NTP -- Day 1 John the Baptist

 (This is just a picture I found on the internet that reminds me of the actual day when we filmed this scene.)

Day 1 -- MONDAY AUGUST 15, 2011

JOHN THE BAPTIST (Mathew 3:13-17)

 

I left our house at about 4:45am.  I could hardly sleep the night before cause I was worried that I would miss my alarm and not wake up on time.  They told us to eat before getting there so I stopped along the way to get some food because I was not hungry at 4:30am.  It was a long drive that early in the morning.  Goshen is in the middle of no-where.  We had to drive up this dirt road though a gate where everyone checks in and security makes sure your name is on the list because only those participating are allowed on the set.  I parked and then had to walk to a big white tent.

 At the tent there was a line of people waiting to check in and fill out some paper work.  Then they had us go to wardrobe to get our clothes.  I changed in the dressing room (a big open tent) and then to hair and make-up.   They left my hair down but most of it was covered.  They didn't put too much make up on me but they did get my feet and arms look dirty.  They we had to go "get dirtied" which meant they put make up on our clothes to make them look dirty.  After that they took us to eat breakfast?  Well I had two breakfasts that day I guess.  Little did I know that I would need them...

We waited in the "holding tent" for about an hour.  This gave a bunch of us a chance to get to know each other and take some pictures.  We took a group picture and we decided to start a Facebook group page so we could share the pictures with everyone.  There was about 40 "background players" (extras) this day.  

They came to get us and they drove us in a van to the set.  It took about 20 minutes to get there on the bumpy dirt roads.  There is a river that runs through the land and that is where we would be filming.  I had never done this before and I was in awe at everything.  Because I was being baptized they told me take my things with me because I would need a change of clothes.

It was going to be about 95 degrees that day and we were out in the dessert so they were constantly encouraging us to drink water.  

When we got to the set they asked us what part we were playing.  Most of us were either "baptizees" or "gawkers".  They took me to the side of the river and gave me a place to stand.  We stood there for a long time while they figured out lighting and other technical issues.

We began filming and John the Baptist was in the water and he baptized a few people.  The people that got baptized said the water was dirty.  It was amazing to see this take place before my own eyes.  It seemed so real.  I was playing the part of a believer just waiting on the side to have my turn and be baptized.  I think I would have been there and ready to be baptized had I lived in that time period.

After a few takes we were driven back up to the tent and we went to lunch.  We had to wait for the "main people" to eat first.  By this time it was close to 2pm so I was hungry and getting tired.  But, when we finally got to eat it was very good.  They had many options for us.

After lunch they drove us back to the set and we got ready to film again.  This time we were filming Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist.  I could hear John the Baptist say very softly and humbly "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And then Jesus answered "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." We filmed it once and it was great but once is not enough in filming so we tried to get a few more shots but it was hard because the sun kept going behind the clouds.  The other problem was that if Jesus got partly wet we had to wait for him to get changed and dried.  This was a very special experience as there were only a few of us next to the river everyone else was just back waiting for us to be done filming this scene.  I was able to see Jesus be baptized a few times.  What a special feeling, I almost felt as if I were there.  I got a chance to meet the actor John Foss who was playing the part of Jesus. 

We were supposed to film John the Baptist preaching but we were not able to because the last scene took so long to film.  We were sent home at about 7:00pm.  We returned all of our costumes and then I drove back home.  I was exhausted but so grateful for this opportunity.  I asked “Mandi” from casting if she knew call times for Tuesday and she said I would receive an email later that night.  I got home at about 9:15pm, checked my email and our (CR and me) call time was 5:45am!!!  Aghhhhh.  I would not be getting much sleep I guess….

This is a picture of the group of extras for the John the Baptist scene.  I love looking at this picture it just brings back so many good memories. I have become friends with many of these people on set and through Facebook.  We have a special connection.  (Disclaimer:  I went back and looked at the set guidelines given to us before filming and it says that no pictures taken on set can be posted anywhere on the internet but it defines "on-set" as the location where the filming is taking place.  So the only pictures that are mine are the ones that I took around the tent and where the set is cannot be seen.  All the other pictures that are posted are found in news articles by the church and are available to the public on the internet.  I mainly write this because there has been all kinds of concerns about this on Facebook.)