the Magicians, episode 108

Well, a little twist in the weather to start the week on episode 108 of "the Magicians".  The fog rolled in suddenly as I cruised along Chancellor Blvd, on my way to set at U.B.C. (which we have been using as the show's "Brakebills University".

The first scene of the day was outside in the U.B.C. rose garden. They actually managed to use the fog to create provide atmosphere to the scene.

Wow, quite a contrast from when we first started filming there in July.

Quite a few people, including myself, thought the fall colours on this street at U.B.C. were worth a pic

dusk falls over the rose garden.

the next day, I was back downtown picking up one of the actors. (sitting across the street from the colourful V.F.S. (Vancouver Film School)

A view down the Main Mall of U.B.C.

Our circus when we are at U.B.C. is just below Jericho Hill and the West Point Grey Academy private school.

What a coincidence. One of our other cast drivers, Ben , was just pulling out with one actor as I was pulling in to pick-up another downtown in Gastown.

Gastown, on Cordova

meanwhile, in a land far, far away, my son seems pretty chill in Chiang Mai in Thailand

Sounds like his buddy and him may never come back!

meanwhile back at the transport office, I have no explanation for this transport request

but two of my Teamster brethren , Eric and Ben, seem to be getting a kick out of it.

Our Teamster caterers are always feeding us really well. You really have to watch your intake on these shows. It doesn't help when they serve a big ass cake like this. (thank god I had to go on an errand and missed it completely. By the time I got back the other 90 some odd cast and crew had made it disappear.

back down in Gastown to pick up an actor. There was no parking on Abbott Street, so I had to resort to parking in this sketchy alley, and yes there was more than a few "characters" checking out the nice van sticking out like a sore thumb.

we finished another long  week at the studio. now it 3 a.m. Saturday morning, the actor's chairs and the studio lie empty.

A sure sign fall has arrived is the street outside of my place in North Burnaby. I don't dare park my car anywhere close until the trees are sans leaves.

the Magicians, episode 107/108

After a minor fender bender last Friday night, I had to swap out my cast vehicle for this one, which I shall name "black beauty".

Last week-end I went to the downtown Eastside to visit my brother for lunch. I ended up being at the back of the Ovaltine Café, where we were filming "the Magicians" a couple of weeks ago. I like the old phone number on the building.

Beside the Ovaltine, hard to believe people actually live in this run down old apartment building.

Or actually stay at the old Empress Hotel, built in 1913

or the Balmoral, which was recently in the news due to the fact the elevator stopped working and the landlords would not get it fixed. This created a great deal of hardship for the elderly and the disabled people living there. Here is the story.

On Sunday, my sister (in town visiting), my brother and I made the drive out to White Rock to pay our respects to our grandparents, who were some of the first settlers to the area.

and heres a tired looking me standing on the street named after my grandparents.

back down on the boardwalk, my brother hams it up.

The famous pier in White Rock

It was certainly a grey day.

All that travel makes a man thirsty, so we headed back into Vancouver to the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company,

and had an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner that included this ham, cranberry and squash flatbread

nice to have my two nieces join us as well.

The week started with trips back out to the Vancouver Airport arrivals area to pick up a couple of the guest actors for episode 108 of the show.

and we were back out at Riverview Hospital, this time we were at the North Lawn building, another location that is used a lot by production companies in Vancouver.

being at Riverview means a change of scenery on the way from the production office to set. (this is heading down Royal Oak facing towards North Burnaby and the north shore mountains.)

A nice morning shot of downtown as I was heading to one of the hotels to pick up an actor.

the contrast from the city to the grounds of Riverview

at the top of the grounds you can see south and catch a glimpse of Mount Baker in Washington State

In the basement of the Crease Clinic at Riverview, the camera gear sits idle while the crew is on lunch break.

How does episode 108 end?, only the mummy knows!

wandering around the Riverview grounds I found some fungus among us. (ouch)

round and round, back downtown, this time picking up one of the directors from a Gastown apartment.

Sun's shining on the downtown buildings as I make my way for another actor pick-up

back at Riverview, one of the magnificent trees on the grounds

On set today was one of the film industry's animal wranglers. They are actually in the same Teamster Union as us drivers. Today she was showing the director some of the animals that will be used in the next episode. This included this trained ferret, two baby pigs, a trained squirrel, and a racoon.

Another long day of filming that brought us outside of the Crease Clinic for some night shooting. It was close to 2 a.m. by the time we wrapped for the week-end. Another Fraturday.

Magicians, Episode 107 continues

As episode 107 continues, we find ourselves at one of my favourite shooting locales, and probably the most filmed building in the Vancouver area, the  now closed Crease Clinic at the Riverview Hospital grounds in Coquitlam. A couple of paragraphs from a story the Vancouver Sun newspaper did when the hospital closed:
When Riverview Hospital first opened its doors in May 1913, it was called The Hospital for the Mind, a home to 340 patients — all male — who were suffering from some form of insanity.
At the time, the affliction was thought to be hereditary or caused by intemperance, syphilis and masturbation.
(Click on the Riverview Hospital link for the whole story)

The grounds have many diffrent trees from around the world planted here. You can find these plaques all over.

The weeping European Beech

Building are run down and delapidated.

One of the oldest buildings on the grounds dating back to the 1920's.

The grounds are surrounded by urban sprawl, 2 minutes off the Lougheed Highway to a little peace and quiet.

It was a grate fall day for sure.

The West Lawn building, built in 1913

Our catering trucks parked att the back of the Crease Clinic.

random Dubble Bubble gum comic pic. That Pud..........

At the back of the clinic, there was an outdoor scene that was supposed to be the arctic. It did look like a winter wonderland, unfortunately I'm not allowed to reveal much of the sets or show the actors. The black curtains on the right were to provide a night time look for one of the scenes inside the building.

one more grounds fall pic.

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out front, more black-out curtains.

back downtown to pick up an actor. I would make the trip between Riverview in Coquitlam to downtown Vancouver 5 times today. (54 km each rounder)

Later in the week , we were back at a house we use on Marine Drive, for a couple of night shots.

and then back to the studio to end the week. (there was what was left of the winter wonderland set that was at Riverview earlier in the week. Now a much needed 4 day break. (Actually it was more because the actors had an appearance at       Comic Con in New York, promoting the show)
Happy Thanksgiving!