as a forest chase scene. Complete with a helicopter fly-over, this promises to be an exciting day! And, as before, the person with the best costume will be awarded a free signed copy of The Lion Vrie when it comes out in June.
All are welcome to come and watch, but there are certain restrictions on who can participate. If after reading this you would like to attend, please e-mail hillary-at-christopherhopper-dot-com to confirm your role.
REQUIREMENTS
Casting requirements for warriors:
-Ages 13 years and up with parent/legal guardian written permission
-Ages 18 years and up
-Male or female (*see Wardrobe)
-Must sign physical injury disclaimer, liability disclaimer, and a non-monetary reimbursement disclaimer
-Must provide own wardrobe (*see Wardrobe)
-If bringing a horse, must provide own transportation, food, and water, as well as wardrobe (*see Wardrobe). Horse must not be too skittish as there will be smoke and shouting during the scene, as well as a helicopter flying over head. Horses used to motor vehicle presence a must.
-Option of providing own weapon. If not, one will be provide (*see Weaponry)
-Min. 3 hour time commitment
Requirements for crew:
-Ages 13 years and up with parent/legal guardian written permission
-Ages 18 years and up
-Male or female
-Must sign physical injury disclaimer, liability disclaimer, and a non-monetary reimbursement disclaimer
-You will need to be at the shoot at least one hour prior to the start time
-You will be selected and placed as the director sees necessary
-In good physical condition
-Dressed appropriately for late March in northern NY
-Min. 4 hour time commitment
THE SHOOT
Location:
Parker’s
30836 Depauville Rd.
Chaumont, NY 13622
MapQuest this location.
The crew will be rendezvousing at The Parker Farm between 8am and 9am on Saturday morning. There we will begin prepping the field (set) for the battle scene, including the smoke fires and extra props. We’ll also be readying the weaponry, and giving a brief class to the make-up crew. (If you’d like to specifically be in the make-up department, please notify us when you arrive).
At 10:00am we’ll be receiving the cast and get everyone settled in. Please arrive in full costume and ready for make-up. We will have a short briefing by the director on how the day is going to work and get the paper-work out of the way. We’ll then assign warriors to various parts of the set with specific instructions for each shot. Water and snacks will be provided. Please have a heavy winter coat on hand that you can run to between shots if the temperature is cold. We’ll keep vehicles running, too.
If you are trailering a horse to the set, please plan on arriving at least half-an-hour early. You’ll need the time to prepare your horse’s costume as well as to familiarize him or her with the environment.
We expect the shoot to last no more than three hours. For those that can stay and help clean up, that would be greatly appreciated.
WARDROBE
Building your own costume can be as rewarding as it is challenging! Obviously, there is a certain look we are going for. To be truly Dionian you would need a budget (and a physique!) beyond reason, so we’ve made certain exceptions to make a costume accessible to everyone and still allow room for your own creative flare.
If you are a lady yet you still have the desire to be in the battle scene, we’ll take you! However, with one exception: you have to look like a guy. Since no women fought in Dionia, at least in the traditional sense, we need to stay true to that fact. But only visually. Although we hate to say it, we do need you to mask your feminine qualities as much as possible, including pulling your hair up and no make up. You may be placed in the distance for most of the shots, but you’ll be extremely useful (especially those female equestrians out there!).
Bottom line here is be creative. And when in doubt, bring it out; our producers will give you a “yea,” or “nay.”
CLOTHING
The following costume is just an example of what could be done, and was purchased at Wal-Mart and a local hardware store for under $20. Christopher kindly modeled it for us!
The mantel is a yard of faux animal fur with a hole cut in the center to poke your head through. A regular brown leather belt was used to bind it around the waist. Three yards of plaid fabric are wrapped and fold-pleated once around the waist, and folded over at the waist to bind it (or can be held together with a clothes pin). Christopher could ride in this as he’s wearing his riding boots, but wrapped with 3″ wide strips of the same faux animal material and tied together. Whatever boots or footwear you decided to go with, try and wrap them with material or faux fur. Brown or black footwear works best. The torc around his neck is a four foot long length of 17 gauge electric fence wire, wrapped in one-foot length around two dowels: the dowels are then twisted by hand to created a “braided” look, and the large rings at the ends are the natural result of the dowels.
Other ideas for mantels would include adding two extra yards to your plaid wrap and throwing it over your shoulder; either a bare chest or a brow t-shirt with the hemming around the neck and arms cut off and ragged would work just fine. Wearing a dark undergarment and then constructing a cloak of faux animal fur or colored fabric and binding it around your neck with a clasp or broach would also be great.
If you don’t like the plaid kilt look, you could wear breecs, or primitive pants of leather or dark fabric. The more open and flowing they are the better.
ARMOR
If you have or would like to make a few pieces of plate armor (steel or spray painted cardboard), shoulder and elbow are a great way to go. A breastplate would be alright, too. Vambraces, or forearm guards would also be perfect. Chain mail and boiled leather (Cuirboulli) elements are also great.
Helmets are a wonderful addition to any warriors outfit. But, again, they can be expensive, and potentially difficult to make. While we have just a few for some of the main characters, you may want to consider bringing your own, or better yet, trying your hand at making one!
Here is a wonderful tutorial online on how to construct a cardboard helmet that looks amazing!
You would have to alter the the design slightly (mostly because we don’t want Boba Fett in Dionia), but the design is in-line with what we’re looking for (minus the range finder and paint job). Any design that is close to the Greek, Trojan, and Spartan helmets, or even some of the Roman designs is ideal. Keep it metallic gold or silver; hardware stores have awesome metallic and antique paints these days.
JEWELRY
Torcs, neck bands, arm bands, rings, and bracelets are always welcome finishing touches. If you are in doubt about any piece of our wardrobe, bring it and our producers will tell you what to use and what to leave in the car.
Overall, we are trying to go with pre-medieval attire: not full suits of armor, but not tights and fluffy sleeves. It’s a sort of northern European tribal theme. Remember that Dionians were only used to summer and dressed in light flowing clothes and bare chests for the men. But because this battle takes place in a winter-like season, they had to scrounge for things that would keep them warm. And in battle, anything would do.
Beware of marking and materials that look too modern (ie. the Nike swoosh logo, basketball shorts with mesh material). Because many people will be in the background, a lot fo things will blend in and not be seen. But the ore authentic things are, the better shots we can get (and maybe even push you to the front!).
WEAPONRY
Weaponry is fun facet of a costume. But it can also be expensive. We will have a limited number of swords, spears, and axes on the set. But we may not have enough for you. If you happen to own a sword, even a non-functional replica, please bring it. If not, here are some options for you.
-Build a spear: cut a slot in the end of a 3/4″ piece of grey PVC conduit. Cut a spear head out of wood (jigsaw). Spray pain the spear head a metallic silver and the PVC black. Adorn with feathers and leather.
-Make a wooden sword: by either fashioning your own design, or ordering a practice Tai Chi sword, you can use metallic spray paints for a the silver blade, gold pommel and hilt, and a black (or even leather wrapped) handle.
-Make a shield: resembling a large, round shield of the Spartans, or of the tall, narrow shields of the romans.
-Long bow: you can either bring your own recurve bow, our try your hand at building one. (No arrow heads please. Keep all arrows blunt).
-A standard bearer: some of you we will make standard bearers. If you’d like to build your own flag, use a tall piece of grey PVC and attach a two foot wide piece of brightly colored fabric to the top.
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“A big thank you to all those of you how can journey out for this grand adventure!”
CH
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Remember, please e-mail hillary-at-christopherhopper-dot-com to confirm your spot on the shoot!
Sincerely,
Grandath Films Production Team
Christopher Hopper 