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I was an extra in a movie once. It was a dodgie B-grade horror flick called Cut featuring Molly Ringwold from The Breakfast Club fame and Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. I was in the last scene where the bad guy comes for a final go at one of films characters. My friend was one of the assistant directors on the film.

The scene portrayed a group of university students at a lecture. All the bad stuff went on behind us so I never knew how the film ended until just a few years ago when it happened to be on TV.  The director had initially wanted us all to wear black in the scene but when shooting began he decided he wanted a few people in red to match the blood and gore that was going on in the background. My friend who was helping direct just happened to be wearing red that day so I ended up in the front of the shot after a quick change of t-shirts in the lobby. The 1.3 seconds that I appear in the film is about my only claim to fame.

Anyway, so today. I was picked up this afternoon by Hilde the cinematographer on the film I’ll be working on for the next few days. In her 30s, Hilde has worked on many films and video clips but is still waiting for the prized shot at shooting a feature length film. We were joined on the way to Sigdal by Tuva, a trained classical singer who wants to break into films. She is our production assistant on set.

Somehow it got lost in translation we were heading to Sirdal and not Sigdal. So I was surprised when we got to our destination in under two hours. I had expected a five hour drive at least. There I met Maida the writer and director of the film, who’s $50,000 krona project is her first attempt at a short film. I instantly liked her because of her warm and laid back nature. The last thing you want on a night film shoot when you are cold and tired is a screaming director. She usually works as a cameraman on reality TV projects.

Her film Hjemover (Going Home) isn’t actually a horror film either (gee I gave you all a bum steer in yesterday’s post hey!) . It’s more of a thriller based loosely on a hitch hiking ordeal she once had on the way back from a music festival where she ended up having to stay at a random guy’s house who had a barn full of old pinball machines. The film tells the story of Emma, a wedding photographer who misses a bus after shooting a wedding in the country. She goes to pee in the woods, and as she does the last bus sails by and so she decides to hitch hike. She is picked up by Brede who invites her to stay at his farm house for the night. She has a bad feeling about it though, and is convinced Brede is going to kill her. I won’t spoil the ending but lets just say it keeps you guessing about whether Brede is in fact a goodie or a baddie.

In all we make 12. The assistant director Vibeke, is a friend of Maida’s who wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of Vogue. She has the looks of a top model but instead works at one of the world’s oldest airforce bases near Oslo and races trotters in her spare time. She’s been involved in a number of films and will also act as an extra in the final scene of this movie.

The two main actors Kai Kenneth and Amelia are both lovely. Ky, who is 34, has worked in theatre productions since he was a teenager. He’s the type of guy you would expect to see cast as a king. His longer blonde hair and a broad chest gives him a look not too dissimilar to the guy who played Boromir in Lord of the Rings.  From the scenes we shot tonight he also plays a pretty convincing bad dude. He kinda has a presence like the guy from Wolf Creek. I immediately hit it off with him.

Amelia is much younger and kinda looks like Emma Watson from Harry Potter. She is warm and engaging and is also at home on stage having worked in theatre since she was three. Her dream is to go and work in theatre in Paris.

Also on set is Martin the sound guy, Rita the make-up artist, Truls, script and editing and Ada another production assistant.

Where we are shooting is a beautiful part of the country; Fast flowing rivers and rapids that are peppered with kayakers, and masses of wooded forest. But boy it is cold. We started shooting about 10pm last night and worked through until about 6.30am. My job, in addition to rigging up the lighting for a bus stop scene on a near deserted road, was the call in each take with the clapboard. You know, the person who yells out Scene 1, Shot 2, Take 1. I had on seven layers of clothing and was still freezing. Ankle socks really don’t cut it when running around in the middle of the night let me tell you!

Some snaps of our accommodation and on location: