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Back Up The Mountain

by Ryan Johnson, Jan 27 2009

Back in December I blogged about my recollections during the scout of one of our locations: Mt. Wilson Observatory. today, and next week, I will share what it was like actually shooting at the location for the TV pilot of The Skeptologists.

Mt. Wilson Observatory is an amazing place. I liken it to going to a museum, where everything is still being used. Founded in 1904, this astronomical observatory has served as both a scientific research facility used to peer into the darkness of space, and as the years go by a site for historical preservation of some of our nations most important scientific tools.

The site sits atop the aptly-named Mt. Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena, CA. At over 5700 feet above sea level, even during a warm Southern California day, the summit can be a cold and dangerous place.

 

Getting ready to head up to Mt. Wilson

Getting ready to head up to Mt. Wilson

Our first full day of production for The Skeptologist was upon us. We had assembled cast and crew and we left the hotel in Pasadena to head to the base of the mountain to start our 45 minute drive to the top. This first stop was important, as once we hit the base of the mounting, preparing to head up the windy mountain road, there would be no cell phone communication. Which, I still find ironic because the observatory is right next to a radio and TV tower complex that is pretty spectacular. My first thought when I got there was, “And no-one wants to go ahead and throw up a tiny little cell tower here? Damn.” Us folks in the production biz need our cell phones like Phil Plait needs Battlestar Galactica.

 

 

At the summit of Mt. Wilson, Radio TV and other transmission towers

At the summit of Mt. Wilson, Radio TV and other transmission towers

The day got off to a rocky start. One of our production assistants got a bit confused, and didn’t stop at the designated gas station meeting point before the trip up the mountain. Three of our cast and one of our crew were instantly out of communication, and we weren’t sure if they had started up the mountain, gotten in an accident on the freeway on the way. We tried calling them, nothing. So we waiting a bit. I was concerned. I made the decision that most likely she was headed up the mountain, (I reasoned such because none of the vehicles occupants cell phones would go through) So we quickly gathered everyone else up and started our caravan up the windy mountain road. Well, almost everyone.

After a good 20 minutes or so, we came to the first major turn to head up the mountain, and there, in the turnout was the rest of the cast and one very embarrassed and sorry crew member. She felt terrible. And luckily she didn’t know which way to turn, and so she waited. (Maybe the cast that were in the car can fill me in on the conversations that happened in there!)

We were running a bit late, but not too bad, I had planned extra time to get up the mountain incase there were rock slides or snow, which, by the way is very common. I can’t imagine the team that hauled the materials and equipment up that mountain around the turn of the century. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that Michael Shermer rides his bike up this mountain all the time! Wow.

We arrived at the gate to the Observatory and were met by our host Dave Jurasevich, who I talked about in my previous Mt. Wilson post. We drove on the the grounds and parked at the base of the 100” Hooker Telescope.

 

The giant dome of the 100" Telescope, the dome is about 100 feet wide

The giant dome of the 100" Telescope, the dome is about 100 feet wide

I had a million thoughts racing through my head in preparation for the shoot, but seeing that magnificent white steel building against the crisp blue sky, is a cause for a moment of reflection.

 

As everyone assembled at the base of the telescope, we soon discovered that we were missing our Still photographer. He just wasn’t with us! Oh,, no! What to do? We coudn’t do much, no cell phones. We let the observatory staff know we were missing a member, and to keep an eye at the gate.

Then we started with the issues of insurance paperwork that hadn’t made it and a few other details that we needed to work out prior to entering. After months of prep, you can always count on some staff worker at an insurance company to put the whole thing into a screeching halt because a FAX didn’t get sent.

At the base of 100” telescope, awaiting clearance to start

At the base of 100” telescope, awaiting clearance to start

 

 

A few frantic phone calls and FAXs had that taken care of and the crew began the laborious process of schlepping the equipment up the stairs. We also used a platform crane that was originally installed to hoist the mirror from the observation level down to the ground level mirror re-surfacing room. The telescope’s primary mirror is nearly 9000 pounds, almost 101” across and 12 inches thick at the edges. Yeah, you need a crane to move that. Especially considering the fact that it took them more than 5 years of grinding and polishing to ready it for it’s first use. Not something you’re going to just toss around I suppose. Lucky for our breathless crew, that crane spared us a few trips up and down the steep metal stairs in the cold and thin air. I believe Shawna holds the records for most trips from our crew. She had to go up and down the stairs to deal with various issues during the shoot. She counted 52 times before she lost count halfway through the day.

We shot at the observatory during the day. One of the nice thing about having a giant rotating dome in a round room was that we could open the giant shutter a bit to let the sun in, then rotate around until the sun was coming in just where we wanted it. Of course we hauled in some pretty powerful lights to fill in Mother Nature as well.

Poor Julian, our photographer finally arrived. It turns out that back at the service station when we all left, he had run inside to grab a drink. He walked back out to discover a cast and crew of 30 vanished!. He treid to catch up with us up the mountain, but when he got the the all-important turn off, he went the wrong direction and headed east down the other side of the hill. He eventually realized the issue and got directions to the Observatory and made it back to us, just in time for the beginning of production.

 

Crew and cast inside the Dome, setting up for first shots

Crew and cast inside the Dome, setting up for first shots

As I and the crew mapped out the shooting positions, the cast got into makeup two by two. Phil Plait was like a 6 year-old running around taking pictures and muttering to himself and his video camera. This was his first trip to Mt. Wilson, and I could tell that this was a big deal for him. Appropriately, in this segment of the pilot, Phil was to have center stage for a bit to talk about the history and accomplishments made here. I was really glad that we could make this location happen, for the show and for Phil.

 

Our host, Dave, was all too happy to talk about this giant instrument, The Skeptologists were all too happy to soak in all this knowledge. I was bummed that I couldn’t hear more for myself. But I had work to do.

Next week, we’ll continue our adventures on Mt. Wilson and then travel down to the bowels of another historical treasure of Southern California!

Stay tuned!

 

The shutters partially opened, illuminating the 100” Telescope

The shutters partially opened, illuminating the 100” Telescope

2 Responses to “Back Up The Mountain”

  1. “Next week, we’ll continue our adventures on Mt. Wilson and then travel down to the bowels of another historical treasure of Southern California!:

    I hope that doesn’t refer to some old Hollywood star….

  2. MadScientist says:

    If cell phone use is so important, don’t plant to visit the deep space communications station at Goldstone:

    http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/DeepSpaceNetwork/DeepSpaceNetwork.html

    I love dropping by the site near Canberra; the huge radio telescopes are impressive.

    I didn’t even try my phone at the Mauna Kea Science Complex:

    http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/

    That photo doesn’t do the site any justice; Mauna Kea is awesome (or maybe the lack of oxygen just made my brain think it was awesome). No, I’m pretty sure it’s awesome – like something out of a science fiction movie. The red rocks all around might give one the impression of being on Mars – but of course the blue sky spoils the effect somewhat, as do the clouds which typically sit well below your feet.