top of page

NOVEMBER 30, 2016

This month has been a little less hectic than our first jaunt out of the gate back in August, but we still had our obstacles.

​

Very late in October, we were notified that we would be unable to return to the Loveland Castle location, and the search began immediately for a new castle to shoot the rest of our film.  We scouted a couple places that took myself and DP, Chris Carson, on some entertaining road trips.  Back in the spring, the team and I had already scouted a few including the Castle Post down in Kentucky. This time our search took us on northern roads, and within a week and a half we found a suitable replacement location and sealed a deal for our two-day stint at their establishment.  Everyone on the crew and the cast is very excited to shoot at the castle because not only does it mean we get to the big battle scenes, but it also means the grand celebration of picture wrap. (No one's even scared of how cold it will be.) And... It's just an incredibly gorgeous location.

​

In November, we had one shoot day, on the 26th, during the holiday weekend, and it was FREEZING.  Not as cold as it has been in Ohio, and we shot all day scenes, so we had that in our favour.  We shot some of the Arielle centric scenes because of her inability to travel and stay in Ohio for too long while she works away at her college degree in Michigan.  We shot from the moment the sky was bright enough and into the beautiful blue hour of 4/5pm.  The footage we captured is purely magical. One of the scenes we shot was an action scene, our first!, and I cannot thank David Smith enough for volunteering his time and energy into creating the choreography and training our actors, who only had two days to learn the steps! I met David on my second tour of the Ren Fest grounds in Wilmington, and he's been a huge supporter and friend ever since.

​

So, my holiday was spent in very good company. My actual Thanksgiving was a calm and quiet one. With family 7 hours away, I usually elect not to travel. This year I stayed at home with HOUSE playing on the TV and embroidery in my hand.  In fact, I created one of the costumes used this month, and I was so elated at all the remarks on how good it looked from both cast and crew. I am so proud to see my work on screen and looking so good!

​

So many on the cast and crew kept saying how good it felt to be back at it after so long a break in shooting, and it was a feeling in all our hearts as we said "see you later" that evening at dinner.  We had picture wrapped Connie Pfeiffer, our Impa, and Cosette Payne, Saria, that day, and though this means we are one step closer to the finish line, their faces will be very missed on set.

​

Now, after one day of rest, we've been back at it to prep immediately for our return to set in two weeks.  We have shot lists, lighting plans, schedules and two costumes to make, among other odds and ends.  December will see the first time we've had our Ganondorf and Malon on set, and everyone is excited to see these scenes play out.  Ganondorf happens to be my favourite character in the series, so I am beyond ecstatic to shoot his scenes very soon.  The wonderful Gabby Leithsceal is also making the costume, and I am beyond happy to have her stellar talented hands on Ganondorf's leather! 

​

And a shout out to my lovely make up artist Jason Ervin for soloing the day with four/five main characters and three extras, who were awesome in their own right. Stephanie Wells, Madison Kollig, and Steve Hannon all came out to brave the cold with us. They had no lines in the film, but were on point and perfect, down to making their own costumes, which looked so incredibly perfect. Their faces will be characters any Zelda fan will know and recognise and it was a pleasure to have them on set. Kudos.

​

The crew we had for this shoot day had a few changes from our August crew due to availability, and the replacements (and hopefully those who might and will follow us into December) made up one of the best crews we've had on set to date. Everyone hustled on a day we really needed it with racing the fading sunlight on a cloudy day.  To the best crew, thank you for making dreams come true!

​

Cheers,

--Stephonika W. Kaye

​

Photos below by Jordan Freshour.

bottom of page