Buffy Shoot Reports - pics hopefully :)

[xita]

Edited to say that there may be spoilers for future eps, but nothing too bad.

My full report, minus pictures, hopefully Robert will have some later cause he had the handy digital camera. I have to develop mine. I will share mine when I develop them. So, I got there and it was a much better shoot then what I have been to before. It's a park and it's wide open. Lots of places to sit and pretend you aren't really watching. From an earlier report I am guessing the bad girl is April (see spoilers for more info). She's choking SMG's stunt double. Meanwhile, SMG sits around reading waiting. Eventually they finish this shot and set up another one. I moved from my cushy seat and go look for somewhere else to see. I spot Emma walking around. The 2 stunt doubles are practicing stuff with the stunt coordinator. Then they quickly set up the next shot and SMG and her 2 stunt doubles shoot a series of fight shots. Lots of choreography. I managed to take a few shot, but they aren't very good. It was far away. So then they start moving stuff down the street. And then I think I spot her. Amber is like rushing down to the shoot. So, I walk the other way and I just miss her as she makes her way down to where they are setting the scene. Then I get a phone call and it's Robert. I tell him where I am and as I am hanging up the phone, I spot someone putting his cell phone away. I wave and it's Robert. So now, I have a partner and I don't feel too much like a stalker. And Amber is so cute cause she looks like Tara. Elbow lenght sleeves, black shirt with circles on it. Long skirt, black boots think Family. Hair is down, the sides clipped up.
It's a Tara, Anya scene. Bob and I get moved cause we are in the shot. We go across the street and we have a pretty good view, though we can't hear what is being said. Amber is one girl with lots of energy. She runs to and fro to get her jacket, stands on rocks, jumps off, jumps in place. Really cute. Anyway, in the scene Tara and Anya are both walking down the street talking when April (I assume) walks over to them and asks them a simple question. They don't know the answer. She walks away and they look back at her as she goes and talks to some guy. Then they turn back and continue walking. That was the scene. They shot it a few times from like 2 angles. I did my best to hide, I did not want to be spotted I was being paranoid. We took a few pictures and I think Robert got a couple of good ones. That's the short version! I'll try to post my pictures this weekend. It was great to see Amber turn into Tara. VEry cool. It was really cool seeing "Tara." Since this is my 4th time seeing Amber, I thought that was the neatest part, real "live" Tara. If it had only been a w/t scene it would have been perfect! And finally meeting Bob was also extra special. Especially when I saw we essentially have the same car (yes color too).

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Tara: And see those stars along there? That's the bottom of the pineapple.
Willow: It's big.
Tara: Hence the name.

[This message has been edited by xita (edited January 18, 2001).]

[BBOvenGuy]

Yes, the car thing was pretty scary...

Novogate ate my first attempt to post a report, so I'm glad Xita had one ready. Mine is very similar. When I arrived at Stoner Park, they were just breaking down the equipment from what I assume was SMG and the stunt doubles. I was looking around for Xita when along came Amber, charging right at me. Xita was right - that's one young woman with a lot of energy. I figured plowing into Amber and making her late was not the best way to introduce myself, so I quickly got out of the way. That was when I called Xita.

I brought both my regular camera and my borrowed-from-work digital camera with me. I quickly discovered that digital cameras are a lot less suspicion-arousing to Security people than the bigger regular kind, so I stuck to using that. Unfortunately, digital cameras also aren't as good as the old fashioned kind, so these pics weren't as good as I'm normally used to. I did get a couple that are presentable, though. Here they are:

First, Amber and Emma after a take:

Next, Amber and Emma and guest-star-girl (huddling in the blue coat since her outfit was too skimpy for our LA winter weather) talk with one of the Production folks:

All in all it was a fun afternoon. It was good to meet Xita, too, despite the spooky car thing and the fact that she kept trying to hide behind me.

Now I gotta go research digital cameras so I can get a better one for the next shoot!

[Utena]

xita, i am SO envious. amber jumping around...cuuuuute...

[Roxton]

Xita, Bob thanks for the report and the pictures. To be that close to Amber(Tara), it must have been so awesome.

Xita, does SMG have 2 stunt doubles?

[heathergalaxy]

very cute! i can't wait to see more pics!

[april]

omg omg omg! i can't believe that not only do i find out i have a doppelganger robot on buffy, i even get to see a picture of her! wow!

this is too exciting. bob and xita, i'm way jealous.

but woohoo for those pics! i'm excited for a tara/anya scene...

i wonder what my doppelganger will be like?

[Warduke]

Bob, I'm sure it's just my eyes playing a trick on me but in the second pic, the girl with the hat, in the red jacket...isn't that Aly?

Of course if it was, I'm sure you and xita would have noticed

[Kiwiccan]

Xita and Bob...I love you guys. Thanks for the reports and the piccies.
Xita you are such a chicken. I am sure Amber would have been thrilled to see you again.

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Paula
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Amber FanGirl #1a
May the Amber Force be with you.

[Roxton]

Bob your right, plowing into Amber and making her late was not the best way to introduce youself. Although if she had you might have had to catch her to keep her from falling.

[SciFiAcid]

Oooo, fun times. See xita, deff worth calling in sick! And Amber sounds so cute all jumpy and stuff. I like the outfit. I wonder which episode they were shooting.

[Rane]

argh!!!! spoilers to some future ep!!!! but i deserve it for being so absentminded...

edited to say... more pictures! =)

[This message has been edited by Rane (edited January 17, 2001).]

[drlloyd11]

To quote Buffy to Willow in "Choices":
"I kind of Love you"
Many thanks Bob and Xita,,,

[BBOvenGuy]

quote:

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Originally posted by Warduke:
Bob, I'm sure it's just my eyes playing a trick on me but in the second pic, the girl with the hat, in the red jacket...isn't that Aly?

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I'd thought that myself when I first saw her, because that's *such* a bad-wardrobe Willow hat. But alas, it was not.

How pathetic am I...? I've carried prints of my Aly-Long Beach Grand Prix pics to every shoot I've gone to, hoping I'd get a chance to give her some and have her sign others. So far my fantasy has gone unfulfilled.

I'm definitely going digital-camera shopping this weekend. I could have gotten better pics with my Canon, but it also would have made noise and the big lens would have drawn attention. At Griffith Park I could only take one before the Securty guard stopped me, and that one turned out badly. At this shoot I got four, but they were all fuzzy. Fear not, I'll find an answer yet!

quote:

[Dr.G]

*sigh* Amber jumping all over the place. Xita, Bob I admire your restraint at not jumping on Amber.
I was just too late for chat, darn it. Work...*grumble*...well I shouldn't call it work actually, as I got to catch up on some much needed sleep, hehe. So now I'm completely fit and awake again, and busy with my mad posting spree.
Thank you both for going. You've made many of us vicariously very happy.
I like the idea of a Tara/Anya scene. And an April robot is a concept of sheer brilliance. I wonder if some of the writers are lurking at this board?

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"Hello, Tarasexual now!"

[This message has been edited by Dr.G (edited January 18, 2001).]

[Tim the UNSPOILED]

So,uh,Lemmy did'nt show?
Bollocks!

[Warduke]

Thanks Bob, that's why I asked...I was thinking only Willow would wear such a bad hat, guess I was wrong

[BBOvenGuy]

Maybe that person is in charge of the wardrobe, and that's where Willow gets all her bad hats...

[Warduke]

That's it Bob, SHE's the one who dresses Willow and Tara, that explains everything

[The English Slayer]

Just look at the bag if you think the hats funny!

[mucifer]

maybe it's me, but i think you all go too far with this follow the stars thing i mean ... cant you wait for aly and amber to be at a public event? they seem to happen all the time there in la la land. or perhaps wait 6 more days til they air the epi?

[BBOvenGuy]

Well...

(a) We have gone to see Aly and Amber at public events. I saw Aly race in the Long Beach Pro-Celebrity event last April, and Xita has gone to see Amber several times. Plus we both saw Amber and a gaggle of other WB stars at their "All-Star Party" earlier this month.

(b) Since these shoots are on public property, they are effectively public events. There have been other shoots on private property that we have not tried to go to. It's no different from my own job - I would never expect a stranger to walk into my office and sit there watching me work, but if my oven assembly line was out in the middle of Seventh Avenue I wouldn't be surprised or offended if people came by and said, "What are you doing? Can I watch?"

(c) Sure, we could just wait for the episodes to air, but what's the fun in that?

(d) There are a lot of people who don't live in LA but do want to get a "behind the scenes" look at what's happening with their two favorite witches and the actresses who portray them. By "a lot," I think you can start with everyone on this Board (with one exception, apparently... ). Xita and I were making jokes on another thread about how we were performing a "public service," but I'm serious now in saying that being able to give the distant folks a taste of what they can't go and see for themselves is a valuable part of the whole experience for me.

Does that answer your questions?

[This message has been edited by BBOvenGuy (edited January 18, 2001).]

[blue]

xita and Bob: thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us who aren't able to be there!

[Ashes]

quote:

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Originally posted by mucifer:
maybe it's me, but i think you all go too far with this follow the stars thing i mean ... cant you wait for aly and amber to be at a public event? they seem to happen all the time there in la la land. or perhaps wait 6 more days til they air the epi?

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Delurking for a moment. I work in the industry out here in LA and can say most crews and actors I've worked with are usually fine with people at shoots as long as they behave themselves, ie. don't make too much noise or bother people. Also if it's on public land it's not too much of a problem for they crew because they are prepare for this. If they were afraid they'd have security. Now if people were trying to get into the stage where they shoot the show, that would be a problem. Considering it's close by and no one bothers them there probably doesn't hurt. They don't feel too paranoid about people.
Public events can be fun, but a lot of time they are crowded and noise. Plus, the actors almost always have their "professional" mode on. They tend not to be more casual 'cause they're at work.
I like reading about personality traits that you normally don't get to hear about. I loved the jumping and rock climbing bits on Amber Benson. Thanks for the info!

quote:

[BBOvenGuy]

Following up on what Ashes said, my own personal rules for shoot-spectator etiquette are as follows:

Rule #1 - Do whatever the Security people tell you to do. In fact, the first thing I do when I get to a shoot is seek out a Security person and ask, "Is it okay if I watch?" That way, I'm communicating right up front that I don't want to make trouble.

Rule #2 - Remain absolutely silent between the time someone yells "Rolling!" and the time someone yells "Cut!"

Rule #3 - Consider yourself totally invisible to the cast and crew unless they explicitly say otherwise. Be grateful if they acknoweldge your existence in some friendly fashion, but don't expect them to do it or be ticked off if they don't.

I've been to several shoots now, and following those rules has always worked.

[Zelda]

As someone who shoots in public places all the time, I'll also say that folks hanging around a set doesn't bother me or my crew. It's kind of fun actually because you're performing for a little audience. The cast is performing in front of an audience of crew people anyway so it usually doesn't phase them in the least. Most people around a public set are really nice. In addition, shoots are fun to go to.

On a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Bob's photos from the last shoot. When I saw the actual show, I thought cool, I know how that one was shot. So, thanks to Bob and Xita for their reconnaissance work. I can't imagine either of these really thoughtful people doing anything to make the cast or crew uncomfortable.

[BBOvenGuy]

Awww... thanks, Zelda!

Yes, we try very hard not to get those who bring our favorite characters to life mad at us. I hadn't considered your point before, but I suppose it's obvious that actors - being naturally hammy people - wouldn't mind having a little audience to perform for. Even so, we do try to be polite and mind our places.

[The English Slayer]

I think it's wicked that people go to the shoot's, I love seeing what happens behind the scenes, and It keeps me in touch with the Buffy world that i miss...cause Hello, Living in England!!!

[xita]

I have to say that it certainly isn't celebrity hunting. I have gone to 3 shoots now and I have never tried to get anyone's attention or even in fact said hi to anyone on the shoot. My greatest wish is to be invisible and you can as Robert about that I have gone to signings to talk to people and I have no shame in that. Bob and I behaved at the shoot. In fact during one of the shoots I had this urge to sneeze and I used superhuman efforts to stifle it. The experience was exciting because it was very neat to see how the show is made. I had seen Nick in his construction job for "The Replacement" and it was neat to see it on the air.

Thanks to all of you who appreciated reading about it and hopefully seeing more pics this weekend

And thanks zelda for clearing that up!

[Ange]

The pics that you've seen come from " I was made to love you". Episode fifteen. I saw the spoiler in the slayer sixth sens and the story is exactly the same that waht you've said.

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Sorry for my faults. I'm French.

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Willow: "Hello, gay now!"