Behind the Scenes: Who’s Gurkhan?
Part Two
The Chakram Newsletter: Issue 14
“Baubles, Bangles And Knives”
It’s off to the soundstage for our first view of what filming a scene actually entails. And there's a lot more going on than you might imagine. This was not the first scene of the day. While my camera crew and I were getting a late breakfast, they had already shot the dialogue between Xena and Gurkhan before Gabrielle's arrival.
The scene they're shooting has Gabrielle arriving in Gurkhan's bedroom to kill him. Originally, Xena was going to knock him unconscious, but they decide to use the Xena pinch instead so that Gurkhan will be awake when Gabrielle has the knife at his throat.
Michael's (Hurst, director) main visual for this scene is Gabrielle beating on Gurkhan, “It's like beating telephone books. It's like therapy.” And he tells her they will do a shot later without Calvin there, just pillows in place of his body, where she can beat the stuffing out of him.
First comes the “blocking” of a scene. This involves the director, all actors and the entire crew. They decide where the camera will be, the lighting and how many set-ups (camera angles) will be needed to capture all the action.
Gurkhan (Calvin Tuteao) is on the bed and Lucy and Renee are standing next to it. The bed is very large which plays a part in where Renee is positioned when she beats up on Gurkhan. Renee starts crawling across the bed as Lucy stays in place. Michael makes a note to put a cushion under Simon's head so his face will be at an angle and more visible during his closeup over Renee’s shoulder. If his head was flat on the bed, you couldn't see his expression.
“It All Depends On How Big The Bed Is”
Gabrielle is supposed to threaten Gurkhan with a knife. But where will her body be? When she sits on him to put the knife to his throat, how close should she lean in? After she stands up and starts kicking him, should she sit down and straddle him while she pummels him or kneel next to him? How long should she hit him? None of this is in the script. It all has to be worked out. And it is - swiftly and efficiently.
Renee feels more comfortable sitting on Calvin when she puts the knife to his throat and Michael tells her, "You can get right into his face.” He encourages her to lean closer, closer. While they're talking, the camera operator, Dana, is looking through the camera and positions Lucy in line behind Renee so she can be seen watching the action. The director of photography (DP), Waka, is next to the director working out the lighting as Michael decides how many angles he needs to shoot from. And they group the shots according to the lighting and camera placements.
The moment when Renee is standing to kick Gurkhan is in the middle of the scene, but they shoot it at the end because it is more efficient to do all her sitting parts at one time. However, the kicking leads to the pummeling and because the pummeling will be shot first, Renee talks about doing some movement to get her heart rate up to provide the extra energy for that moment.
Michael tells Renee he can slide Calvin closer to the edge of the bed if she’d be more comfortable standing while she hits him, but Renee likes the look and feel of Gabrielle crawling toward Gurkhan on the bed. She decides she can stand on the bed instead of the floor during the pummeling. The safety supervisor, Sally, standing out of the shot, will hold Renee’s hand to keep her from falling off the bed. The size of the bed influenced how they shot the scene.
As Renee goes through the motions, she constantly checks with Michael, “Is this angle okay?” Whatever movement you make, you have to make sure it fits with the camera and lighting that has already been set.
Renee works with Calvin for a minute, standing up and then sitting and practicing kicking him while Michael talks with Lucy. He tells her Xena is wise enough to just let this run its course. She knows Gabrielle won't hurt Gurkhan, but she's never seen her go through anything like this before. The camera will be capturing those emotions on Xena's face.
The actors then stay in place while Michael talks with Waka about how many set-ups they will need. Five will do it. A few moments for everyone to scatter and tend to their individual tasks to ready the scene and it’s time for stage two, “rehearsal.”
“A Blowtorch Is As Good As A Match”
During rehearsal, the actors walk through the scene while delivering their lines. The DP and Michael work with a viewfinder to see what the camera will be recording. At this stage, the actors are in makeup and have the basics of their costumes on, but not any accessories such as weapons or, in this case, jewelry. They are also in robes and thermal boots because the soundstage is chilly.
There's a member of the crew festooned with rolls of duct tape in a variety of colors. As the actors reach certain points, he puts a piece of tape on the floor, bed, pillow or whatever surface the actor is on at that moment. For outdoor scenes, they use natural markers such as wood, rocks, hay or flowers to blend in with the ground. One of the jobs of the actor is to learn to hit your “mark” without looking down. If you watch a lot of television shows or movies, you can sometimes catch actors sneaking a peek.
After the rehearsal, there's a lot of activity as everything is readied and put in place. Lights and reflectors are set up. In this scene there are standing braziers with fire. They use large and small blowtorches to light the braziers and some candles. A short track, about five to eight feet long, is laid down for the camera to dolly across the floor following Gabrielle as she enters the room. Two cameras are used - one for closeups, the other for medium or full length shots.
There's a tremendous amount of wiring and cables along the floor powering and connecting all this equipment. Stand-ins for Lucy and Renee, simulating the action that will take place, are posed in various positions for the cameras and lights to focus on. Up to this point, the stage has been rather dark. Now there is a great deal of light.
When everything seems to be in place, the first assistant director, Carmen, announces there will be a run-through with the stand-ins doing the action for a final check of the lights, camera movements and Lars, the man working the boom microphone. The pole for this mic seems to be about ten feet long and he had to have his hands straight up over his head constantly holding it in position to keep not only the mic, but the pole out of shot and make sure they don't create shadows. There's some adjusting of props and they're ready for another rehearsal with the actors whose costumes are almost complete at this stage. The robes and boots have been dispensed with unless they will be out of camera range. If your feet don't show, you can keep your boots on.
Lucy arrives in full dance costume with tattoos on her hands, feet and stomach. Her hair and makeup person, Vanessa, takes Polaroids of each area of her body for continuity with scenes shot later and for the second unit (footage shot with body or stunt doubles). Photos are taken of the actors constantly to record any changes to costume or makeup that might take place during the action. For example, later in the day, Lucy has a bucket of water thrown on her and they need “before” and “after” shots.
Michael yells, “Action,” and Renee walks into the room, the camera following her motion. Lucy is on the bed. Xena has been coming on to Gurkhan. She talked him into having Gabrielle brought in to join them in a threesome. As her back is to the camera, Michael calls her name to cue her to turn around and see Gabrielle. Gurkhan sits up and beckons Gabrielle to join them. Lucy mimes the nerve pinch. Michael says. “Cut.” That's the end of the first set-up.
“Vinyl Chicks And Goats”
As Renee warms her hands over the fire in the brazier, Michael talks to Waka to see if everything is going according to plan. Then he confers with Lucy about the timing between Gurkhan saying, “Join us, little one,” and the nerve pinch. She had been waiting to see the camera tilt up as a visible cue for the pinch, but the movement of the camera is so small, it has to be done on internal timing instead. She will “feel” the moment.
One more rehearsal, the timing on the pinch works, Gurkhan says, “Join us little one,” and Renee mimes a cheery, “Okay!” and giggles. Carmen asks, “Are we good to go, guys? Good. Final checks.” Or, as my American ear hears the New Zealand accent, “Vinyl chicks.” I spent days waiting for the chickens to appear.
As the crew readies the equipment, Lucy, Renee and Calvin are given the once over by hair, makeup and costume people. Renee's hair is in corn rows and doesn't need any work. But she has a scarf dangling from jewelry on her arms and that needs adjusting. Lucy's jeweled belt keeps sliding around. One woman works on keeping it in place while another sprays and combs her hair. Lucy has a bit of a cold and it's difficult using a Kleenex when your hands are coated in tattoos - can't risk rubbing them off. Calvin has a very short haircut so he only needs some powder on his face for the shine.
While this is going on, Michael leans over to Calvin and chuckles, “You've got such a nice smile. If you could give it a slight bit of sleaze.” Calvin laughs; he'll work on it. He's right about Calvin's smile - it's very sweet and endearing.
They're ready to shoot:
Carmen: Good Waka?
Waka: Yes.
Carmen: Turn over!
2nd AD: Shooting!
Graham (sound): Sound! Speed!
Clapper: scene 32, take 1.
Michael: Action.
The scene progresses without a hitch. Michael says he's happy and so is everyone else. They've got what they need. Carmen says, “Chicken and the goats.” A few days later, I ask Lucy why they keep talking about farm animals and she stops laughing long enough to tell me it’s actually, “Checking the gates.” They open the camera and make sure no bits of film or anything else has jammed or marked the film. If the gates are clear, they move on to the next shot.
Lucy's not needed for the next scene - as it’s a closeup of Gabrielle on top of Gurkhan with the knife to his throat - so she waits in the area outside the bedroom setup. She grabs Vanessa's makeup box and spends about fifteen minutes working on the eyes of her body double, Cindy, all the while promising her how great she's going to look when Lucy's done with her.
(To Be Continued)