Another History Channel Filming, soon

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!<br>
<br>
Yesterday I was called by Chris Cassel of KPI Productions, wondering if I could help him out with yet another History Channel filming project about Romans. This time it's about Caesar's bridge over the Rhine, and he is scouting for river sites in southeastern Pennsylvania, mostly. We wouldn't actually be building the bridge, but would be providing the usual filler shots of marching feet, equipment layouts, maybe tools in action, that sort of thing.<br>
<br>
The projected date for this is the last weekend in September--yes, just over 2 weeks away. Presumably just one day of shooting.<br>
<br>
Obviously, the best equipment for this is Caesarian: lorica hamata, Montefortino helmets, oval scuta, and Mainz or hispaniensis style swords. Coolus helmets would be fine, too, if you ask me. Probably some other fudging could be done as well, but I really don't know how picky they want to get. If you only have the more common later gear, bring it, and we'll share around what we have or wing it. Presumably any likely tools would be very welcome.<br>
<br>
That's about all the information I have! For more details, contact Chris directly, [email protected] , 212-643-0620. His company's website is<br>
<br>
www.kpitv.com<br>
<br>
Your chance for fame and fortune!<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX <p></p><i></i>

[Quintius Clavus]

There is some definite interest up here in New England. I sent an email to Chris's address as posted. Haven't had a reply yet. But, it's only been one day. Mike Heenan of Legio III Cyrenaica has also put out some feelers among the guys in Massachusetts to see if any interest in going down.<br>
I am VERY interested, and have Augustan-era gear (lorica hamata, coolus helmet and Mainz-pattern gladius, etc.). The only item I don't have is an oval scutum (nor the "clipped" oval).<br>
Southeastern PA is not that far away and as you know, Matt, I am a crazy person who has been known to drive to Maryland strictly for a weekend, which is 6 or more hours one way from Connecticut.<br>
I hope that Chris will respond soon, so that I can pass the info along to the guys up this way.<br>
<br>
Marcus Quintius Clavus/Quinton<br>
Legion XXIV and Legio III Cyrenaica <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Ave, Marcus!<br>
<br>
Wow, glad to see there's someone out there with more energy than I have! Just so you know, George Metz talked to Chris the other day, and apparently the plan is for a mere 4 hours of filming on Sunday the 26th. Now, that may well drag out into more than 4 hours, from what little filming experiece I have. And they may want to start pretty early in the morning to get the best light. So you'd presumably end up staying in a hotel or something, and you'd be on the road a lot longer than in front of the camera.<br>
<br>
In my tired mind, that would all add up to "Screw that!" But hey, the more crazy Romans there, the better!<br>
<br>
Shields are going to be a problem, at least PROPER shields. But the impression I got is that these folks don't know diddly about what Romans looked like, and are probably expecting us to look like extras from Gladiator or Troy. Naturally I'd hold out for the highest possible accuracy, but it ain't my show. Bring what you got, and we'll see what happens.<br>
<br>
Vale,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus <p></p><i></i>

[Quintius Clavus]

Matt and anyone else who was interested,<br>
<br>
I just a few minutes ago received an email from Chris Cassel of KPI. The river scene filming has, in his words, been "indefinitely postponed" after he talked with the History Channel folks today.<br>
Matt, I will forward the email I received to you and to George Metz, and also to the guys in Massachusetts who were also interested.<br>
It is too bad, because I know we were prepared to make a serious effort to look more like Caesar's legionaries than is usually portrayed. There is still the sense from his email, that the History Channel people are not ready to accept our expertise on the issue of authenticity.<br>
The History Channel, like so many others in the TV/Movie biz, use the movie "Gladiator" as their benchmark for accuracy.<br>
Finally, Chris did say that he will be at the Nashville filming event in October, doing some filming there, apparently for a future History Channel program-this I had already heard about from Gary Barbosa.<br>
<br>
Marcus Quintius Clavus/Quinton<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Too bad, my hamata will not be done for another year or two anyways.<br>
<br>
If the History channel is not willing to take the advise of persons like Matt Amt and the like, who would they believe? What persons advised for the filming of Gladiator? I would think that the guidance of published experts such as M.C. Bishop and Peter Connolly would be sought for such movies. <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!<br>
<br>
Yup, I got the cancellation email from Chris, too. This is the best part:<br>
<br>
"In short, the network wants all of our recreations to be of Hollywood "Gladiator" quality, and we need to brainstorm and re-assess how we can accomplish that, given our financial constraints. As is typical in television, they're asking for champagne on a beer budget."<br>
<br>
If they want "Gladiator", the correct metaphor would be URINE on a beer budget. We were offering better for less. Oh, well!<br>
<br>
Talking with other folks about this, I've come to the conclusion that George is absolutely right in demanding $100 per man for a full day of filming for gigs like this. For our kind of quality, that's dirt cheap. All we can really expect to see in the final project is the usual endlessly-repeated slo-mo shot of running feet, a few glimpses of the backs of heads, maybe a dolabra hitting a log. And no idea what the narration will be like! I didn't used to be as down on the History Channel as some folks, since I've seen them do a few good shows, but they clearly have no idea what they're talking about, here.<br>
<br>
Well, maybe I'm just tired. But from now on they'll have to show me the money, as it were. A little more time to prepare would be nice, too.<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!<br>
<br>
Believe it or not, the filming gig for the History Channel is "on" again. Not sure about the date yet, probably September 25 or 26. Chris Cassel is scouting out Susquehana State Park as a site, right off I-95 at the Havre de Grace exit (north of Baltimore).<br>
<br>
I have asked him for $100 per person, and he says this sounds reasonable.<br>
<br>
As mentioned before, this is about Caesar's bridge over the Rhine. They want reasonably accurate gear: hamata, oval scuta, Montefortino or other early helmets. So it's safe to leave the segmentata at home. If you don't have the appropriate gear, come with your tunic, caligae, and other accessories anyway, and either we can put some borrowed gear on you or you can dig in your tunic. Coolus or other brass helmets are fine. For shields, the curve-sided "Augustan" style may work, or even the flat oval auxiliary clipeus. Mainz or hispaniensis-style swords are best, but bring your Pompeii if that's all you have since they may not be visible anyway.<br>
<br>
TOOLS are also a biggy--Dolabra, shovel, turf cutter, hatchet, etc. Marching pack, probably. Don't know if he wants tent and standards or not.<br>
<br>
BARBARIANS are also wanted, apparently. Any respectable Gallic or Germanic stuff is welcome.<br>
<br>
Obviously, very little is solid even now. For further details, contact<br>
<br>
Chris Cassel<br>
Producer, KPI<br>
T: 212-643-0620<br>
F: 212-643-2359<br>
www.kpitv.com <br>
[email protected] <br>
<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX<br>
<p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

I would show up as a barbarian if it was a solid shoot and I wasn't going to Dallas for a conference that week & end.<br>
<br>
Dave <p>[url=http://www.freewebs.com/davekufner" target="top]www.freewebs.com/davekufner[/url]</p><i></i>

[Crispvs]

A couple of small thoughts on body armour.<br>
<br>
As most legionaries in Polybius' time were wearing pectoral plates rather than mail, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch of the imagination to suggest that quite a few of them might still have been knocking around 70 or so years later in Caesar's time. They might be cheaper and quicker to make as well, as long as they don't seem to make up the majority. Additionally, it may well be that Agen, Port and Imperal Gallic helmets entered the Roman army during Caesar's Gallic campaigns, so EARLY Imperial Gallic, Port and Agen type helmets could well be acceptable if people had them and did not have access to Montifortino or Italio-Corinthian types.<br>
<br>
Crispvs <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if some of Caesar's legionaries had no armor at all. Not so sure about the use of the pectoral, but we only have 2 of those anyway. We seem to have plenty of hamata, but if we're short of armor it should be fine to show some soldiers working in just their tunics.<br>
<br>
We've got a Gallic A helmet, too, and I'm planning on bringing that, along with any Coolus types we can scrape up.<br>
<br>
Sure wish there was more archeological evidence from the mid-first century BC! That way when I require everyone in Legio XX to be fully equipped for 4 different eras they'd have more information to go on... ("Sure, we can be in your Vercingetorix film, but not next weekend because we're doing Adrianople.")<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

Ok...I'm a little confuzled/miffed with History Channel....They're not paying or supplying any gear are they? Aren't the reenactors who've been invited coming with their own gear? So why is the "accuracy" an issue? They're getting Accuracy for FREE (practically)...<br>
<br>
...besides...Isn't it obvious from "Gladiator" it's taking place many years after Caesar anyway? Oh wait, these are Hollywood type exects...They wouldn't know a pencil from a pen if their job depended on it....<br>
<br>
As much as I'd like to be a part of this, I can't, I'm swamped. And I don't have any Caeser-era equipment, only mid Imperial.<br>
<br>
Oh well. Just gotta continue to spread the word of accuracy in my own way <p>-ANDY ~ Your Friendly Neighborhood Roman Dude.<br>
<br>
Svaviter in Modo, Fortiter in Re (Soft in Manner, Strong in Deed)<br>
<br>
www.higgins.org <br>
www.higginssword.org </p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Oh, Chris agreed that we should be paid, though that has not been confirmed, yet. If he coughs up the full $100 per man, he's a lot more likely to get the troops he needs. If it's less than that, or nothing at all, I know most of my guys will say "Sorry!"<br>
<br>
For stuff like this, we wouldn't WANT the film company to supply equipment! It would be plastic Halloween crap at best, with little red polyester Superman capes. That's the big reason they come to us, because we have the stuff.<br>
<br>
But we DO need to get out of the habit of doing gigs like this for free! Film companies DO have money to pay us, AND to pay for the use of our equipment on top of that. It would cost them more than $100 to get an extra in rented gear for an 8-hour day, if they could find anything remotely realistic to rent at all.<br>
<br>
Accuracy in a show like this is something we all like to see, so it's in our own best interest to do it as well as possible. Unfortunately, like most other groups we just don't have a lot of Republican gear, so we'll have to fudge a little. No idea if the differences will be visible in the finished show or not! I don't know just what the History Channel folks meant by "Gladiator quality"--did they really think anything in that flick was accurate, or do they just mean that level of gasoline-bomb drama? And no, most of them have no idea that Caesar's troops didn't look like that (nor Aurelius', for that matter, but that's a different discussion!). So we end up serving as advisors as well, and hopefully our advice will be heeded.<br>
<br>
We'll see! Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew <p></p><i></i>

[Los456]

"...besides...Isn't it obvious from "Gladiator" it's taking place many years after Caesar anyway? Oh wait, these are Hollywood type exects...They wouldn't know a pencil from a pen if their job depended on it...."<br>
<br>
It could be that too much is being read into his statement? Your average history channel documentary for a long time was accomplished with 20-30 extras, with lots of filming in slow motion of in fog, zoom ins of feet marching by, accurate equipmet, yes, but it gets a tad old after seeing the 50th documentary produced in the same fashion, be it civil war, greeks, romans, whatever. Not much in the way of seeing much sweep or scale.<br>
<br>
If History Channel thinks they are going to produce X amount of documentaries about, say Romans, over the next few years, they should try and amass enough guys to at least get some large scale shots, from multiple angles, a cohort or at least a century, rather than the same two squads marching by over and over. They've (and the reenactors have done fine) done fine up too now but they need to turn it up a notch. Then call the individuals shoots together as needed.<br>
<br>
One of the nice things about Decisive battles is that you at least see a couple thousand troops out there. Like in wars, sometimes mass has it's own quality. It's no more realistic seeing ten guys wearing spot on proper kit trying to simulate the battle of cannae then it is seeing a thousand guys fighting at cannae in Lorica Segmentata.<br>
<br>
Just an opinion.<br>
<br>
Los <p></p><i></i>

[Matthew Amt]

Avete!<br>
<br>
The latest scoop from Chris Cassel:<br>
<br>
-------------------<br>
<br>
Matthew,<br>
<br>
Not sure if you've spoken with George or anyone else, but we found a<br>
location that will work for our Caesar's bridge re-enactment. It's a<br>
perfect spot that features rolling hillsides along the riverbank, forested<br>
trails and natural landings that extend right out to the river.<br>
<br>
Unfortunately, it's along the Hudson in Hyde Park, New York.<br>
<br>
Given the amount of time it's taken us to settle on a location, we've<br>
decided to shoot the scenes the weekend of Oct. 2nd and 3rd rather than this<br>
coming weekend.<br>
<br>
I know this is a long distance for you and your guys to travel. If you'll<br>
still consider it, we'll provide the stipend we'd discussed ($100 per man<br>
per day plus $100 to you for your equipment) as well as meals while you're<br>
here and your gas mileage. We're hoping to recreate a small-scale Roman<br>
encampment and as such we've reserved campground space for the "legion" for<br>
Saturday night. If any legioneers prefer hotel accommodations, we can<br>
provide that too however there is limited space available in the area that<br>
weekend.<br>
<br>
I hope you'll still consider participating. I wish we'd have found a<br>
location more convenient for you but this really is an ideal spot.<br>
<br>
Please let me know if you can attend, and please extend this invitation to<br>
any friends or associates who might be interested.<br>
<br>
Attached is a "flyer" we created with more details.<br>
<br>
Best regards,<br>
--<br>
Chris Cassel<br>
Producer, KPI<br>
T: 212-643-0620<br>
F: 212-643-2359<br>
www.kpitv.com <br>
<br>
----------------------<br>
<br>
Sigh.... My initial reaction is, "Well, have a good time without me!" It is nice that they're coughing up money and rooms, certainly. I'm just not inclined to go that far and essentially commit three days to it. Not sure what kind of encampment he's expecting, with only one leather tent on this coast. (Or how it's going to get from my house to his river!)<br>
<br>
Well, you guys farther north may be more inclined to jump in. Enjoy!<br>
<br>
Valete,<br>
<br>
Matthew/Quintus <p></p><i></i>

[Quintius Clavus]

I am still going to participate, but then it is more in my part of the country. I would have driven from Connecticut to the river sites they were initially looking at in Southeast Pennsylvania/Northern Maryland/New Jersey. Maybe I am just a touch crazy; I've driven to Marching Through Time and Roman Days involving no time off from work. I do have the excuse of liking to drive!<br>
I AM trying to drum up some interest among the New England guys, but period appropriate gear is in short supply up here. Most of the guys reenact later - as in mid to late 1st century AD.<br>
Just my thoughts on the matter.<br>
<br>
Marcus Quintius Clavus/Quinton <p></p><i></i>