Yes! Yes! Yes!
What more could I say? Had I really just been asked to assist in this documentary?
I was talking with Kirk who is the leader of the Lewis Underground in Amarillo, and who was a great support to me as I planned to move to Oxford last year. He explained to me that his friend, a producer, was coming to Oxford with a crew, and they were filming a documentary over the lives of C.S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Lord of the Rings). It is based off of Joseph Loconte's book A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War. (I read the book after I was done with the documentary. It is very well done, and I highly recommend it to any Lewis and Tolkien fan.) Kirk had told his friend that if they wanted extra help on set, then to contact me.
I was soon emailed by Grace, the manager, saying that I was to meet them that Saturday at 8am. So, I woke up early and made the 30 minute walk north to the Lamb and Flag (the pub right across the street from the Eagle and Child where the Inklings used to meet). I then met the crew: Jock, the director; Ralph, the producer; Joe, the author; Grace, the manager; and Max who played Lewis during WWI. They had already started filming. I at first felt a little awkward because everyone was busy with something, and I had no idea what to do. But, that soon changed.
This first scene was of Lewis when he was called up into service during World War I. They filmed Max walking in and out of Keble College, preparing to be sent off to the trenches. My job was to spray smoke before the camera in order to give the scene a foreboding aura. However, the machine was quite difficult to use. I usually got either "Too much, Hannah!" or "More! More!" When I wasn't doing anything in particular, they had me take pictures of the behind the scenes.
We then packed up the van with the equipment, a huge feat within itself, piled in, and made for The Plough. At this pub, we met Alex who played Tolkien. These next shots were of either Lewis or Tolkien reading or writing with a mug of beer in one hand (yes, actual beer; we were at a pub after all) and a pipe in the other. Ralph had to teach them how to smoke a pipe, a habit common to both authors. Before we began shooting, I helped set up the room, organize props, and get the actors ready. I never realized how much time goes into preparing a shot beforehand. Everyone was rushing around putting things together, especially the camera and lights, to make sure everything looked just right. What's crazy to me is all that prep goes into probably 30 seconds of the film. However, once we began shooting, I was not needed as much, so I was able to talk to Joe or the actors off-camera.
The last two scenes we shot were of either Tolkien or Lewis debating over literature. The great thing was that there was no sound; the actors just needed to look like they were engaged in discussion. So, they improvised. They both cracked jokes and puns right and left which had the rest of us rolling on the floor.
We ate lunch at The Plough. Then, Grace and I left for the train station to pick up Aiden, Jock's son. He studies piano in Liverpool but had come down to Oxford to help with the documentary over the weekend.
We, then, headed to The Kilns, Lewis's old home. The Kilns was not at all what I expected. I didn't really know what to expect, but I realized it was just an ordinary house tucked away in a modern neighborhood. It's lovely, just ordinary.
We were going to film a scene in which Tolkien as a child writes a letter to his father who was in South Africa. They hired a 4-year-old boy to play the part, and at first he was in good spirits. They took him outside and played hide-and-seek. He ran around and laughed with great fun. But, then they tried to put the costume on him, and he threw a huge fit. I could hear the wails throughout the house. After a while, they gave up on the scene because the boy would not cooperate.
The afternoon was not a total loss though because they set up an impromptu sound room at the front of the house. Here they recorded voice-overs of Alex and Max. They had about twenty quotes each which they repeated over and over again with different inflections and emphases. Jock or Ralph would make suggestions, and they would say it again. I took notes of the lines, the times on the recording, and which ones they preferred, so Jock and Ralph can easily navigate them later. That was the end of the first day, so I went home and prepared for another early morning.
Here is a link to the website for A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War. You can watch the trailer for it here on the home page.
I have included extra pictures at The Plough and The Kilns below.
British thing I learned:
Magdalen College is pronounced "Modlen," and Keble College is pronounced "Keeble."
Thank you so much, Kirk and Mike! I'll be posting more over the next several days.
I'll post a link at the bottom of the blog. You can read the synopsis of the documentary and watch the trailer as well.
Thanks for telling us about your experience!
Do you have a link to the documentary’s website? ; )
Well done Hannah. What a wonderful adventure. I felt like I was working along side of you. Thanks for sharing.