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For filmmakers, the most-coveted backdrops sit
within the "zone of totality," where the moon will cover the sun
and expose a glowing corona around its perimeter for up to two
minutes and 40 seconds.
Camera crews, directors and actors are staging rehearsals and
preparing to act quickly, as the brief period of totality will
give filmmakers little time to record the perfect shot.
"One take only," said director Alvin Case, who aims to shoot a
roughly six-minute scene in western Nebraska for his independent
feature film "In the Moon's Shadow." "That's all you get with
the sun."
Case's project, about a pair of estranged sisters who travel
together to watch an eclipse, is one of at least three
productions scheduled to shoot in Nebraska on Monday, said
Laurie Richards, the state's film officer. Another feature film
and an automobile commercial also are set to record footage
there during the eclipse.
Richards said she has been busy fielding last-minute inquiries
from people wanting to shoot scenes for movies, TV commercials
and documentaries during the rare event.
Eclipses have figured into previous Hollywood plots, including
that of "2001: A Space Odyssey." In most cases, visual effects
experts recreated the phenomenon for the screen. An exception
was the 1961 religious movie "Barabbas," which used actual
footage from a solar eclipse in a climactic scene depicting
Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
Case plans to aim one camera skyward to film the eclipse and
keep another focused on the reaction of three actors watching it
unfold, he said.
"You want the viewer to experience what they are experiencing,
the moment of awe," he said.
Several producers of TV commercials have requested permission to
shoot in Oregon and Wyoming during the eclipse, local officials
said.
In Oregon, authorities granted permits weeks ago for a handful
of projects to film on Monday, the executive director of Oregon
Film, Tim Williams, said. Recent requests were denied because
officials are focusing on the expected influx of tourists, he
added.
Another filmmaker who will be shooting in Nebraska, Maria Dyer,
said she plans to employ four cameras and a drone to capture
eclipse footage, particularly the changing light over the
state's Sand Hills, for a forthcoming movie. One challenge will
be adjusting camera settings to account for the change in
exposure. Another is the chance of clouds or rain.
"It feels like a worthwhile risk to take," she said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Sue Horton and Leslie
Adler)
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