Post by Queen Mab on Aug 25, 2010 10:25:52 GMT
So yesterday Dusthouse took over the Courtyard for the filming of the Morte d'Arthur trailer. Slightly curious for them to be filming it so late, with only days before the end of the season. Course they did do the small trailer early on (shots of Arthur with Merlin's voiceover). We did however hear a rumour that they would be bringing 2 plays on to another theatre - over and above the visits to London & New York. Intriguing.
Anyway, on with the trailer. Dusthouse is led by Chris McGill (aka "Dusty"), RSC alumni actor. He gave us a rundown of what would happen, and told us if we didn't know the dialogue by the end of the day (they were going to test us) then we'd have to pay for our seats - and we were sitting in some top price seats! He was rather amusing, poking fun at the audience saying that we'd be seen in the trailer and if we were sitting with someone we weren't supposed to be with, perhaps we should move. Justin Audibert (Morte d'Arthur's Assitant Director) ran down the scenes the were going to film; the formation of the Round Table (or, as is called by King Arthur, the Table Round!) and the climactic fight between Launcelot and Gawain. He said Dusthouse were going to try to film each scene 6 times but he doubted by the end the cast could manage the energy levels required for that. That's 6 angles with 4 cameras each time.
Some 100 volunteers were wrangled into position around one side of the stalls. After each take, some were moved around to the next side, to create the illusion of a full house. We were told to remember which seats we were in for which take, as we would return to that seat for filming of the 2nd scene. This didn't happen, as they kept moving us - continuity went out the window!
Filming of the first scene went pretty well, it began with Merlin blessing the table (i.e. walking round the light circle singing, followed by the knights), Arthur then announces his pledge & request from the knights and they swear. The stage goes dark and the view then switches to behind the action, where a red-lighted silhouette shows Margawse giving birth to Mordred. Merlin is the only one to notice this. Arthur then breaks the scene by asking who is to sit at his left hand, and Merlin states whoever he deems the most worthy. The knights look between each other and King Pelinor is brought forward. The knights all clap & stomp their feet - all except for Gawain and Agravain. The rest of the knights leave as they walked to centre stage (under the watchful eye of Merlin) & announce their intent to avenge their father (King Lot), who died at the hands of King Pellinor.
Sam Troughton had a few troubles during this scene, mostly only to the annoyance of me (I'm a continuity freak). You wouldn't notice it on one viewing, but after seeing the scene repeated I noticed he had trouble with his word order. "Ladies, gentlewomen and damsels" quickly became "Ladies, damsels and gentlewomen"... and back again! They did 5 takes and he kept switching between the two. He also once forgot Pellinor was a "King". As I said, this only annoyed me
After each take, a break of around 10 minutes let us chat amongst ourselves while the crew repositions cameras, check mics etc. This also gave the cast chance to chat, take a breather, have a drink, and have any costume issues fixed (Richard Katz, I'm looking at you!)
As is usual, a fair bit of dicking about went on too. Lots of throat clearing and scales from Forbes Masson (who has to sing in the scene). During the oath, each knight looks up at his counterpoint across the table, and speaks it in time with him. Dyfan and Richard speak it to each other, and for a lot of the breaks inbetween were saying "1 2 3 Table, 1 2 3 table, 1 2 3 table" at each other. After a while, I think Dyfan's mischievousness got the better of him... "1 2 3 tablet!" Often, a few of the actors disappeared to chat to their kids who were watching (though not on camera, RSC has a strict over-18s only policy). Sam and Kirsty Woodward kept having smiling issues and giggling before the take. Thankfully they managed to regain their composure when "action!" was called.
After five takes, they took a break & we were allowed to leave the auditorium for a break ourselves. When we returned, they were setting up for the fight between Launcelot and Gawain. Only Sam Troughton, Olly Ryan, Jonjo, James Howard and Dyfan were needed, so the rest went off to get changed and go home before that night's show (and in Forbes' case, have his ridiculously long beard/hair removed).
To be continued....
Anyway, on with the trailer. Dusthouse is led by Chris McGill (aka "Dusty"), RSC alumni actor. He gave us a rundown of what would happen, and told us if we didn't know the dialogue by the end of the day (they were going to test us) then we'd have to pay for our seats - and we were sitting in some top price seats! He was rather amusing, poking fun at the audience saying that we'd be seen in the trailer and if we were sitting with someone we weren't supposed to be with, perhaps we should move. Justin Audibert (Morte d'Arthur's Assitant Director) ran down the scenes the were going to film; the formation of the Round Table (or, as is called by King Arthur, the Table Round!) and the climactic fight between Launcelot and Gawain. He said Dusthouse were going to try to film each scene 6 times but he doubted by the end the cast could manage the energy levels required for that. That's 6 angles with 4 cameras each time.
Some 100 volunteers were wrangled into position around one side of the stalls. After each take, some were moved around to the next side, to create the illusion of a full house. We were told to remember which seats we were in for which take, as we would return to that seat for filming of the 2nd scene. This didn't happen, as they kept moving us - continuity went out the window!
Filming of the first scene went pretty well, it began with Merlin blessing the table (i.e. walking round the light circle singing, followed by the knights), Arthur then announces his pledge & request from the knights and they swear. The stage goes dark and the view then switches to behind the action, where a red-lighted silhouette shows Margawse giving birth to Mordred. Merlin is the only one to notice this. Arthur then breaks the scene by asking who is to sit at his left hand, and Merlin states whoever he deems the most worthy. The knights look between each other and King Pelinor is brought forward. The knights all clap & stomp their feet - all except for Gawain and Agravain. The rest of the knights leave as they walked to centre stage (under the watchful eye of Merlin) & announce their intent to avenge their father (King Lot), who died at the hands of King Pellinor.
Sam Troughton had a few troubles during this scene, mostly only to the annoyance of me (I'm a continuity freak). You wouldn't notice it on one viewing, but after seeing the scene repeated I noticed he had trouble with his word order. "Ladies, gentlewomen and damsels" quickly became "Ladies, damsels and gentlewomen"... and back again! They did 5 takes and he kept switching between the two. He also once forgot Pellinor was a "King". As I said, this only annoyed me
After each take, a break of around 10 minutes let us chat amongst ourselves while the crew repositions cameras, check mics etc. This also gave the cast chance to chat, take a breather, have a drink, and have any costume issues fixed (Richard Katz, I'm looking at you!)
As is usual, a fair bit of dicking about went on too. Lots of throat clearing and scales from Forbes Masson (who has to sing in the scene). During the oath, each knight looks up at his counterpoint across the table, and speaks it in time with him. Dyfan and Richard speak it to each other, and for a lot of the breaks inbetween were saying "1 2 3 Table, 1 2 3 table, 1 2 3 table" at each other. After a while, I think Dyfan's mischievousness got the better of him... "1 2 3 tablet!" Often, a few of the actors disappeared to chat to their kids who were watching (though not on camera, RSC has a strict over-18s only policy). Sam and Kirsty Woodward kept having smiling issues and giggling before the take. Thankfully they managed to regain their composure when "action!" was called.
After five takes, they took a break & we were allowed to leave the auditorium for a break ourselves. When we returned, they were setting up for the fight between Launcelot and Gawain. Only Sam Troughton, Olly Ryan, Jonjo, James Howard and Dyfan were needed, so the rest went off to get changed and go home before that night's show (and in Forbes' case, have his ridiculously long beard/hair removed).
To be continued....
Thanks for the report and capturing all the fun moments. Has the glamour of filming worn off for anyone yet? That silence thing is weird, right? I've noticed it sometimes when I've gone back to shows I've seen before - sudden unexplained silences when nothing is about to happen. At least it's better than a slow clap.
