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Post by carol on Oct 29, 2020 22:16:50 GMT -5
Kami posted this on her Facebook page about filming The Ferris Wheel
The scariest part of making the Ferris Wheel was not riding the Ferris Wheel, it was filming the dream sequence. The episode's director, Larry Dobkin, was one of my favorites. He was acerbic and smart, and he had directed quite a few episodes that featured Elizabeth. He decided he wanted to get film of Elizabeth falling for the nightmare sequences, so the plan was to suspend me above the camera. The dropped cables from the ceiling of Stage 26, and I had to slip on a pair of short shorts made of heavy canvas and metal. As I remember, they laced up to fit very snugly. Mid-hip on either side were metal loops. They cut holes in the side of Elizabeth's nightgown and ran the metal cables through the slits and secured them to the loops on the metal/canvas shorts. Then they lifted me up. How high? I don't remember. Maybe 8 to 10 feet? Taller than a person. The soundstage was quite dark, and I was lit from below. The camera was taken off the dolly and the operator lay on a blanket beneath me, holding the camera, as I dangled above. All that was fine. Uncomfortable, but OK. Then Larry said, "Now just lean forward." Well, leaning forward while suspended from two points on either hip is absolutely terrifying. It felt like I could easily end up hanging upside down. I will not pretend I didn't cry. It was a nightmare sequence so crying worked. Afterward, our wonderful teacher told me that he came close to stopping it, but I kept responding to directions so he thought I was OK. And he was right. I would have been mortified if he'd pulled me. I felt very brave afterwards and felt appreciated by the director and crew. And the footage was pretty darn cool.
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Post by Easton on Oct 30, 2020 8:47:15 GMT -5
To borrow from Mr. Spock:
"Fascinating."
I love reading about things like this especially when it is the actual person involved who is describing it.
Thanks for posting it.
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Post by dayton3 on Nov 3, 2020 0:13:15 GMT -5
Didn't Lawrence Dobkin play Dr. William E. Goate (Billy Goat) in "The First Day"? He was also in a huge number of westerns both as an actor and director. Saw him in The Rifleman many times.
My wife loved this episode for some reason though I was never a fan of it.
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Post by Honeybee on Nov 26, 2020 19:37:42 GMT -5
Wow. Looked like she was riding on the Ferris wheel.
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Post by Easton on Nov 26, 2020 20:53:23 GMT -5
My biggest complaint about the episode is the carny running directly under the Ferris wheel that Elizabeth was riding after he hid the jewellery. I don't know who was stupider: the carny, the writer, or the director.
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