Pictured above, director Amanda Tapping and 1st Assistant Director Brandon Tataryn oversee this morning’s production meeting for Episode 201. Today was the last day of prep for our season 2 premiere as principal photography is scheduled to commence bright and EARLY tomorrow morning in the:
INTERIOR – HYPERION 8 – MINIMUM SECURITY – QUARTERS
While the action unfolds on one side of the stage, director Bruce McDonald will be doing a walkabout of the other sets (10:00 – 11:00) before tomorrow afternoon’s Episode 202 concept meeting. This may well be our most ambitious episode to date and every department head – and yours truly – will have to bring their A+ game (because, let’s face it, we always bring our A game). Stunts! Extras! Dazzling visual effects!
These sets…
…brought to you in part by…
Dark Matter Head Carpenter Craig Tovell.
Check out the final score. It was actually A LOT closer than that. I needed a measly 5 yards from McFadden to secure victory on the final day of the fantasy football regular season. First carry – fumble! Minus 2 points! Despair. He runs for 20 yards so, by halftime, my deficit was back to a mere 5 yards. Hope! He carries early in the second half. Fumble! Another 2 points! And possible concussion! Deep despair. But then they announce he is putting his helmet back on. Hope! But back-up Robert Turbin assumes RB duties on the next drive. Despair. But then McFadden comes back in on the next series, the Cowboys drive it down to the goal line, and McFadden gets two consecutive carries. Hope! Only to get stuffed and have the Cowboys throw a TD to someone else. Despair. On what looks to be their final drive, the Cowboys are forced to kick. Double despair. And then Desean Jackson fumbles! Hope! McFadden rushes – and scores the TD with less than a minute to go, securing the win and a first round bye.
All this to say, this weekend’s first round playoff schedule looks like this:
VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson’s Gainfully-Employed Hyphens (for now) and my Snow Monkeys get the first-round bye and weekend off, leaving Consulting Producer Ivon Bartok’s Running Dead, Orphan Black writer-Supervising Producer Alex Levine’s This Ones For John, Beats by Ray and whalleyBallrz to duke it out for the right to battle us in the semi-finals.
Exciting, no?
Thanks for continuing to showcase the people behind the camera who work so hard to make great TV for all us couch potatoes. It’s so damned easy to forget every little detail has to be imagined and refined and created, and that there are a ton of people who do a lot of heavy lifting to create such a complete and rewarding illusion. It’s great to see the faces behind the magic.
I’m curious Joe. Why are they in Minimum Security?
Sets look incredible. Such a credit to all who made them. Are they identical to the concept illustrations or are there any modifications made along the way?
All the best Snow Monkeys. You do realise that you’re set up for a big showdown with Ivon’s team should you both make it to the championship. That should be fun!!!!!! 😊😀😁 *cough go running dead cough*
We’ve got another week before the playoffs but I’ve lost the last 3 games and I’m now 8-5….ugh!!! I’m scrambling for a QB which is not good. I’ve dumped Tannehill for Mariota – hopefully that goes through. My other QBs are Carr & Hoyer. My QB curse struck Romo, Flacco and McCown throughout the season.
We don’t play for money, just bragging rights. I don’t know the guys personally (apart from my trainer who I got to fill in halfway through the season) but they’re all Aussies and fun.
Wishing you all the best for filming tomorrow. Amanda will rock it!
Cheers, Chev
Way to go Snow Monkeys! Yeah! (haven’t the foggiest idea what was going on there – not being a ‘football’ connoisseur, but hey, you won!)
I woke up today a calm controlled person, excited about DM season 2 starting up (have I mentioned that before?) but a calm sensible excited…
Then I read ‘This may well be our most ambitious episode to date’ … A+ … stunts! … extras!! …. dazzling VFX!!!
…aaaargh! …. breathe! …. ✳
Oh no! Darn it! Seems I did it once again!
I just realized you said “interior whale” the other day. Not “Whale Interior.”
Silly me.
Albeit – if it’s “an interior whale”
It means its a fish out of water.
If its a a fish out of water,
It means it’ll be dead in less than 24 hours.
If it dies in less than 24 hrs
It will seriously stink up that whole entire brand new set.
If it seriously stinks up that whole entire brand new set
It means your raza crew will be absolutely miserable at work.
If your raza crew is absolutely miserable at work
It means they will likely feel forced to quit and publicly denounce you as the worlds worst showrunner.
And if the raza crew quits and publicly denounces you as worlds worst showrunner
It means you’ll likely never be allowed to work anywhere as a television writer or show runner ever again.
If you can never work as a television writer or show runner ever again
It means you’ll likely become one of those drunkards who sits at home all day being a grumpy slob in his unlaundered shorts
drinking whatever cheap beer, liquor, Niquill, rubbing alcohol, or vehicle antifreeze you can get your hands on.
And if you sit at home all day in your unlaundered shorts drinking cheap beer & spirits
It means you’ll likely eventually become nothing more than an unemployed, overweight, old, grumpy, smelly,mean, sickly, drunkard
And the love of your life, as well as the fur babies and any friends you might have left will likely decide they cannot take it anymore
and leave you there to wither and die alone in your misery.
So nope. Hmmmm. Somehow (though I cant quite put my finger on it) – it’s just not quite as much fun as the former when I thought it was a “whale interior” dream sequence.
Albeit, before you get that “interior whale” constructed and your happy life is irreversibly ruined forever as a result
Ya think maybe I can pop over to the set to take our blog friends out for a quick spin over Australia in the new shuttle? 😀
PS: Yay! Go Snow Monkeys!!
What @Thogar said. This is great hard work and creativity. Dark Matter is going to look amazing. 🙂
Dazzling!
And um, stuff, sportsball stuff.
@gforce said: Settling into the house well! Still some unpacking to do, but I’m trying to decide where to put stuff like pictures, etc.
Ah gee Gary Pictures n stuff?? Really?! you don’t need any pictures?! I mean not really, anyway. Just throw that housewarming party already eh and we’ll get ya covered for wall décor!
I told ya, I already got the most absolutely brilliant, perfect, crazy psychedelic wallpaper for ya. PonyTail’s bringing the whisky from her personal distillery and Joe will bring the flat iron to help put it up and simultaneously tear it down once he gets enough of Pony’s whisky in him to get going.
Ha-ha! Ho-ho! hee-heee! n weeeeeeeeee! Down the chimney the insane woman goes! L-D
ooh! that reminds me. I’ve got to remember to write down a “funnel” on my Christmas shopping list for Joe So he can get whiskey down his throat faster! O My! Indeed I must confess, How I do so very much enjoy shopping for, finding and being able to give those perfect little multi use practical gifts for friends n family this time of yr! 😀
XO ~HAPPY HOLIDAYS!~ XO <3
I’ll second what Tom Gardiner (@Thogar) said. Thank you!
Really, really, really looking forward to S2!
AT rocks! Love all the pics, but I kinda hurt my eyes scouring the pics for spoilers only to find that black and white photo? graphic? in the foreground is too blurry to make out any deets. Everyone seems serious so I’m guessing the 201 is a tense ep.
The sets are freakin’ amazing, the detail is fantastic. Kudos to Mr. Tovell on the stellar sets. Do you guys prefer to build from scratch or adapt existing places?
My new mission in life is to consume large quantities of Candy Cane flavored popcorn. According to the web my popcorn addiction could mean I have a Zinc or Iron deficiency. But I’m guessing I’m actually deficient in Candy Cane popcorn. Got my most recent fix at: http://pghpopcorn.com/?page_id=72
Sets look great and so cannot wait till the first ep airs. Also if it was not for your snow monkeys I’d have completely forgotten it’s football season.
All the carpenters I have known love working with wood and building things and love their jobs. It is apparent that Craig Tovell does too. His sets are beautiful. I can’t believe it is wood and not metal. Simply amazing work.
Some day Joe, you are going to have to tell us how everyone came up with their fantasy football names. I don’t think I know how you came up with Snow Monkeys for your team?
Did you change the prison from a maximum security to a minimum security? Or maybe they put the kid in the minimum security and underestimate her and gets the people in maximum security out?