Kingdoms In Time — Docu-Reenactment

I’ve worked on several narrative reenactments over the years, and this project is a compilation of short vignettes I produced for a religious documentary to enhance key moments within the film. Each vignette was a period piece, which is always a challenge. The first hurdle was to find a location that both fit the look of antiquity and allowed us to film each vignette on the same set without having to change locations. Blue Cloud Movie Ranch, located in Santa Clarita, CA, was the perfect answer. One of their lots is a “Third World Town” built to resemble the Middle East, and has been used by many movies and TV shows including Iron Man, American Sniper, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and Seal Team. This fantastic backlot allowed us to utilize INT and EXT areas of the town, and provided all of the individual elements we needed. 

The second hurdle was to accurately cast each scene. Most Biblical reenactments overlook historical context, which is a big pet peeve of mine. A perfect example of this casting faux pa is the common portrayal of Jesus by an attractive, white male. As someone who has traveled and filmed extensively in the Middle East, I wanted this project—as with any project I produce—to be as authentic as possible. I also strongly believe in representation and am a dedicated advocate for equal opportunity. Due to this ethos, I spent a lot of time finding actors who fit the roles in both their acting ability and cultural background.

Safety on set is always my utmost priority. Given our remote location in the Santa Clarita hills, I hired a snake wrangler who spent her time ensuring everyone was out of harm’s way as snakes will often crawl into the INT areas of the set in search of shade from the hot sun. For additional protection and to help manage our use of fire in several scenes, we also had a Special Effects Supervisor and FSO on site. 

One of the many heroes of this production was our Hair and Make-Up Artist, Erica Smith. The actor we cast as Jesus had lots of tattoos, and Erica painstakingly covered them up so well you would have never known they were there at all. The skill, dedication, and go-getter attitudes my crew brings to each set is why our work stands apart, and I am proud to work with them from project to project.