Jack McWilliams, studio head of Attic Light Productions, the company overseeing the filming of “A Gettysburg Christmas,” didn’t want to talk about money or cameras or actors right away. He wanted to talk about the people of Gettysburg and just how grateful he is.
“I love the way the people have been so open with their hearts,” he said, motioning outside the window of the Gettysburg Hotel lobby, where he graciously sat for a few minutes while filming was going on in front of the Blue and Gray.
“Lisa at the Pub is the Rock Star of hospitality,” McWilliams said, waving off my formality. “Call me Jack. I can’t say enough good about Timbrel at Lark. She was so generous throughout our whole time filming there. Everyone has been great!”
Jack went on to say how fantastic the turnout for extras has been. They had three thousand responses to our stories and are using sixty local people in the film. Way to turn out, Gettysburg!
Aaron and Roger, two of the crew with headsets and some kind of smiling, casual authority had expressed their thoughts about the borough moments earlier on my way to my chat with Jack. “The people have been great! We love it here!” Aaron said, looking at Roger who added with what seemed like surprise, “I’ve been to five different restaurants here and I loved every one of them!!”
I didn’t catch their official titles, but once every couple of random moments Aaron and Roger would shout, “Rolling!” which I learned referred not to the movement of the car pulling away, but the fact that the camera was recording what was happening inside the car where Kelley Jackle, Sean Faris, and Bruce Boxleightner were working.
All three of the actors, and both camera and sound operators somehow managed to fit into the midsized, black SUV. I caught a murmur of directions to the actors from a few feet away on the sidewalk as Bo talked to them through the open door between takes. In the brief time I was there, the car made the round trip at least a half dozen times while at least thirty crew members attended to their tasks.
Jack McWilliams face lit up as he began to talk about the process of making a film. As a producer, he gets to learn about any of the minute details that he is curious about. Jack gave me a quick tutorial about the colorizing process which I found fascinating.
The reason your camera can’t take a movie-quality video has something to do with the fact that a professional film camera records more than the visible portion of the light spectrum. In the colorizing process, the wavelengths that aren’t needed are extracted from the frame. Both the picture and my curiosity are clarified. I imagine Google has more to say about this.
Of course, I asked what Lee Majors is like. “He’s very nice,” was the official word. I got a hint that I might be able to sit in the very nice modernized Gettysburg Hotel lobby with the Bionic Man one day soon. Stay tuned…he’ll be here today to begin his filming schedule.
The filming stops on Sundays when they all take the day off.
Jack couldn’t rave enough about Adams County apples. “I don’t know what we’re going to do tomorrow yet. We spent the day at an apple farm on our last day off.” He painted a delightful picture of the surprise of taking a bite of a fresh-off-the-tree apple.
As a native of Houston, Texas, Jack is enjoying taking in all the farmland. They will be doing some filming on a farm, “about fifteen minutes north of here,” in a few days.
Jack gave another hint about how the filming schedule works, so start looking for big pools of lights while you drive around. They are headed into the evening hours. The rain on the snow on Wednesday delayed their outdoor schedule, but Jack informed me that they’ll be on the square tomorrow. He said spectators are welcome!
The filming is scheduled to continue through the end of February. Then on to editing for six weeks.
Jack’s company, Attic Light Films, most recent projects include the feature films, “The Lifeguard,” with Kristen Bell, and “My Friend Dahmer,” a story about the high school days of the famous serial killer.
“A Gettysburg Christmas” is on track to premiere at the Majestic to kick off our annual Christmas Festival this year. Jack attributes his confidence to the generosity and hospitality of the people of Gettysburg.
I’ll keep in touch. I’ll let you know how it’s going so you have time to shop for just the right Gettysburg Christmas evening wear. Let’s show the rest of the nation just how charming Gettysburg can be!
Deb Collins has been in central Pennsylvania since 1989. Her children graduated from Gettysburg Area High School at the turn of the century and now live at opposite ends of the turnpike, Chelsea in Pittsburgh and Jake in Philadelphia. Raised in Connecticut, Deb enjoys the milder climate and the proximity to so many major cities that Gettysburg provides.
Jim Bargas is a freelance photographer.