The kid needed a fun distraction because the past few weeks have seen death, illness and surgery run rampant through our immediate and extended family. (FYI...Those three items have been the reason for a lack of a new post in recent weeks)
The Artist played football for seven years before he set his sights on acting. His football skills come in handy because (it seems) there are only three or four kids in the entire teen acting community that know how to play football. The set this week is filled with the same three or four kids that Zach worked with on "Modern Family" and actual high school football players brought in to round out the team.
Nickelodeon On Sunset is the former home of the Earl Carroll Theatre which opened in 1938. Earl Carroll was a producer, director, songwriter and Broadway impresario. He died in a plane crash in 1948. The studio still has some items from the original theatre including:
The ticket booth/security guard booth when you enter the building
The other side of the ticket booth
In case you aren't sure where to go when you enter the building, here's a helpful guide:
One of the odd things about the Sunset Studio is the fact they only shoot a few shows at a time. The building has limited stage space so the filming of some Nick shows is farmed out to other studios.
The show currently filming revolves around a high school football team with a female quarterback. Filming lasted all day because they had to film the team on the field in their practice jerseys as well as their game day jerseys.
Practice Jersey
Game Day Uniform
The exciting thing about this job for Zach? It's his first acting job since joining SAG-AFTRA so he gets the union rate for working on the show. More money for his college fund!
I think this might be the busiest set I've ever been on with the most "on the nose" crew I've watched in action. The entire shoot has been a well oiled machine.
It's also been a set filled with extras and extras and extras and more extras. People playing cheerleaders, grandparents, fans, players, students and random crowd members. There's no telling how much of the budget went to pay for extras.
Sweaty Day Crowd
The crowd enjoying the cool night air
The show takes place in Texas. I couldn't help but laugh each time I stepped outside thanks to the hospital sign that was over the "Texas Football Stadium".
I was fascinated by one piece of filming equipment: "The Blimp". The crew used this floating light to shoot scenes that required moonlight in the frame. A set of crew members walked with the blimp behind the actors so the "moonlight" would follow them during the scene.
The blimp in action
The blimp at rest during the day
The one shot I couldn't get the entire shoot? The stand-ins for the main girl and guy football players. The stand-in for the teenage girl is a middle aged woman. The stand-in for the teenage boy is a balding 50ish guy. You can't tell since they're wearing football helmets in all of their scenes.
They reminded me of the running joke in "21 Jump Street" about the main characters looking way too old to be in high school.
I'll let you know when Zach appears on Nick in the near future. He'll be the center trying his best to nail the long snap!
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