Air Force Reserve goes Hollywood

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt Ray Sarracino
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD ARB, Fla. --  Unseasonably chilly weather greeted hundreds of cast, crew and extras from a proposed WB Network series as they converged on Homestead Air Reserve Base for a marathon day of filming.

They were there to work on scenes for the pilot episode of “Mercy Reef,” a science-fiction themed program that could appear on the network as early as fall 2006, according to Lisa Lewis, Vice President of Television Production at Warner Brothers.

Vehicles began arriving on the “set” of “Tempest Key Joint Training Base,” as it became for the day, by 5 a.m. to begin setting up equipment and preparing for the day’s shoot. For security reasons, the production team’s vehicles and personnel were under military escort from the moment they arrived until they departed the base about 20 hours later.

Considering the number of visitors and the amount of time they were on the base, this was a Herculean task that was successfully accomplished by good teamwork and coordination among many of Homestead ARB’s units, including security, communications, maintenance, civil engineers, operations and transportation among others, according to Lt. Col. Tom Davis, 482nd Fighter Wing Chief of Public Affairs.

Another unique aspect of this shoot involved the “extras,” people seen in the background of practically every television show or movie. Most of the extras for this shoot were military members who had volunteered to be in the show. Staff Sgt. Yami Baker, 482nd Military Personnel Flight, was one of the Airmen who volunteered.

“I really thought that it was going to be an easy day, sit around, eat; when they call you do your thing and sit around some more. I never thought that we would have to do the same thing over and over and over again for hours for just one scene,” said Sgt. Baker.

In one scene, viewers can catch a glimpse of about 20 Airman assigned to Air Force Reserve Command’s 482nd Fighter Wing marching in formation on the flight line. Although not something frequently seen on the flight line, this prefabricated drill team had plenty of time to get it right in the course of marching back and forth in front of the camera for more than an hour in the increasingly hot Florida sun.

One thing about the film industry is similar to the military, there is a lot of “hurry up and wait.” But it was worthwhile according to Sgt. Baker.

“Once they started filming and the cameras were on and all the commotion started it, it was really exciting. The director we had was awesome, his name was Oscar and he was full of energy and he was really into his job and he made it exciting to be there. It was also really neat meeting some of the actors, everyone there was so down to earth and were just wonderful,” she said.

During the course of the filming, some of the extras endured several costume changes that included promotions, demotions and even a change of service. One Air Force staff sergeant was promoted to captain just for his walk across the street in a different scene.

The shoot presented a number of logistical problems that were conquered with relative ease by smart planning on the part of the production company and base personnel.

One of these involved moving many large tractor-trailers from the front gate to the flightline, around several turns and many physical barriers before they arrived at their destination. 482nd Security Force Squadron Airmen accomplished the job of arranging barriers to accommodate the increase in vehicular traffic, while still accommodating the typical volume of vehicles during the morning rush hour.

Homestead ARB personnel also helped out throughout the increasingly warm and sunny day with electrical requirements, equipment movement and simply arranging people and things in just the right way to get the perfect shot.

Among the more unique pieces of equipment to enter the base were three “condor” self-propelled cranes.

Capable of hoisting their baskets more than 90 feet in the air, these slow-moving vehicles were instrumental for filming some interesting scenes, including two man-made thunderstorms that were created by elevating an elaborate network of pipes high above the “stage” and directing light into the rain shower to create the visual effect.

The practically self-contained operation included cast, wardrobe and makeup trailers, as well as caterers who successfully fed several hundred people throughout the day.

As the day turned to night, and the unseasonably cool weather returned to South Florida, the dropping temperatures sent many cast and crew scurrying for jackets and sweaters.

“We will not know if the show is picked up for a series till mid-May. Normally we would air [the show] in late September, but we won't have a firm air date till July sometime,” said Lewis.

For the Air Force Reservists involved, it gave them the chance to participate in the movie magic that turns hours and hours of work on the set, into seconds of film on the screen.