Our canon rehearsal took place out the back of Belvoir Castle, on a large gravel ridge overlooking the countryside far below. Along the ridge's edge was a waist-high stone wall, with six small canons pointing out at the panoramic scene. The camera was positioned alongside canon 1, with the other 5 curving away into the near-distance.
All the artillerymen were shown a canon and a pole used to ignite gunpowder in an indentation the top. The canons weren't real -- they were light-weight fakes, but you'd never tell. They looked extremely heavy, but three men could lift one. They couldn't fire real canonballs, so a pyrotechnic crew were there, ready to set them off on cues.
We were briefed on what to do: stand to attention next to your canon, holding your "fuse pole"... then, on the command "present", we had to hoist the poles up and ready... and when the command came to "fire!" we had to move the pole to the gunpowder ontop of your canon and the pyro guys would detonate an explosion.
It sounds simple, but the speed and maneover isn't easy to synchronize with other people! It was also nigh impossible to judge the distance exactly, so your lit fuse would usually miss the gunpowder area and you'd poke around trying to adjust your stretch. Then the stupid powder would never ignite!
After some failed rehearsals, they abandoned the gunpowder "fizzle", but it might be added in post-production using visual effects. So the plan now was to fire the canon remotely, using the pryo-crew, who woul synchronize to our movements, instead of our gunpowder fizzles. But again, that's harder than it sounds!
The director (Jean-Marc Vallee) was also around, huddled behind his camera, trying to get all the canons in the shot. He was a bit annoyed the gunpowder thing wasn't working, because it looked great when it did, but was just too temperamental to keep messing around with. I thought Vallee was a Frenchman (given his name), but detected a slight American accent. It turns out he's actually French-Canadian, so that explains it. Anyway, he seemed like a nice enough bloke, but kept himself separate from the extras, letting assistants and a military expert relay his thoughts.
It soon came time to shoot for real. Gulp. We all stood to attention and the extra playing our commanding officer had to shout "artillery... present... fire!" a few seconds after the director yelled action. He got £5 a word for that, so I think he should have padded it out. "Artillery... ready... aim... wait for it... okay... fire!" £40. Easy money.
The camera rolled. A cloud of concentration descended. The commands were shouted. We all did our best to hit our targets with our poles on the canon, and the pyros went off with satisfying BANGS. Hooray! We were one-take wonders, although my pole got slightly tangled on some bunting the wind decided to blow towards me. But I don't think it affected anything.
After that, we were congratulated for doing it brilliantly first time and people began moving onto the next scene. The "Dickens" extras came out of the Castle, to stand in front of a small stage with a tent over it, next to a small red carpet. As I mixed with the other artillerymen, now all complaining about the restrictive braces, uncomfortable helmets and back-ache... I suddenly caught sight of a woman in a green dress and bonnet, on the stage.
I remember thinking, in all honesty: "Wow, that extra looks like a younger version of Miranda Richardson." Er, but it was Miranda Richardson! It seems stupid to have thought that, but she just looked too small and youthful! It's funny how you expect film stars people to be taller, but she really was very petite.
Anyway, the other extras were assembling on the stage, around one lucky bloke who'd been chosen to be the town's Mayor! Apparently another actor on stage next to Miranda used to be in TV's Sharpe, but I didn't recognize him. It wasn't Sean Bean, I'm not an idiot.
Now, I wasn't really aware of Emily Blunt before getting this extra job, as she hasn't starred in any films I've seen -- or want to see, really. Her most famous role was as a "scene-stealing" character in
The Devil Wears Prada, but I'd never heard of her. But she was up there on-stage now, getting ready. Like Miranda, she was very tiny and waiflike. She's in her early-20s, but you'd think she was 16. Maybe it's just the costume and corsets that have this affect on women.
Emily was like a beautiful china doll, but you could see a vague hard-nosed expression in her that reminded me of Queen Victoria's gruff older look. I think she's been well-cast from a physical standpoint, although I doubt the real Queen Vic was anywhere near as pretty. It's like when Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth II -- she's a more idealised, prettier version of the real thing.
Everyone was standing around now, watching cameras move, extras get positioned, and just sneaking glances at Miranda and Emily. There was no sign of Jim Broadbent or anyone else from the cast, though. I was a little disappointed, as it would have been nice if Paul Bettany had been there. I'd rated him as an actor since his film debut in
Gangster No1. Oh well.
Sadly, the A.D told us our services weren't needed in this scene, so we were asked to go back into the castle cafeteria. Bugger. Back inside we traipsed, to sit around and take off those infernal helmets -- where one size is meant to fit all heads!
But then, amazingly, after 15 mins -- a runner came in and said: "Is Dan here?" I put my hand up. "Great, can you come with me, please?" Wow, great! Maybe I caught the eye of Miranda and Emily, so they want me up on stage, eh? Erm, no. As luck would have it, the camera angles of the stage area meant they needed "canon-firer number 4" to be in the background.
Oh well. Initially, I was a bit annoyed about being on canon 4, because I was quite far away from the camera, but flukily it meant I'd be needed for every shot of the tent scene! YES! But the downside is I'd be facing "out to sea", so you'll only ever see the back of my head. NOOO!
Ahhh, extra work: it lifts you up... to knock you down. Next time, in the final part of my extracurricular activity (see what I did there?) it's the most monotonous coach scene ever filmed...
A virus threatens the cast and crew, Matt has to cope with a reduced writing staff, and Jordan tells Danny a secret...
