Production Plans
Below is the schedule for the production of The Bison's Legs.
April 18: Testing the looks
On this preparation day, we visited archaeologist Diederik Pomstra in Arnhem with the two actors and the makeup artist. Diederik creates replicas of prehistoric artifacts and clothing. The goal of this visit was to fit the clothing, try out the hairstyles, and apply body decorations. We filmed from different angles and with various types of lighting to ensure that the actors would look as we envisioned on screen. Once the looks were finalized, we shot promotional material and rehearsed a few scenes in front of the camera.
April 19-21: Weekend of Primitive Survival
To gather inspiration for the film, I've gone on a primitive survival trip in Drenthe. The organization Bosbeweging took me out for a few days to learn about using resource from the forest for survival. A great article about this was published earlier this year in the NRC: https://bosbeweging.nl/algemeen/merel-deelder-geeft-zich-over-aan-de-natuur-blootsvoets-in-het-bos-voelt-ze-zich-een-oermens-nrc/ .
May 2: First Day of Recording
All the costumes, cameras, and makeup were ready, the actors knew their lines, and the van was packed: the first filming day of The Bison's Legs was finally happening. On this day, the actors were be filmed with a real herd of bison in the Maashorst nature reserve in Brabant. The forest rangers from Staatsbosbeheer guided us in the protected grazing area of these majestic animals (also known as wisents).
This was a standalone shooting day. The main filming days took place at the end of May (see below). The rangers advised me to schedule an extra filming day during this period because the wisents were having calves by the end of May. At that time, they would be very skittish and difficult to capture on camera. However, on May 2nd, they certainly wouldn't have calves yet, so we could film scenes with the herd without any issues, maintaining a safe distance.
An added benefit of this standalone filming day was that it allowed us to encounter any production issues early on. Filming in a nature reserve presents its own challenges, and even the best preparation can miss something. See "Blog" for a detailed description of the preparations and the recording days.
.May 29 - June 1: Hoofddraaidagen
With all the lessons learned from the standalone filming day in mind, the main shooting days were a success. We had two days at the Maashorst and two days in Belgium. At the Maashorst, we (under supervision) lit a fire, performed a shamanistic ritual and recorded dialogues. In Belgium, we spent a day filming on the beautiful wooded hills of the Hoge Kempen. On the last day, we headed to an abandoned limestone cave and filmed the shadow play scene there. The actors brought their cave drawing to life using the shadows cast by a small fire.
Summer 2024: Postproduction
After the shooting days, I have made a rough cut of the film and started contacting the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden) for the premiere. After I made the rough cut, a professional editor started work on making the final version.
October 26: Premiere
The premiere of the film will take place on October 26th in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, at 17:15.