Visiting Mark on the Movie Set
June 19, 2014
 | We drove out to Conyers to visit Mark on the movie set where he is currently working. We followed a dirt path back into the woods where he and his crew have built a big steel frame and part of a ferris wheel for this movie. |
Mark leads Jeff and the girls beside the massive steel frame in the woods to hold the ferris wheel. |  |
 |   |
 |  |
Next to the big steel frame and lower half of a ferris wheel there was this old house, built around the pine trees of the woods. It depicted part of an old amusement park which was abandoned and falling down.  I liked the hole in the roof with the pine tree growing through it. There were several pine trees through the roof. |  |
 | Mark gave all of us a tour of the outside area with the big frame, and then we headed for the inside shop and set areas. On August 10 when we talked with Mark, he told us about the "strike" of this set. After all the details of designing and building it, it took him less than a day to have it all on the ground. As shown below, Mark took us inside the large warehouse structure where the carpentry for the inside sets was being done. Construction stations are scattered all about the big area, and in the center, the real set with some interior rooms for filming is placed. You can see the outside walls of the set at left below. |
In the lower left of the view above, Mark is showing us how you get localized air conditioning in this big open space. The big flexible pipes are run from the big air conditioning unit to wherever they are most needed at the time. He also showed us three big wind machines.
Mark took us to the entry door of the rough exterior of the set. Once inside we saw an ornately finished interior. The set dressers were busy bringing in other furniture and decorative pieces.
Walking from the set, we walked through the vast woodshed and then by a couple of lifts holding a steel structure, shown below left. I figured that was part of Mark's operation since it was steel. Note green screen behind it so that it can be replaced by background scenery for any filming that is done there.
 | At right the girls have walked across to near Mark's drawing area is. |  |
 |  |
Mark showed us his drawing and layout area. He is showing the girls the drawing for the ferris wheel section they had seen out in the woods.
 |  |
On his wall, Mark had this complicated flowchart with all kinds of symbols representing parts of the process of moviemaking. You can certainly see that it is a complicated co-ordinated process. We felt like we had gotten a capsule view of Mark's world on the movie set.
 |  We got a family shot before we left the set and were then surprised when Mark rode his motorcycle out to see us that night. It was great to get us all together today since Jeff and the girls head back tomorrow. |
| Summer Activities |
2014