Greetings over your interweb devices
“Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan dowdy makes the sun come out
When Heavens are cloudy
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff!”
The Tamarack Studios were built within a converted warehouse in a commercial area of the Northeastern San Fernando Valley. The neighboring businesses included a metal crushing plant, an industrial shredding facility, electronics recycling, and waste dumps. Using Tamarack kept costs within the prescribed budget — but there were tradeoffs involved.
In the peak of a Los Angeles summer, the heat could be stifling, despite the heavy-duty portable air conditioning units (which had to be shut off during actual sound recording). Add to that the unique fragrances wafting in from the waste management areas, along with several types of winged insects in search of more food.
On a hundred degree evening like the one depicted in this image, when food and beverages were called upon to be consumed on camera for the scene, extra prop people were hired to prepare enough of the meals and drinks for multiple takes. At the conclusion of each pass, the new food was set out and, in deference to the flying interlopers, the covers were removed at the last possible second by Jaymee, our wonderful prop person.
One night, though, things got so bad that the recorded images were chocked full of lots of moving black dots. We had to press on, nonetheless, and our valiant post-production team had no choice but to paint them all out (working with digital technology has its advantages).
And then there was the the time that the winter storm hit and we discovered just how noisy and porous the sky lights were . . .
To one and all, Be Safe-Stay Healthy