P. S. to "Locations" and then The Library Set (I promise!)

I guess I am drifting off of Magnum and on to general TV production topics so I promise to get back to Magnum again!  Some good questions have been asked and it's more difficult to answer them in the post comment section.  

I'll just answer some questions about locations (which are basically the same during Magnum time  as well as today).  Obviously you all know that a show is not shot in the order that you see it completed on your TV.  All scenes pertaining to one set are shot at the same location--different scenes but same pertaining location.  Costume changes, day/night changes, happy/sad changes, clean / dirty, or sunny / rainy all shot at the same location on any particular day.  If there are a lot of scenes at this location, maybe 2 days.  It takes, on average, 6 to 8 days to film one 50 minute TV episode.  "Baywatch Hawaii" took 5 days, "LOST" takes 10 (or more).  The general rule is to be "out" on location as little as possible (3-4 days max) and "in" on the soundstage as much as possible per episode.  It's not only cheaper to be onstage, but you have greater control and convenience for everyone.

So to answer the question (I hope), it is possible to make major moves on this island, but not on the same day.  Filming on the beach in Mokuleiea on Tuesday can be followed by a house in Hawaii Kai the next day.  You would never make a move that far in one day even if those 2 scenes followed each other in the script / plot.

Next answer, yes, there was (and is) a tendency to use the same locations for different scenes / sets over and over--sometimes even in the same episode.  The front of a house is where the good guy lives, and the back of the same house is the break-in scene for the bad guy's house.  Obviously "film friendly" locations with an easy to work with owner, plenty of parking, cheap, secure,  multiple looks in one location, near town would be used much more often than a difficult to get to, problematic owner, expensive, or too close to a rainy area, etc.

Generally homes of crew or producer ("above the line") members were almost never used in filming.  First, there could be a conflict of interest with the studio that the producer was using his home or property (and getting the location fee) because of his influence rather than appropriateness of the location.  We did film once at Tom's (and other owners) club, "The Black Orchid."

Second, ANY person who works on a film crew would know the kind of abuse a location takes--even when being watched carefully.  Let's just say that not all of the 100+ people who work on a TV show crew are as careful as considerate as the owner would be.

Third, there is sort of an anonymity or privacy among crew / actor / producer people.  Do you really want everyone you work with inside your bedroom or the set dressing crew moving and finding what is really under your sofa?  No.  You really don't even want anyone to know where you live!

I refer to the film crew as a "city on wheels" in a former post.  That means the bathrooms, offices, food catering truck (breakfast, lunch and dinner for 150 a day is not uncommon even in a swamp/beach/valley location),  trailers or motor homes for all featured actors, 30 and 40 foot trucks that carry equipment from light bulbs to 12,000 watt lamps. ( No 60w energy saving fluorescents for a film crew!), wardrobe with double and triple outfits for every main actor and all sewing, steaming, and cleaning possibilities, and 1 (or more) giant generators that could power your entire neighborhood in a blackout (except that you wouldn't be able to afford the rental!) a prop truck not unlike a small K-Mart, and even a portable gas truck that refuels your vehicle. Sometimes even a special effects truck with enough explosives to really make a big mess.  I'm sure there are towns smaller than a location TV show.  Feature films are even larger.  You could live inside Bruce Willis's portable gym trailer!

So given the above abilities and production needs, it would be very rare to ever use the power from a home or small building to power all of this equipment.  When filming on a 25th floor of a building, however, the electricians would work with the building engineers to tie into their power rather than run cable up all those floors.  Imagine your bathroom with 150 strangers using it in one day?!

And the final answer is, yes, the only thing more fun than my house at Halloween is my house at Christmas!  I think I'd better save this topic for another blog and get back to Magnum, P.I.!

Aloha

As far as getting to the set each day, guest actors and many resident featured actors were picked up at their hotel or homes each day by a teamster driver.  Tom lived so close to the stage he could have walked or ridden a bike.  Obviously for security purposes he drove or was picked up by his driver (who is still with him 20 years later) or his security man.  Most of the actors would stay at the Colony Surf or if VERY big, at the Kahala Hilton Hotel (now just The Kahala).  Sometimes Tom rode in his motor home out to a location.  Did you know that one year he gave all his co-stars new Porches?  Are they cheaper by the dozen??

Where Did the Locations Come From??

Before I get into this, be sure to check out some of the post comments.  People are asking really good questions--and I am giving really good answers!  I don't know how much longer I will be able to keep going back through past posts to answer since they are getting longer with each day!

There are SO many misconceptions about locations, I think I'll address that now since it's Halloween and I've got things to do and locations to haunt!

"Please pick my house to film in!!!"  Ok, do you having a full square block of parking for just the basic equipment within a short walk of your house?  Are you on a quiet street away from a freeway, airport, or other noise?  Do you have neighbors that will agree to the lack of parking,blocked driveways, cable running, lights placement, and maybe even rain towers if called for?  Are you ready for at least a day of prep, a day of filming possibly for 12-14 hours starting at 5:30 a.m., and another day of wrap?  Ok, this is just for the EXTERIOR of your house!  Want people inside?  Do you have room for 25 not counting the actors in the scene?  Can your floors take  many hundreds of pounds for a camera dolly, very hot lighting and sound equipment, and possible damage to your hardwood floors even if they tell you they will have rubber tips on all the equipment?  Do you mind having all of your furniture, pictures, family photos and personal items, moved out and other things brought in that you can't use?  In fact, you will probably be moved OUT of your house and put in a hotel and not allowed back in while they are filming!  So, no, you won't be having a leisurely breakfast with Tom Selleck in your kitchen, sorry!

How do people find your house, business, farm, or back alley?  There is a Location Department with a locations manager.  They  have thousands of photos (now on CD's) of locations that have been used in the past or clients who want filming in the future. The location head reads the script to imagine what they might be looking for.   The director will describe what they are looking for in the old farmhouse, abandoned factory for the big shoot out, or family home on that quiet street required by the story in the script.  First looking at photos and then driving to see preliminary locations is the director, assistant director, maybe a producer, a production designer or art director, the location manager, an assistant location manager, and sometimes a DP (director of photography) all crammed in a van for days at a time.  Sometimes they may even pass a location and like it and direct the location manager to check it out later.   They may find the perfect location for each scene.  However, the schedule and page count at that location can also dictate where they film.  Ok, if according to the schedule, the house and the farm have to film on the same day (each one being only a half day in film time estimation),  then they need to be fairly close to each other since the company (a small city on wheels) has to pack up in the middle of the shooting day and move to the next location.  While they are packing and moving, the are NOT filming.  When they are not filming, they are costing the production company many thousands of dollars an hour in salary and equipment rentals in non-productive work.  So even if PERFECT locations are found, a money producer can say "NO, find something closer to each other.  We can't afford to move that far."  So, once the perfect locations are finally found, the right amount of parking nearby, and they are affordable (more on that later), now the REAL location work starts!  There are City and State rules regarding filming on City or State property.   There is a City and a State Film Department that generate these permits to make sure the public is not overly inconvenienced or interrupted.  Traffic may need to be held, security hired, parking reserved, maybe an explosion happens, rain, we even did snow and ice once downtown on "LOST." With multiple locations it takes multiple permits which are for specific times on specific dates.  The schedule changes (all the time!), the permits have to change and maybe not be approved the second time because of a conflict.  But we're still not done..........now the preliminary scout happens with department heads to check out those problems and situations that pertain to their department.  Lighting guys are looking for power access, I'm looking for set problems, construction people are measuring, etc.  Then a few days later there is the final scout which can include 25 department heads and their assistants looking to finalize and minimize any problems.  They don't like problems.  Now as exhausting as this location process is, those people who are scouting are still working on the current episode that is filming during this process and your "normal" work is still going on.  It's called STRESS!!!  Sometimes 24 hours a day and 7 days a week are still not enough time.  And then you are told you can't work any more overtime!

It is very rare that a location had everything I needed on Magnum.  If we did film inside a home, like we did in the episode where Tom went back to Virginia and Gwen Verdon played his mother (I spent the whole morning talking with her--I didn't care how busy I was!) I might get lucky.   That house had appropriate furniture and things which could stay.  Sometimes we try to get old photographs of the actors to "personalize" the set.  Keep in mind when an actor opens a door on a location and walks into a room.......that same door might have been taken or duplicated so the actual room is now on the sound stage maybe 4 days later.  Filming in a home with fixed walls, low ceilings, and having to worry about their floors, walls, heat, noise is not as desirable as filming on a sound stage with "wild walls" (that move), no noise problems, AIR CONDITIONING!, etc.  When homes were not appropriate inside from a set dressing  standpoint (but worked for every other department) then we had a lot of work.  Sometimes the rooms had to be painted or walls added.  Unfortunately this was done by the construction department that for some reason always thinks that the 1 or 2 days we have to prep the house is ALL theirs!  Many times I have hung art work on walls that still had wet paint because the painters had just finished and the company was moving in to film!  We would move out the owners items, construction / paint would move in for a day or so, and then we would have very little time to unload our 5-ton truck (or sometimes 2) and dress the set.  Sometimes we couldn't even get our truck near the location because grip and electric had gotten there before us and were unloading their equipment at the same time. These were daily occurrences and somehow things got done.  Many times I thought that what went into getting a set dressed was MUCH more interesting than the story that was being filmed there!  But does anyone listen to me..........?    Aloha

History of The Studio Facility and Permanent Sets

Ok, now that you are spoiled by all the photos, here is a plain old boring text one!  I'm one of the few people who probably remembers the studio facility history.  The area of the studio is located in what was known as Fort Ruger.  It was an army military post (like Pearl Harbor still is for the US Navy).  Ft. Ruger was actually built before WWI and included Diamond Head and it's large interior crater.  Side note:  Diamond Head is not an extinct volcano but only "dormant."  Since it hasn't erupted in 10,000 years, I wouldn't worry about it!

Over the years after WWII, the State (only since 1959) of Hawaii acquired more and more of Ft. Ruger.  The need for a military base in the middle of Honolulu was a little extreme especially since this area had become the most expensive part of town.  A large portion became a cemetery, the military housing area became Kapiolani Community College, the old base theatre became Diamond Head Theatre (where I spent over 8 years designing), and so on.

"Hawaii 5-0" began filming in 1968 in a mosquito infested warehouse near Pearl Harbor.  It quickly became a hit show (for 12 years!) and was able to move to an unused Ft. Ruger portion on 21st Avenue on the back side of Diamond Head.  I believe the current studio site on 18th Ave. was being used by the National Guard.  For reasons unknown to me, the studio and the National Guard switched locations at the end of 5-0's 1976 season and moved into a new studio facility built by the State on 18th Avenue and Diamond Head Road.  There were small bungalows for offices (still there--barely), a large "Butler Building" sound stage on a concrete slab (now used for storage by "LOST"), and the paint, construction, and set dressing storage area located in a long, old, tin roofed structure (torn down and replaced with a new building).  There was also a large parking lot and huge back lot.  Thus began the Hawaii Film Studio facility.  You can google this location and see for yourself.

Hawaii 5-0 aired its last episode in 1980.  I actually had worked on the last episode of 5-o as a very low (and VERY young - lol) set dresser.  Jack Lord tried another series called "M-Station, Hawaii" about a submarine--both sank very quickly.  Glenn Larson pitched a story about a private-eye investigator.  Did you know that Tom Selleck was on the "Dating Game" TV show and was rejected BOTH times??!!  Shows you what a mustache and short shorts can do for your career!  Anyway, they did a pilot and waited to see if it was picked up.  The story goes that Tom painted his landlady's house since he was basically out of money.  As you all know, the show was picked up and off it went into television history.

The pilot was shot at different locations around Honolulu.  You usually don't build many sets for a pilot because you don't know if the studio (in this case Universal Studios) or network will get the go for a series.  One of the locations included a famous old estate called the Marx Estate which was owned by the State of Hawaii in Nuuanu Valley (which could be another blog in itself).  Higgin's den was filmed there in the pilot.  The Anderson house on Kalanianeole Highway (aka "Robin Master's Estate) was becoming off limits for interior filming because the Spanish tiles on the staircase had been damaged during 5-0.  Ironically the very last episode of 5-0 (the one I worked on) was filmed at the Anderson Estate--am I making TV trivia history or what??!!  So the influence and style of the sets that were ultimately used for the show were based on these 2 locations.  The Spanish Colonial style of architecture, rough plaster walls,dark trim and windows, all came from the Anderson Estate and the brick and French doors of Higgin's den came from the Marx Estate based on the look of the pilot.  In actuality, Tom's guest house entrance was actually the old boat house of the Anderson Estate which was pretty much in ruins.  It was very rare that you ever saw him enter his guest house from the outside--he usually just headed off in that direction and then they cut to him entering onstage.

  Anderson's also had a large servants quarters near her cheesy chain link fence so the show added the gates.  Eve was fond of animals and later it was not unusual to see calves, large dogs, and other animals inside her house. My crew and I were the only ones actually allowed inside her house so we could place plants and furniture on her upper lanai (balcony).  She inherited her house from her grandparents and it was truly a magnificent estate--and I do mean was.  She was paid extremely well for its use as a location whether we used it or not.  Later, it became a nightmare for her since people thought either Tom Selleck, Higgins or maybe even the illusive Robin Masters actually lived there.  She still has old shade cloth and other barriers to keep the view private.  I always thought that was strange since she would rent out the grounds for parties and weddings and certainly could have made a lot more money letting people on the grounds like the "real" Southfork Ranch did on the TV show "Dallas" after the show ended.  

As you must know, all permanent interior sets (Higgins's den, entry hall, living room, Tom's guest house, bedroom, Rick's interior office, and even the interior of the helicopter) were all filmed inside on the 18th Avenue soundstage.  Ironically it's been named the "Five-O Stage" even though 5-0  only filmed there 3 years and Magnum did all 8 there.  More trivia!

Ok, I'm having way too much fun with this.  As your reward for reading all of entry, I'll have some photos of a very rare set (that almost killed my crew--literally) coming up soon--Robin Master's Library.   Aloha

More Agatha Info

I think I've got the photo upload thing down, but I didn't want to take any chances and add more to the previous post and lose them all.  So back to Agatha's set...........

Again, there was much discussion about what Agatha would have in her house.  In the end they pretty much trusted me to "go for it" and I did!  Looking at these photos now, I can tell you it would be impossible to do this set here in Honolulu today.  Even with the number of things I again brought from my own house, you would never find all these things in town today.

You can see how much detail and work went into constructing these sets.  All those windows were custom built, painted, and then I covered them all up with my drapes!  Because of the size of this set, you can see that above the set they used "headers" or sort of fake beams to help hide the overhead lighting and allow the camera to shoot a little wider without worrying they would see the top of the set.  Looking at it now 24 years later, it seems odd the way the drapes I stapled up are on the INside of the arched window.  There should be some curved molding around them.  Oh well, too late now!  Again, the pedestals on either side of the fireplace, the portrait of Queen Victoria (my great uncle was a guard for her BTW),  the bench with arms, the marble top commode in front of the window, the burgundy side chair, that huge oriental rug (later stolen from me) and some of the smalls all came from my house.  I would never do that again today!  

This set was only used once as I recall.  A lot of work but a wonderful episode.  I think that there could have been a spin-off of Magnum staring Gillian.  "Agatha, P.I."??  Maybe not.  She was capable of a lot more.  I have many happy memories of her.

Aloha

More Agatha Photos

I thought I had uploaded more photos but only one showed up.  Trying for some more.........

Agatha's Living Room Set

This was one of my favorite sets as Gillian Dobbs was one of my favorite actresses.  I first met her in 1975 when I designed the sets and lighting for "The Music Man" at the main theatre here in Honolulu just up the hill from the film studio.  Trust me, she wasn't acting--Gillian WAS Agatha!  Not that she wasn't a good actress, but her character really was herself in real life.  I don't think the producers really knew what to do with her.  She was a bit odd, but a perfect romantic foil for the stout and dour Higgins.  She lived here in Honolulu.  Other guest actors and actresses were always picked up at their hotel and driven to and from the studio.  I would see Gillian sitting outside the studio on a concrete bench waiting for her bus that went by the facility on 18th Avenue.  She never complained, but I always felt sorry for her.  In this business, the squeaky wheel gets the oil and Gillian never squeaked very much.  After the show she didn't do anything that I was aware of.  Marco my Magnum expert told me she had passed away.  Her character of Agatha will live on!

Here are some photos of her living room.  There is much to tell about this set and I will have to do that in 2 parts.  As you can see, there are some photos of some of the carpenters actually building this set.  My only complaint was about the fireplace.  I think it was left over from another set but it seemed so dark and rustically inappropriate for the more fussy feminine nature of this set.  Well, with all that I packed into this set, it wasn't all that noticeable!

Higgin's Bedroom Set (on stage)

Well, now that I have photos that work, I can talk about this set.  Whenever a main character of a series is given a "personal" set that is not part of the permanent sets (like Tom's guest house or Higgin's den that are in virtually every episode), the dilemma is deciding if it will ever be seen again.  If it is to be seen again, then the show needs to own or at least have permanent access to the items used in it so it can be duplicated again later.  There was never enough room on the small soundstage (or even a large sound stage) to leave every set standing indefinitely "just in case" it's used again.  In the case of Higgin's bedroom set that wasn't done until well into the series, I thought I would use many things from my house which is a large old home here in Honolulu not unlike something Higgin's might have lived in at one time.  In this case the sofa, chair , bench at the end of the bed, personal pictures of my grandparents, the wall candle holders, bronze statue, and lamp all came from my house.  We bought the bed (later eaten by termites) and rented the other items which were returned after this set was shot. 

 There was much input from the producers as to how cluttered, how personal, and what his bedroom would say about the character of Higgins.  I've always felt that any set should tell a story even before we know who lives there.  Do they read a lot, collect things, are they religious, are they sentimental, a romantic, an egomaniac?  All of these things can be indicated by their environment (set decoration) before we even know much about the character.  In the case of such a well established role of Higgin's the caretaker of the Robin Master's estate, we see that he is very traditional, fairly ordered, obviously living in a past era of English tradition.  There is a vase of mine that I used in this set.  I don't think it is visible in any of the photos (I'm sure I have more somewhere I will eventually dig out).  The vase was made out of copper and on front it says (above) "The Sun Never Sets...........(below) "On the British Empire."  This sort of summed up Higgin's formality and memories of past glories (imagined or realized) in life.   By this time in his life, the sun had set on the British Empire and Higgin's was now a loyal caretaker.

The textured walls that were used for the interior sets of the Master's estate were made of plywood, then covered with hand troweled joint compound (wallboard plaster), then painted, and then a sort of ink substance applied and wiped off that gave an aged, rough plaster look.  In some cases an additional "dust age" was used of diatimacious earth inside a sprayer.  You did not want to be around when this was sprayed!  The stock moulding of the set was produced at Universal Studios molding (moulding for those of you in the UK) department and shipped over.  The set walls were usually 10 feet tall since the camera seldom saw over 8 feet.  Small sections of ceiling could be place overhead when needed, but seldom were.

Hey aren't people supposed to comment on these blogs??!!  HELLO....is anyone out there?  Ok, time to scan some more photos................Aloha