Filming has begun!
Production Diary
Over the weekend we began auxiliary filming for the show taking the world of A Yarn. by storm - Teen Sasquatch.
Teen Sasquatch tells the story of Rowan (Eddie Harris), a “normal” teenager, who learns he’s not so normal when he wakes one fateful morning to discover he is stronger, faster, and much, much hairier than when he went to bed. The timing of his new attributes mysteriously coincides with the announcement that Rowan’s hometown, Savannah, GA, is set to begin fracking in the delicate marshes along Savannah’s coast.
Rowan learns he is a Bigfoot- an ancient species whose sole purpose is to protect the Earth at all costs- often, and especially from humans.
With the help of his best friend Charlie Voss (Charlie Lockwood), Rowan must save Savannah from the man they suspect is behind the planned ecological devastation- Michael Mitchell. Complicating matters is Michael’s daughter, Michelle (Michelle Moriarty), who says she also wants to help save Savannah from her father. But can they trust her?
Saturday we filmed our interior scenes in Orange, new Jersey, about 30 minutes outside of Manhattan. Locations included Rowan’s bedroom and bathroom, and Michelle’s foyer and front yard.
Real ones know that Orange, NJ is the town where the greatest children’s show of all time (and a huge influence for A Yarn) The Adventures of Pete and Pete was filmed in the 90’s, so it was truly an honor to be there.
Our DP Chris Tremblay shot Teen Sasquatch with contrasty light to give the show a moody teen-soap-opera vibe that was sheer perfection.
We don’t spend a lot of time with these characters in the A Yarn movie, so production designer, Cordie Hirsch, built out every Teen Sasquatch location with care to help tell the story. The walls of Rowan’s room were dotted with little doodles that Rowan and Charlie had drawn in school, and snapshots of them that showed us how important their lifelong friendship was.
The single room we do see in Michelle’s home is grand and ornate, but stifling, and a framed photograph of Michelle and her father watches Rowan when he picks Michelle up for the dance.
We only had a small window of time to film in the NJ house, and a LOT of footage to get, but 1st AD Sarah Hanke kept us on schedule.
DP Chris Tremblay films actors Eddie Harris (THE Teen Sasquatch himself) and Charlie Lockwood (Rowan’s BFF Charlie Voss) as Rowan explains to Charlie that he’s a Bigfoot.
Sunday we filmed in NYC at the prestigious Trevor Day School on the Upper East Side. This was the location for the fictional Savannah Academy the characters in Teen Sasquatch attend. We had access to their hallways, classrooms, and truly bonkers 3rd story gymnasium that takes up an entire floor, and has wrap-around floor to ceiling windows.
We found Trevor after being ghosted by (literally) dozens of other schools, and a brief period of panic. To keep costs low, Chris and I were able to negotiate that we would provide video work for them in exchange for the location in lieu of a fee.
Here is our photographer Lindita Kulla and grip Marcus Brown doing double duty as jocks Ashley Gibson and Colt the Bolt with Michelle.
After the school, we hopped on down to a studio in Brooklyn where photographer Lindita Kulla snapped shots that will be used in A Yarn as Teen Sasquatch promotional posters, fake fashion magazines, and in-world social media seen by the A Yarn characters.
Filming concluded Sunday night in Brooklyn, where we filmed a few exterior scenes, including Rowan biking down the street, which was captured by Chris out the back of his open Subaru hatchback.
NEXT UP…
In just over five weeks, we will begin PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY (!!) in October on location in Savannah. Stay tuned!