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OPINION: Lights, camera, Rebar

The Henry Hype
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A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be included in the crew of Kinosoo Production’s filming of their new pilot, Rebar.   

I’d always been curious to see what goes on behind the camera and have loved movies for as long as I can remember. I’ve wanted to take a peek behind the curtain and got my chance a few months ago.   

After watching Chris Cowden, writer and director of Rebar, present to local councils about the project, I reached out to see if there was a way I could participate behind the scenes.   

I knew I could have sent in a resume when they were looking for actors, but I’ve never had any interest in being in front of the camera. There’s a reason my chosen profession has me writing and taking photos, I have a face for radio, I don’t photograph well unless I’m the one taking the photo, and trip over my words when I’m nervous.  

A producer later got in touch with me and asked if I’d be interested in taking a production assistant job. It was described to me as an organizational positional, one that would see me running around set, making sure everyone had what they needed, getting lunch, dinner, and snacks, among other errands. It wasn’t glamorous but it put me in the middle of the action.  

After getting the okay to take some time off work during filming, I headed to the set and got the glimpse I was looking for.  

To say I got a whole new appreciation for the television shows and movies I watch is an understatement. It made me realize just how much work goes into one of these projects and how much dedication the cast and crew have.   

Rebar shot for five days. Sure, they were long and everyone was exhausted at the end of it, however, I’m assuming each day maybe racked up five to 10 minutes of usable footage.   

The actors repeated their lines and stunts over and over until they had the perfect shot and got up the next day ready to do it again. The crew took down their cameras and equipment just to put them back up again in the morning. We all shivered in the parking lot during night shoots and cheered, quietly, when we saw the explosions go off.   

Now that filming has wrapped, the real work begins. I’ve known since college that the editing process takes the longest when it comes to writing, so I assumed the same could be said when it comes to videos. I wish Chris and all of his editors the best of luck in this portion because he blew it out of the park when we were on set.  

If you get the chance to become involved with a project with Kinosoo Productions in the future, I highly encourage you to take it. You could just be an errand runner like me but getting a glimpse of what goes into making television shows and movies is an amazing experience.   

Robynne Henry, Bonnyville Nouvelle




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