27 November, 2005 - Vilnius, Lithuania
A Scene Remembered
We were working in a cemetery last night, and it was freezing. A cold wind had been blowing all night. It was also the first time we used balloon lighting. Yes, it is actually a large balloon with a light in it, and when raised in the air it produces an ambient light much like the moon. In fact, we mentioned that if we cut the tethers that held it to the ground it would look like the moon was actually sitting on top of us. Originally designed for construction sites, this type of lighting has been used many times on film sets.
When I first saw that we were going to use these balloon lights for Highlander, I mentioned that they were a great way to produce that type of lighting but that they could be a little problematic if there was wind. We'd used them before filming the series, and I remember seeing them bounce into and out of shot buffeted by strong streams of air. Now I should have kept quiet, because this night was the first night that we had a strong wind, and yes the balloon started bouncing everywhere. So we had to wait a little while Steve, our Director of Photography, changed his lighting slightly to achieve the look that he wanted.
The night was cold, and we were filming one of those odd scenes where reality and fiction are slightly blurred. You will understand what I mean when you see the film. I had no problem relating to it, and I mentioned to Peter Wingfield how tough this scene was going to be and he readily agreed. I think it will be remembered.
All night the air turned white as we were buffeted by a mixture of icy crystals and actual snowflakes. A storm was coming. By 7.30 a.m. there was little more than a light dusting on the ground. The next night we would be shooting the scenes before this one, so continuity might be a problem, especially since there was a blizzard predicted.
There is an update in his diary from the set
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