June 14th 2010

We were picked up at 10.15am and are now in Pierrefonds where Merlin is filmed and the castle is spectacular. I feel full of the joys of life (or should that be joie de vivre?) and totally clear headed today and am so happy that I have been able to accompany Tony to work. This is the third series of Merlin and for the past two years I have been trying to come and visit him in France but the parts that are filmed in Pierrefonds have always clashed with my own work commitments. Tony has been filming in the courtyard this morning and I have been wandering between the two sets as tournament scenes are also being filmed in the castle grounds.

One of the horses that they are using in Tony’s scene has to stand quietly whilst the cameras roll as Arthur makes his way down a stone staircase leaving Morgana and King Uther standing on the castle steps. Arthur then bids farewell and mounts before riding off through the castle gates. As the word ‘action’ is known to the horse, and usually signifies the start of some exciting activity, the word ‘casserole’ is being used instead to ensure his hooves remain firmly on the spot until he is mounted. I hope this isn’t a threat!

The second horse is rather livelier in spirit but is so beautifully trained. The handler was using a long stick fashioned from a length of willowy branch to gently touch the horse on his legs and on his hindquarters to ask him to step neatly onto a small length of carpet when he wasn’t being filmed so that the sound of hooves on the cobble stones didn’t disturb the filming. Fantastic to watch and I am thrilled that I have found a use for the willow saplings I managed to drown last year. Both horses take all the cameras, cables, lights, tracks, trucks and noise in their stride. Nothing seems to faze them and they are genuinely calm, not just trained to remain rooted to the spot.

The tournament horses are stunning and of course their training is also supreme. There are several horses in this scene and the moment ‘action’ is called, the horses and the riders engage immediately in close combat. There are horses whizzing around in a tiny space whilst their Knights do battle but the minute the word ‘cut’ is heard they all stop moving and stand quietly waiting for the next direction. It’s very impressive. I have been talking to the trainer and he has invited me and Tony out to the stables to watch the horses train. It’s an offer I am most definitely going to accept. I like his philosophy - he takes what the horse offers and if one is reluctant to rear on cue he teaches it something else instead. As he said “why make a horse do something he doesn’t like to do? Some people are good at Maths and others English - it is the same for the horse.” How true.

This entry was posted on 17. June 2010 at 22:16 and is filed under Sarah Fisher. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.