Climbing. Rifles. Blood.
Fake blood, that is (for the most part).
I had to make an eight scene storyboard for one of my classes. Since we’re both into video and photography, naturally we went out to shoot it (the main option was to draw stick figures – neither of us are good at that).
We left for Mt. Tibrogargan at 7 am, arriving a bit past 8 am. Elise started on hair and makeup with Anna while Jade got battle ready. Finally, we started toward the mountain with a couple of M4 Carbine rifle replicas secured in my pack.
Unfortunately, the wind was very strong, prohibiting a climb to the summit. It was hand over hand climbing and was deemed too dangerous to attempt by Elise, the sole Australian in the group. Instead, we focused on shooting the short scene.
It was intense.
The first few scenes went smoothly, requiring only a few takes. Once we got to the face of the mountain, the wind picked up. Elise acted as the props crew, making sure the weapons were secured and the fake blood was in the right spots. Both actresses had a firm grip on the rock faces at all times.
I can’t say the same for myself. I had to wedge my feet into little footholds while leaning forward. Both hands were on my camera to capture the shots, so a little slip meant a sweet helicopter ride. Yes, I was totally safe Mom, stop worrying.
I captured the shots we needed and proceeded to drive home. On a completely different note, here’s an interesting fact – all of us are from different countries! Elise is Aussie, Jade is English, Anna is Norwegian, and I’m American. Cool, huh?
Funny how travel brings people together.
Justin Fague 