Guest Blogger: Kay Panabaker Pt. 3

YAY! My finals are over, so I'm back to blog! I'm getting so excited - it's next weekend that I'm coming to Calgary! I have so many plans for when I'm there! Obviously I can't wait to screen the film to any of you who've been good enough to read what I'm blogging (I hope you'll introduce yourself and tell me you read along? or else I'll think I'm blabbering on for nothing!) and to see everybody who worked on it (some of them are traveling in, too - from Vancouver, from Edmonton...) but I'm also going to get to ride "Checkers" again!

My character in the film, a girl named Moondance, makes a special friend in Checkers, a pinto pony. Neither of them has been able to achieve their full potential and both are a little restless, so finding each other gives them the opportunity to achieve new things. There are other girls in the film who ride beautiful, well-bred horses, but you don't get the sense that they really enjoy each other the way that Moondance and Checkers do. When we see the other girls on their horses it's more like a business relationship - they work together. When you see Moondance and Checkers, you can just tell (I hope - you tell me after you see the film) that they have fun together. And that's why I'm so anxious to get back to Calgary - I really loved those horses!

I've been asked specifically what a day on the set was like. I have no idea who's reading this, so I'll try to write it as though it's for someone who's never been on a set - I hope that won't bore you. Because we were from out of town (I live in Los Angeles) we stayed in a hotel, and the production would send someone to pick us up every morning - usually Kim, who (because she had to leave her house to pick us up in the morning and go home after dropping us off at night) got less sleep than I did but always managed to be bright and cheerful! I think one of my earliest pick-ups on this film was 5:15 AM - but the weird thing is that it was already light outside at that hour!

Once we arrived on set, we'd go to "base camp", where all the trailers are kept. In my trailer would be the clothes I was supposed to wear in the first scene we were shooting (sometimes I'd have to change clothes (and hairstyles!) 5 or six times if we did a lot of different scenes) so I'd get dressed in that outfit and head to the hair and makeup trailer. That was fun, because we'd play great music, and Debbie and Cathy (I'm including a photo) and I talked, and laughed, and commiserated when things were tough. Also at base camp is the catering trailer, and I got a hot breakfast every morning (usually eaten while I was getting my hair and makeup done, because there wasn't time to sit down and eat like a normal person, at a table!).

L-R Lori, who played my mom (we'd worked together before and it was so great to play her daughter in this, because she's such a great mom to her own kids and I already loved her from our work together in "Summerland", that it took very little acting on my part to pretend to have a close relationship with her!) Debbie (who did my makeup) Doug (who, along with Laurette, was a Canadian producer who took care of everything and was responsible for most of the incredible crew - so I'm really grateful to both of them!) me, and Cathy (who did my hair, and who, along with Debbie, earned the nicknames "Puff and Comb" from Don - powder puff for makeup, comb for hair). I'm going to see them all soon, and can't wait!

On most projects, you start the day with a rehearsal, where you get to practice before they start filming. On this one, though, we rarely had time. We had a lot to get done, so the crew set up the scene and by the time I got to "the set" (which could have been a stable, or a dirt road, or a city street - whatever you see on the screen) it was time to go! You shoot a scene several times. First the "master" shot, which is pretty much all the action shot from far away (so that you can see everything at one time) then you shoot it again closer up - and maybe another time even closer. And you shoot it from several angles. If it's a scene with 3 characters, you might shoot each character by themselves, then two of them together, then maybe two different ones together - and if you have a scene with a lot of people, one scene can take all day! Here's 2 behind-the-scenes photos to help illustrate: the first one is a "master" - you can see everything going on. Just left of center is the camera (it's gray and black, and it's partially blocked by a tree and people) and I'm to the right of that on a ladder (under an umbrella so I wouldn't get any more sun - it makes the makeup artist's job tough if some days you're pale and other days you have sunburn and other's you're tan). Just right of the ladder is a big white sheet of fabric used to "bounce" the light, in this case onto the faces of the mean girls. This is a scene with 3 people - Moondance and 2 mean girls, all on horses. In this photo, they're getting ready to shoot just the mean girls, so I'm not in the shot. They put me on the ladder because when the girls are looking at and talking to Moondance they're all on horseback, and this way I'm at the same height as the girls during our conversation - it's to give them the right "eye-line", meaning where they look when saying their lines. (Sometimes someone on a set will yell "Clear the eye lines!", meaning crew members or extras or anyone else standing around should move so that the actors can't see them. Good to know if you ever visit a set.)
The next photo shows me more up close on the ladder. That's how the shooting day works - you start wide and go "in tighter", getting closer in on some things and cropping other things out of the shot.

So that's the majority of the day. If we were shooting more than one scene in a day (on the day shown in those ladder pictures, we did 3 scenes - it was our last day of shooting, and I remember trying so hard not to cry when we were done (and failing!), because I was afraid I'd never see the crew members again, and I liked them all so much!) then when we finished one scene, I'd rush back to base camp to change clothes, change hair and makeup, and then hurry to the next set to shoot the next one. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon "craft service" (the people who provide food all day for everyone to snack on) would bring around something more substantial than the usual junk food (sodas, candy bars, etc.) like sandwiches or soup. People visiting a film set for the first time are always shocked at the concept of craft service - there's a table full of snack food available all day long, with fresh fruit and veggies, pastries, cheese and crackers, and other goodies appearing sporadically through the day. But when you're shooting in the middle of nowhere (literally - on this film we'd be in the middle of a field somewhere - no electricity, no bathrooms, no houses as far as you could see) there's no water fountain, no vending machine, and the crew in particular is doing hard work and heavy lifting, with no time for a "coffee break", so having that snack food on hand is a necessity, so that they can grab it (or have someone grab it for them) and go. Usually about 7 or 8 hours after we'd started, catering served lunch. It was great - 3 choices of main dishes, veggies, salads, lemonade to drink, and some awesome dessert. As I said in my last blog, at lunch time I'd practice riding with the Kirk and TJ the horse wranglers, who were also my riding coaches (although I'm not sure they got paid for both jobs?) so everyone was kind enough to let me go through the lunch line first, eat quickly, then saddle up.

So after lunch we'd shoot another 7 hours of so - more of the same. The great thing about this film was that if I had some time to myself (sometimes there'd be a scene I wasn't in, or they'd be setting up equipment and weren't quite ready for me) not only were there great people to visit with, but great animals as well! I've told you (again and again!) how much I loved the horses, but this is a photo of Blackbean, a miniature donkey with the most BEAUTIFUL eyes! (It's a very close-up picture so you can see his long eyelashes) He got one great scene in the film and is a real character! Flo, who painted the horses (yes, the paint horses had to be painted! She was Checkers' makeup artist!) is an amazing dog trainer, so there were always a few dogs around and I learned a lot watching her with them. She made it look easy, but, as I found out with my own dogs, it's not!

At the end of the day, I'd change back into my own clothes and the wardrobe department would wash what I'd worn so that it would be fresh the next morning. Someone would tell me what time I'd be coming in the next morning, and Kim would drive us back to the hotel, where I was usually too tired to do anything but sleep! All of my sightseeing and shopping and eating out was on the weekends. Here's another picture of one of my favorite non-movie memories of Alberta - snow in July!

I leave for Calgary in a week! I can't wait! I'll stop in to blog one more time between now and then. Have a great weekend - and I hope to see you on the 23rd!

Guest Blogger: Kay Panabaker Pt. 2

OK, I had to include a photo with Catherine, to show you the difference between a REAL rider and someone who just plays one in a movie. Catherine was a local girl worked on the film to earn money to buy a saddle (it's such an expensive hobby/sport!) and I learned a lot by watching her with the horses. When you see Checkers with his hair braided for the competition, you're looking at Catherine's handiwork! Her horse, Brownie got to be in the film, too!

This was my lunch hour almost every day. I'd wolf down some food and then spend as much time as I could on the horse. Because we were shooting scenes all day long, and most of them didn't involve me being on the horse, lunch and weekends were the only time that I really got to work on my riding. You'll notice that Kirk and I are each riding a "Checkers". Both of these horses played Checkers in different scenes - one was better at doing tricks and one was better for riding, but I loved them both - Picasso and Trigger!

Moondance Alexander is the story of a young girl who, over the course of a summer, and through her friendship with a horse, not only challenges herself, but those around her. I don't want to give too much away, so I won't go into great detail, but there's a little something in it for everyone. Anyone who's ever struggled with fitting in will be able to relate to Moondance, whether it's the mean girls from school, the boy she makes a fool of herself in front of, a painful family situation, or learning a new sport. The adults in the film also struggle with their own issues - hiding from a past, uncertain of a future, trying to do the right thing when you're not exactly sure what that is. And of course there's the gorgeous backdrop of the Calgary countryside, the talented and beautiful horses, and the thrill of competition to add to the character's stories!

So if I'm going to tell you about my time on the film, the first thing you have to know, if you're not from Calgary, is that in the summer the days are LONG! As in the sun comes up early and sets late, so we spent 12 hours a day (or more!) out in the sun. I got the best tan I've had in 10 years last summer without even trying! I also got in shape from all the riding. I was cast for my acting ability, not my riding ability, so I had a lot to learn in a short time. Before I went to Calgary I rode for 2 weeks here in LA, every morning, just to get the basics - to learn how to hold myself, to gain balance and muscle, and to get comfortable enough so that I'd look believable on camera. Once I got to Canada, the real work began!

When I got there, it was a whirlwind of wardrobe fittings, rehearsals, and meeting everyone involved. I got to spend some time with the horses so that we could bond, but just as soon as we were getting to know each other, it was time to start shooting the movie. There was a lot more to this movie than riding, and for the first week of shooting we didn't do any scenes that involved me being on the horse. So that meant we were shooting scenes all day (in the house, at the school, at the art studio, at the store) and I didn't get to spend any time with the horses. Then the first scenes we did with a horse were those where I'm standing on the ground with the horse, so while it was great that the horses were on set, rather than riding them I was practicing "tricks" with them - having them take a hat off my head, things like that. But we could see that we'd soon be shooting scenes where I had to be able to ride, so we used our lunch hour to practice riding - which meant the trainers gave up their lunch hour to work with me. Great guys! So great, in fact, that they also gave up weekends to work with me! Any equestrian will tell you that no one learns to ride in a matter of days or weeks, so I really needed all the practice I could get, and that meant weekends.

Our whole last week of shooting was spent in this spot (don't you love the location? the hills in the background?) and that's where I learned to jump. It looks like we're just walking through this jump, so it must have been early in the week, but I had to start somewhere!

Again, I don't want to give the film away, but let's just say that jumping a horse is a bit more advanced than simply riding, and the original plan was to have a double do any jumping that my character *might* have to do. Well, by the last week I didn't need to practice my riding at lunch anymore, so we moved on to jumping! There's a picture here of that first day - the jump is small and the horse isn't going full speed ahead, but you start small and move up. There were a lot of scenes that involved reaction shots and other characters talking to each other that week, which meant that I wasn't on camera every minute, so that gave us extra time for practice. We concentrated on staying on the horse (which I did!) and skipped over some of the finer points (sort of like learning to drive a race car really fast, but not how to park or back up or anything else) but we could only do so much in the time we had. (That's why I'm taking horseback riding lessons now - to pick up everything I missed the first time!)

Weekends I rode with TJ Bews. Part of the time it was work, practicing my riding for the film and bonding with the horses, but it was a great way to relax, too, just getting away from it all. On the weekends there were no lights, no cameras (OK, I guess someone had to take this photo with a camera, but no movie cameras!) no hair and makeup - just us and the horses.

Well, it's back to the books for me - I have a paper to write and a final exam to study for, but once they're done I'll stop back by. I've been asked to describe "a day in the life of Kay Panabaker while shooting Moondance Alexander" and to tell a little bit about what I have coming up. (For those of you reading in the US, I have a Lifetime movie airing Saturday, September 8th and Monday September 10th called Custody with Rob Morow and James Denton. Canadians don't get Lifetime, but it was shot in Ottawa so maybe someday it will air on Canadian television? Sorry for that little advertisement, but by the time I post again it will be over!)
I've heard from several Moondance Alexander crew members that they're planning to come to the September 23rd screening at the Calgary International Film Festival, so it should be a great time! They're a superb bunch of people and I'd love to have anybody that's reading this come and meet them and ask them questions about their end of movie-making! Let's face it - they worked with animals and a kid on this one - that's tough! And if any of the crew is reading this, I CAN'T WAIT to see you in a couple of weeks! I'll be there early and stay late - hey, it'll be just like a day on the set - NOT! For one thing, it'll be air conditioned..

You've never met a harder working bunch than this crew. You can tell how long they were out in the sun by looking at those tans! This photo is with the assistant directors, who made sure everything ran smoothly no matter what the day held. Left to right they're Jess, Cory, Jesse and Alex.

Guest Blogger: Kay Panabaker from 'Moondance Alexander'

Back to that whole "the people in Calgary are the best!" theme - this photo was taken when TJ Bews (who together with Kirk Jarrett owned and trained most of the horses in the film - and trained me!) had us over for dinner with his family - yep, that's where I want to retire!

Hi there! My name's Kay Panabaker and I play Moondance Alexander in the film called Moondance Alexander. For those of you who don't know me, I'm 17 and when I'm not acting I'm a history major at the University of California at Los Angeles. I've just started my senior year and when I graduate I hope to be a 4th or 5th grade teacher. Or I might want to do something that involves working with kids and animals, because I'm a really big animal lover.

For now, though, I'm enjoying my work as an actress. Last summer I went to Canada to shoot Moondance Alexander, and I was excited to go because I'd worked before in Canada and really liked the people. My very first job was in Vancouver and Victoria, on the west coast, and I'd visited Nova Scotia on the east coast, but this was somewhere I'd never been! I've visited all 50 states in the US, so now I'm thinking that I might have to try and visit all the provinces in Canada!Speaking of TJ and Kirk, that's the 3 of us getting ready to shoot the last scene of the film! I love how you can see forever from that hillside!

Alberta, Canada is BEAUTIFUL! When I was working up there, I kept telling everyone that I wanted to retire there. Half of the people told me not to wait until I retired (since that's going to be quite a while) and the other half reminded me that I hadn't spent a winter there yet, and it can get pretty cold! There was so much to see - rolling hills, beautiful sunsets (really late at night - like 9:30 - that was really strange!), mountains, a beautiful lake, incredible clouds against a blue, blue sky - I'm including some pictures so that you can see why I fell in love with the place.

We worked long days and I spent at least one day a weekend with the horses, so I didn't have a lot of free time, but I did get to see a little bit of the area. Although we flew into the Calgary airport, and I visited the Calgary Zoo and The Keg restaurant in Calgary (a must-do when we're in Canada!) we really spent all our time in smaller towns, like Okotoks (pronounced Oak-uh-toaks) where our hotel was, and High River where the production office was, and Longview where I spent my weekends riding. One weekend we drove up to the West Edmonton Mall, which is a HUGE indoor mall with 2 miniature golf courses, an IMAX theater, a skating rink, a penguin exhibit, an indoor waterpark, a seal and sea lion show - so much to do! (And Mary, who helped me with my outfits in the movie, sent me with bubble baths so that I could relax while we were there - isn't she the greatest?) Another time we drove over to the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, which was beautiful.

So that's a little bit about me and about why I'm involved with the Calgary International Film Festival. I am SO EXCITED to be heading back! I had hoped to go back this summer to work as a ranch hand for TJ Bews, who worked with the horses on the film and taught me to ride, but first I had another movie come up and then I had school, so I never made it. To be able to go back to an area I LOVE, to share a movie that I LOVED making, and hopefully visit with some of the LOVELY people that I worked with on it? Priceless!

If you're reading this, I hope you'll make plans to come to the Calgary International Film Festival on Sunday, September 23 at 1PM to see Moondance Alexander screened at the Eau Claire Market Cineplex Odeon. I'll tell you more about the film itself later, but let me just say now that you won't believe the beautiful scenery in the movie - you'll get to see some of those rolling hills and beautiful sunsets that I thought were so awesome. I think it's a great advertisement for Calgary - after seeing this film people are going to say "That's beautiful! I want to go there!" I'm going to be there for the screening on September 23, I'm hoping that a lot of the people who worked on it will be there, and I'd love to meet you there, too!

This is Lake Louise in the Banff National Forest. What a view!

We were driving home from work one day, and the sunlight was streaming down through the clouds over this farmhouse in the distance, and I said what a great picture it was, so our driver Kim pulled over so I could take the picture - the people in Calgary are the best!