TV Commercial Production in a Swamp

As a free-lance producer for N Lee Lacy films, I was off to New Orleans to scout locations for a TV commercial production. This one was about how Phillips Petroleum’s geophysicists searched for oil. (This is a short version of a story from my film production book, Circumstances Beyond My Control.)

The Cajuns

I found some Cajun boatmen who took me all over the swamps to select the perfect shooting location.

Note: For those of you who prefer to watch rather than read, there’s a Vlog version (a “VV” if you will) of this story located here.

The Cajuns were strange and chary of us white men. They too are white yet, like Gypsies, consider themselves apart from the rest of us. However they were accommodating. The only problem I had with them was that they wouldn’t give me a price for their services. This made me (and especially my boss, David Johnson) a bit nervous. But no matter how I explained the problem, my budget etc. they simply wouldn’t say what their charges would be. Since they were the only game in town, as it were, I had little choice and hired them. This is the only time in my forty years of production work that I couldn’t get at least an estimate up front.

The director Don Guy and the NYC crew arrived and the day before the shoot we all went to the location. We drove about an hour out of New Orleans to the Cajun’s compound. There we boarded a couple of large power cruisers and started up a river to the swamp.

The Boats

Big Boats

After thirty or forty minutes we changed into several outboard motor boats for another fifteen or twenty minutes and finally into a flotilla of pirogues. These are small, flat-bottomed boats. Propelled by poles, the design allows the pirogue to move through the very shallow water of marshes and swamps.

Smaller Boats

We city slickers were in the middle of yet another nowhere, a beautiful and vibrant nowhere teeming with life much of which seemed alien and a bit scary. Having found the magic spot we hung some of the Spanish moss we’d acquired at a local nursery. Around sunset when the light was right Don was able to determine the camera and boat positions for the next afternoon.

On the shoot day, for once, we didn’t have to be up before dawn. By 9:00 AM we were at the Cajuns’ place and boated out to the shoot site for a final look and rehearsal with our young college geophysicist (known in the trade as a “jug hustler” after the small sensors used in the search for oil) who was the on-camera spokesman for Phillips.

We then headed back to the base for lunch.

Cajun Feast

I had arranged for the Cajuns to provide food but had no idea what a special and bountiful feast it would be. When the power cruisers docked our eyes were filled with the sight of several long tables bedecked with white tablecloths, linen napkins, wine glasses and china plates. Among this finery were steaming platters of amazing looking food. Not just crayfish, they were the appetizers. Shrimp, freshwater crabs, and other unknown but delicious delicacies of the swamp abounded. Wine, beer and iced tea were served from constantly filled pitchers. It was like something out of a movie. I have been fortunate to have eaten some fine meals catered on locations all over the USA but nothing ever rivaled this lunch. Calling it “lunch” seems disrespectful to the splendid meal that it was. I don’t recall the amount of the Cajun’s final invoice but whatever it was was worth it for this repast alone.

Three hours later, after a brief siesta, we boarded our flotilla and headed back to the shooting location.

Fang Seeks Gators

Gators

Our Oklahoma jug hustler is in a pirogue just outside the left of the above photo. On the right is key grip, David Fang Yuen, in hip waders holding a reflector. As the sun started to set and we were about to make the shots there arose several deep growling noises. The Cajuns explained that this was the alligators who came out to feed at dusk. Fang was the only guy not in a boat and he became somewhat agitated at this news.

I pointed out that gators don’t like Chinese food. This got a good laugh from all but Fang.

More tales of TV commercial production will be found when you click here and get Circumstances Beyond My Control.

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