the Magicians, episode 112

Close to finishing the second to last episode of Syfy's "the Magicians", based on Lev Grossman's best selling trilogy of books.

The weather has changed since the show first started shooting at the end of July. Today it was fog and frosty streets on the way to work.

We were out at the University of British Columbia again today. I took the round about way on my way back into Vancouver, and was treated to an early morning view of a frosty beach with Vancouver in the background.  

in less than half an hour, the light on this view looking out into Burrard inlet changed three times.

Some of the filming on this day was back at the botanical gardens at UBC, while the latter part of the day was spent at the Cecil Green house.( (originally had a first nations name, "Kanakla", (house on the cliff)). It was built in 1912

Later in the week, filming was down on Alexander St. in Gastown, and once again, I am not allowed to show anything, but it was supposed to be 1930's London.

Later in the day we were filming on Homer St., close to the Vancouver Public Library.

of all the high end ritzy apartments in Vancouver, apparently this was the one to resemble a loft in New York City. I am always amazed how the locations department finds these places.

across the street, Christmas is blooming.

wow, not much going on on Broadway, especially at 530 am, in the rain. The only vehicle is my mini van, as I await a cast pick-up.

Lyrics for On Broadway By The Drifters, Ben E. King & The Drifters

They say the neon lights are bright
On Broadway
They say there's always magic in the air
But when you're walkin' down that street
And you ain't have enough to eat
The glitter rubs right off and you're nowhere

They say the women treat you fine
On Broadway
But lookin' at them just gives me the blues
How ya gonna make some time
When all you got is one thin dime
And one thin dime won't even shine your shoes

They say that I won't last too long
On Broadway
I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home they all say
But they get wrong, I know they are
'Cause I can play this here guitar

I won't quit till I'm a star
On Broadway
On Broadway
On Broadway

the next day it wasn't much different as I waited to pick up one of the Syfy channel network execs on Robson street.

random, its raining, let's take a picture off of the rear hatch window of the streetlamp decoration in the rain shot.

at the end of the week we were back at the studio, here's a shot from the outside looking into the studio, through holes in the building that are used for running electrical cable through to power up everything.

one of the new sets at the studio, not sure kind of looks like a museum lobby of some sort.

good riddance to one of our main shooting location, the tudor house on S.W. Marine Dr. It rained so hard today even the camera truck got stuck in the yard. I didn't even want the cast to track mud into my vehicle.

It was recently sold anyways for $7.8 million. If there is another season, it will be in another location.

Another wait, this time in a different locale, trendy Yaletown. One of the network execs was checking out Muse FX, who will be doing all of the visual effects for the show.

someone sent me this pic, is it a hole in one or not?

the Magicians, 11 episodes done, 2 to go.

Hard to believe we are on the second to last of 13 episodes of Syfy's "the Magicians". 

You can watch the trailer here.

I didn't take a lot of pics these week, mainly because we were in familiar locations, like U.B.C and our stage, so I decided to show a couple of pictures of the cast. (I didn't sneak them , they are available online).

This is a shot of our main 6 cast, who I have had a lot of fun driving around the last 4 months.

(Left to right, Julia (Stella Maeve), Margo (Summer Bishil), Eliot (Hale Appleman), Quentin (Jason Ralph), Alice (Olivia Taylor-Dudley), and Penny (Arjun Gupta).

Our week started in the park across from Brock Hall at U.B.C. (one of the oldest buildings on campus).

who wants to get out of the van, when the temperature was freezing.

The proof is in the exhaust in the side mirror.

random, you have to love cats, news article about cat cafes for those with a feline need.

It was cool, but at least it was sunny. I tried a couple of different routes downtown on my way to pick-up the actors. Today it was Carrall and Pender.

and Pender at the entrance to Chinatown.

Lack of parking had me staging a block away from the actor on Cambie Street.

back at the production office, one of the many art department drawings of the Magicians, this one is the a luxurious dorm room at the fictional "Brakebills University".

random Farside cartoon. (click to enlarge).

An online photo that shows filming that I can only assume was during the pilot, which was shot in New Orleans. (It is not a familiar looking mansion to me),

Another shot of Hale, Summer, Arjun, Stella, Jason, and Oliva, this time when they were promoting the show at the New York Comic Con back in October.

Arjun and Jason hamming it up.

Stella, looking very intense.

and the beautiful Summer. Her character along with Hale are the leaders of the university.

Arjun, looking all bad ass, he's plays the tough guy, but he's far from it.

Julia (Stella), getting a little magic brewing.

Jason (Quentin) reading his favourite childhood books. His fantasy has always been to go there. (and they do.)

Hale (Eliot), always the perfect host.

Jason (Quentin) knows he's on to something.

Rick Worthy, who plays professor Dean Fogg.

another shot of Summer and Hale at New York Comic Con.

Hale, Oliva, Stella and Jason

Artist's drawing of the fantasy world of the Magicians.

the Magicians, episode 111

Wow, stunning on a clear, cold day in Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver, as I wait for a cast pick-up on hopefully the future hit series, "the Magicians".

The week started very cold and rainy. It was 4 Celsius (according to dash thermometer)  close to our studio, and a colder 0 degrees and frosty (had to dig for last years ice scraper) where I live in North Burnaby.

random it's only funny until someone loses an eye shot. (I just happened to be parked over top of the grate)

the shooting day bible, or call sheet, with all the info needed include cast pick-up times, very important for me.

Later in the week we found ourselves back in very familiar territory, Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquitlam

Today was a little different. A couple of the scenes were filmed in the infamous tunnels underneath the Crease Clinic at Riverview.

Today the tunnels played as New York subway service tunnels.

I went for a little wander by myself. I got as far as this prison looking gate and decided that was enough creepiness for one day.

One of our guest stars on this episode was a character (literally) by the name of MC Gainey. (top right). He gave me this magazine that featured an article about his career. ( including Lost, Django Unchained, and Con-Air)

Lunch at Riverview was served in the original, now defunct cafeteria.

The lights are set for 2 nights of freezing cold outdoor shooting.

Office runs bring me back to our studio, where the construction shop is always busy, including making this sign for the show, the fictitious "Brakebills University".

part of the library set at Brakebills

the attention to detail is so impressive

Later in the week, while waiting to pick up an actor at the Sutton Place Hotel, I walked into the lobby, only to be overwhelmed by Christmas, a little too early for a grumpy old man's liking! (me)

The congestion of the lower mainland traffic is always a challenge, and I'm always looking to shave a couple of minutes, ha ha ha. Today I decided to try the Grandview Highway to get onto the freeway , but it was no better than the other routes. Traffic was plugged.

At least I was ahead of all those behind me.Late

Later in the evening was time for some cold weather acting, I couldn't get close, but trust me, there was some practicing of remedial battle magic going on down there.

my job, wait for actors, take in the surroundings, all in all, pretty good gig.

one of my favourite view coming into Vancouver, by Crab Park at the north end of Main Street.

a rare day six of the week, hanging at Coal Harbour by Stanley Park.

We had a couple of special scenes to shoot, one involving a dungeon and one involving Antarctica. Where else would you shoot those scenes than at building J at VFS (Vancouver Film Studios). (Also the studios for films like Girlfriends Guide to Divorce, Flash, and Arrow.)

the dungeon

and Antarctica. Omg! Hard to tell, but in the middle of the circle there is a bed. Our heroes actually have to pretend to make love , while a camera circles around them, eventually they turn into foxes. (cool ) I saw a bit of footage, and it makes it looks like the actors are going in circles instead of the camera. very, very cool (and there was fake snow flying everywhere}