One of the sequences in Bear Town I've struggled with the most has been the finale, which is mostly an action sequence set on a hijacked subway at this point. Action sequences - a mainstay of Hollywood blockbusters - are generally hideously expensive to shoot. On a low budget indie film, hideously expensive is not usually an option. Complicating matters is the fact that the sequence is set on a train which generally moves and we're using puppets, so the scale of the train has to match the size of the puppets otherwise it will just look like a bunch of puppets running around on a train. All of this adds up to some kind of astronomical cost I would be frightened to even imagine. Today I think I found an ingenious solution.

Many years ago, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) built a monorail system in the east end of the city. Called the "RT" (or Rapid Transit) system, it was built to be a low-cost extension of the eastern end of the city's Bloor/Danforth subway line. I was working out in Scarborough (east Toronto) yesterday and took the RT. Somewhere in the middle of the ride it dawned on me - the RT is a small subway train. Because it's used by fewer commuters than the city's main subway lines the RT cars consist of two single rows of seats going up and down the side of each car and an aisle just barely wide enough for two people to stand next to each other in. The operator's cabs are also very small and cramped. Even better, the cars are designed with everything (seats, windows, etc.) much lower to the ground than a regular subway. In short, it's perfect for puppets!

Assuming we could get the co-operation of the TTC (which can usually be arranged - for a fee - through Toronto's film and television office) we could potentially spend one night shooting on board an RT train. This could either be done in the garage where the trains are stored (with blue screens in the windows so the "outside" can be added later) or we could film while the train is actually moving using a steadicam. The exterior of the train - which I had always intended to be represented by a model and shot using forced perspective - can be designed to match the interior of the RT cars. If we need a subway station I believe there is a studio in Toronto that has a standing set. The TTC also supposedly has a "hidden" station near Queen St. was built to be part of a Queen subway line that was never finished. It's supposed to be still there, primarily so they can rent it out to film productions (something else to check with Toronto's film and TV office).

Before I get too excited I'll eventually have to compare the cost of doing all this to the cost of just building a few sets, but I think the location option will be much cheaper and realistic. I hope anyway. I've always wanted to film something using Toronto's subway system so I'm very excited!

Posted by Andrew at 9:15 AM | Permalink

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