Chase Scenes Completed Seconds Before the Deluge

Alex Pearse sent me a recap from yesterday's shoot:

Day 21
Action was the order of Day 21, with a violently hilarious chase scene involving Lambert and The Fort Knox Boys, plus some inclement weather providing more drama.

Images below: Crew sets up for one segment of the chase sequence while (second image) Director of Photography Jamie Ramsay (in red cap) is in consultation with Focus Puller Wiaan Matthee.


Lambert's escape from the very irate Fort Knox residents was successfully created, thanks to some mammoth performances from a very talented cast, namely Coco Merckel as Beerguts, Astrid Braaf as Bikini Girl, Craig Palm as Speedo, Carmel Fisher as Speedo's girl and Delia Meyer and Oscar Petersen playing their party guests.

Tony Caprari as the baboon man was, as always, a joy to behold...

In the picture below: FortKnoxBoys: Speedo (Craig Palm) leaps from a tree in pursuit of Lambert while Oscar Petersen awaits his chance.

Just as we were congratulating ourselves on having successfully navigated the vagaries of dodgy weather, we got a little reminder of the awesome power of nature. At a little before 12:30 am, the skies opened with such ferocity that within minutes the city's drains were overflowing. Needless to say, film making was hastily shoved off the agenda in favor of finding shelter for crew, cast and equipment.

Although we had had several hours of beautiful sunlight to film our dramatic chase scene and the antics of the feral baboon man, our schedule for the rest of the day had to be altered dramatically.

Image above: Clapper board takes a break during the storm.

After intense discussions between director Michael Raeburn, first AD Grant Nale and script supervisor Elaine Butler, a plan B was hastily conceived. The gaffer and camera department got to work lighting the set for an afternoon of interiors and work resumed.

Our recompense for a lunchtime of misery came moments before the final shot of the day: Joburg's skyscrapers bathed in pure gold as the setting sun burned through the mist and rain. This is why Johannesburg is called The City of Gold.

Lesbian Suitcases, Welding Visors and Headless Cats

It seems like the Triomf production crew can finally take off their wellies and get some shooting done. It was also discovered that it is not beneath Triomf's director, Michael Raeburn, to get down on his hands and knees to coax a wayward actor (a dog who needed to be more vicious). This report came in from Alex Pearse late last night:

After three weeks of relentless rain, Jo'burg finally came aglow with the kind of scorching summer day it is famous for. Needless to say, the cast and crew of Triomf were more than relieved that the weather lottery looked to be ending and that the important job at hand could continue.

So it was smiles all round at 6:30, the damp atmosphere at breakfast having been replaced with some kind of enthusiasm (well, as much as is possible at that hour.)

It was good that spirits were high, such was the scale of the task at hand. With eight scenes to shoot and a host of actors and extras to coordinate, Day 20 promised to be one of the biggest yet. Just a quick glance at the props list - lesbian suitcases, cat without a head and Lambert's welding visor - tells its own story.

Recreating early nineties South Africa is a deceptively challenging task because unlike a period drama where everything needs to be recreated and the lines between what is real and what is not are very clear, the recent past and the present blur into each other, yet also include a number of very stark differences.

Negotiating this challenge has been a major task for Triomf's Art Department and today proved to be their day in more than one way: AWB campaigners on horseback, rag and bone men, a couple moving house - all meant wardrobe and props standby were working off their feet. It all came together nicely though, under Michael Raeburn`s fastidious eye, DOP Jamie Ramsay brought it all to life.

It wasn't all work-work though - the day had its lighter moments too. In particular, the crew's attempts to get Producer Natalie Stange's dog (playing the role of obnoxious neighbor Beer Guts' pet) to shake off its docile demeanor and play vicious (or at least bark), was something to behold. Not one to let his troops do all the hard work, Director Michael Raeburn got down on his own haunches and tried to coax an award winning performance out of the beast. (Notice the dog's nose sticking menacingly through the bars in between Michael's legs.)


With a glorious highveld sunset telling us the lighting department was about to stand down, First AD Grant Nale called it a day. With the shadows getting longer by the minute, we wrapped and packed, with cold beer, good wine and something other than the set's staples of chicken and rice on everyone's minds!