Behind The Scenes And on The Set With Anthony De Longis

"HONOR THY FATHER"

photo at left - Natalia, as the Queen, rides into the center of the garrison, rearing her horse as she helps Churi and Raul escape from prison.

Mmmm....Nuns and Horses!

This brings us to the "Rearing Nun" segment. Brian Grant absolutely loved this image. I think it's that British public school education. Natalia did a great job doubling the Queen charging through the portal, rearing her horse to spoil Grisham's shot and throwing a dagger at soldier Chencho in the balcony to make him drop his pistol. Shouting, "Come on!" she cued Domingo and Juan Miguel, doubling our two actors, to follow at the gallop.

Originally the action was going to be shot in many pieces, one setup at a time. I wanted to try to shoot as much as possible in one big take with a single punch in for coverage pieces and be on to the next scene. It would save us a lot of time and the momentum would make for a more exciting sequence. I talked it through with my partner, Ricardo, and we took our ideas to the director

I suggested to Brian Grant that we tie Grisham into our action utilizing the pistol dropped by the wounded balcony soldier to give him another shot at the Queen. As she charged towards him, Salvador, stunt doubling for Anthony Lemke, would dive towards camera and scoop up the pistol. We'd cut to Salvador doubling Grisham with Salvador flinging himself to his back as the horse brushed past him. In the next setup, we'd rig a small jump and shoot the horse leaping from below. Finally Anthony would scramble to his feet and fire into camera. Cut together, the sequence would create the appearance that the horse had jumped the man to prevent his shot at the fleeing Churi and Raul. This would safely heighten the illusion of danger and support the character Anthony Lemke was creating by highlighting Grisham's spontaneous courage.

Photo at right - Anthony (right) and Ricardo (behind soldier) go through the horse rear for the soldiers prior to shooting the scene. This allowed the horse to better understand what he was expected to do.

We set up two cameras across the courtyard facing the portal; one static, one on dolly tracks, and the third camera on a rooftop to cover Natalia as she charged the second group of soldiers to prevent them from stopping Churi & Raul's escape. The boys rode around the blacksmith's forge while the Queen reversed direction towards Grisham.

Photo at left - DP Alwyn Kumst and cameraman Colin Hoult rehearse the dolly shot for Churi and Raul's escape. The man in the baseball cap at the far left is director Brian Grant.

You make a plan, you change a plan (Part 2)...

Our DP, Alwyn Kumst laid the camera tracks below the smithy and parallel to the running horses so the movement of camera would support the movement of the action. Sometimes your director gets a "better idea" and you've got to be ready to change in mid-setup. My only proviso to this kind of seat-of-the-pants choreography is performer safety. Both Brian and Alwyn decided they wanted to shoot the entire action without stopping. Since we were doubling the Queen, they wanted to have a recognizable principal actor in this two-camera master shot. This meant I needed a safe variation for my "horse jumping the man" idea.

Photo at right - Natalia, as the Queen, clears the jump. Anthony Lemke, avoiding the galloping horse, is to the right of the barrels, as Domingo (Churi double) and Juan Miguel (Raul double) ride away.

I thought I could create an acceptable safety guarantee for Anthony by building him a protective cubicle of barrels and boxes parallel to the proposed jump. By keeping his area formidable and the jump path easy and inviting, I knew the horse would take the path of least resistance and my actor would be safe. Ricardo instructed horse expert Hernan Ortiz to rehearse "Chico the Wonder Horse" through the action. Then we rehearsed Natalia and Chico at speed for the camera with me standing in for Anthony. Ricardo and I were satisfied the action was safe for both horse and actor so we turned it over to the director to shoot the scene. It's hard to tell by the editor's shot selection, but that's really Anthony Lemke running into position and kneeling right next to the barrels as the Queen jumps the barricade and he fires at the retreating riders.