Cesar and Sahzi: That's a Wrap

Cesar, Sahzi, Mike, and Robin Near the End of the Day

Just a few (or many) random things that come to mind at the end of the main day of filming:

When our contact called me two weeks ago, he said they might call back on very short notice early the following week.  I spent the weekend, decluttering the house.  Mike didn’t spend the weekend decluttering the yard.  On Monday, they called to say they would be there on Thursday.  I had my cleaning service come on Wednesday for a downstairs only cleaning. Mike took Wednesday off to work on the yard and still got in a game of golf.

It’s amazing how quickly you can paint your ratty looking threshold when you’re in a hurry.   I washed it Monday night with TSP.  I painted it Tuesday morning before work. 

For all the interviews, they used high folding stools.  I think it’s easier to stage a scene from a higher vantage.

The crew loved the electrical outlets in our newly remodeled house.  An outlet is required every 6 feet and I’ve got a lot of surge protectors around the house, too.  They did not like the look of the outlets in the kitchen where the outlets are required every 4 feet.  They were propping things up in front of them until I took over and brought in some nice vases and silk flowers.

We have just a few south facing windows that let in lots of light this time of year.  The blocked the windows with black fabric hung from racks.  Are those called grips?  They also liked it that we had dimmers on most lights.  Sometimes they changed the color of a shot with colored spotlights, especially blue.

They liked having the interviews from different angles.  Mike was in the living room, I was in the kitchen, we talked to Cesar in our dining room.  Cesar was debriefed in the living room, but maybe with a different camera angle.  Mike and I were filmed in the family room with my dining room sconces in the background. 

Before we consulted with Cesar in the dining room, they moved the table into the middle of the room.  One camera was over our left shoulder looking at Cesar, and one camera was behind Cesar’s left should looking at us.  Su Ann, the director, gave the directions for close-ups to the cameramen before we started talking.

When Cesar got to our house, they were setting up the dining room.  I think that’s when he was getting his makeup on.  Just before they started filming at the table, they powdered Mike and me.  I want to be a makeup lady.  I think she worked about an hour and got paid to be there all day.  That’s a cushy job.

Filming us working with Sahzi was very hard work for the cameramen.  They have to who Cesar, show Sahzi, show our expressions when we’re watching, and get out of the way in the hallways.  Cesar had to keep telling me to not worry about the cameramen because I was trying not to bump into them.  He said it’s their job to get out of the way.

The crew was so kind and polite all day.  I never heard any foul language and they made sure our house was back to normal afterward.  Several of them were in their early to mid-twenties, but they were the ones dealing with the heavy light stands and the cameras.

The microphones are clipped to your waistband and a wire run to your neckline.  They use moleskin to stick it to your clothing.  If you don’t know what moleskin is, you were never a Scout or a hiker.  We all agreed it is getting harder and harder to find.  They said when they do find some at a drug store, they buy out the store.

The crew has an RV which has all Cesar’s equipment and food for the day.  It arrived with half the crew at 8:30 am.  The rest of the crew arrived within a few minutes.  Cesar came around 11:00 for the consultation and stayed until about 4:00.  The crew left around 5:00.

Cesar just does what he does and the crew just follows along.  None of us knew he was going to invite Sahzi to the Dog Psychology Center until he did during filming near the end.  Su Ann isn’t sure if Cesar will come back to our house to pick her up or if we’ll drive up to Saugus near Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita.  I love the way Cesar says, “Santa Clarita” with his Mexican accent.

During the consultation, I told Cesar that people at the park often insist that they should be allowed to pet Sahzi.  Even when I tell them no, they’ll tell me that they watch the Dog Whisperer and know how.  Cesar said that just shows that they don’t pay attention to the show. Cesar told us we should never take a dog like Sahzi to Beverly Hills.  Everyone there feels entitled to pet every dog.  He said we should take her to South Central Los Angeles.  The Mexicans would never think to pet someone else’s dog.

Mike tried some Spanish out on Cesar.  Cesar corrected him.

During our interviews, Su Ann sat right next to the camera and asked questions.  We’re supposed to rephrase the question because they’ll edit her voice out.  Sometimes I’d forget the question because I’d be paying attention to her keeping her hair away from the lens instead of listening.  If we did well, she’d give us thumbs up, otherwise, she’d rephrase the question.

Sometimes she’d have the cameraman do a “POV” shot from Sahzi’s point of view such as walking out the dog door to the fountain to get a drink.  During filming, they also took lots of still pictures with a simple digital camera.

During one break, she told the cameraman to get a shot of Sahzi’s cat friend.  I had no idea where Spatz was, but I found him sleeping soundly on our bed.  He woke up and stared at the camera for a while.  I brought the dog in and she jumped on the bed, which made Spatz jump down.  While Sahzi stared nervously at the camera, I pick Spatz up and put him back on the bed.  The cameraman filmed Sahzi staring at the camera while Spatz walked over her feet.  I hope that makes it in to the episode.

After Cesar “left” the house for the camera, he came back in and signed autographs and let us take pictures with him.  I’ll try to get a picture of him with Sahzi next time we see him.  

They have episodes ready to air through July.  Ours will probably be on sometime this fall, and I will let you all know.  They are going to give us a DVD of the episode for free after it airing.  We’ll definitely have a get together at the house on the night it airs.