HAPPY MONDAY from a Ders who just needs a shower, a raise, and (courtesy of Jillian) his new character motivation.
All the hard work and planning that went into creating a sewer led to this scene in which the guys choose which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle best represents them.
To get a shot of the water sinking in from the drain pipe the crew had to create an entire drainage system and pump all the extra water out to avoid flooding the sound stage. The sludge mixture that looked like poop water was made with brownie mix, pudding mix and oatmeal. It was entirely edible, albeit disgusting.
While our Art Department gave the sewer set it’s look, Gaffer David Hayball and Director of Photography Grant Smith lit and shot the sewer so as to seemingly bring the grime into your living rooms.
Making it feel cramped, claustrophobic even, came down to their conversations with Director Kyle Newacheck over how best to capture the depth of the set.
Luckily no one fell in the drain and ruined their clothes, equipment, or the shot, boy would that have sucked.
In a gesture of solidarity, our grips (led by Key Grip Patrick Heffernan, their “Splinter” in red and sporting the rat whiskers) dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while building and shooting in the sewer. Their energy and enthusiasm helped keep the mood appropriately playful while everyone was stuck in such cramped quarters.
No word on if their turtle characters matched their personalities, or what kind of pizza they prefer.
Shooting in the sewer was a little tricky. It was really slippery and smelled pretty weird, but the actual sewer was much bigger than it looked on TV so there was plenty of room for the guys and the cameras.
In our first photo, Production Designer Gary Kordan surveys the Art Department’s handy work inside the sewer set.
Construction may have built the set, but it was the Art Department’s set dressing that made it gross, dank, and uncomfortable to be in. Set Decorator Julie Drach worked with her team of Josh Richter, Shane Passantino, Garrett Zunt, Brian Ferguson and Caitlin Williams to turn the clean to the disturbing.
We didn’t ask how they knew how to make a place so destroyed, and frankly, we don’t want to know. We’re sure they used their professional skills and not any first-hand experiences, of course.
We also have to give our thanks to Brian for providing us with such great photos of the sewer progress. We’re 95% sure he took pics of the set, and didn’t spend any actual time in a sewer.
Coming up we’ll have more on what happened once Adam, Blake and Ders got to the set and started playing in the sewer setting.
