09/20/04 By Mike Campbell
On Sept. 8th I went to the studios of New Dominion Pictures in Suffolk VA to portray Alferd Packer for an upcoming episode of "Skeleton Crew", a forensic anthropology series produced for the National Geographic Channel. The third episode is entitled "Colorado Cannibal" and of course it's all about Alferd Packer.
(It's been nearly two years now, I don't think this show will ever air.)
I was there to film the winter scenes of murder, starvation and cannibalism. The weather in Suffolk was like a hot wet blanket. I wasn't quite bulky enough so they had me wear a padded vest underneath my costume. I had a t-shirt under the scratchy vest. Then a long sleeve shirt, a leather vest lined with sheepskin, a long black coat, and a heavy pack! That was the first scene we shot. It is winter, and they'd intended to spray the ground with foam to make snow, but that didn't work out.

They ended up using Styrofoam packing peanuts, dumping tons of the stuff all over this hill. They used a commercial snow made of shredded Styrofoam for the close-ups, but you didn't want to see it too clearly. Aerosol Christmas tree snow was used on the trees. I didn't see any aspen there.
One of the best scenes we filmed there was me shooting Bell. I got to kill Bell several times.

Packer confessed to killing Bell in self defense, but it took him a long time to get his story straight; and in the meantime he gave some very different accounts of what happened. In this version of his story, Packer and Bell are the only two left, the others have succumbed to starvation. They are hiking through the woods looking for game, they pause for a moment, and Packer walks forward a few feet. He hears Bell cocking his gun and turns on him. Bell would have shot Packer in the back, but his gun jammed. He swings his rifle at Packer, and Packer shoots him in the belly. A fun scene, I got to fire a few blanks from a rifle. They get really cautious on the set when there is a live round in the chamber! I was encouraged not to shoot the cameras, every one else stayed out of my way.

We shot for 11.5 hours on Friday, I was in nearly every scene. Of course we didn't get it all done. There were too many solo scenes with me still planned so we had to shoot another day. They were also shooting another episode on that day, featuring a large cast. I wasn't due in wardrobe and make-up until 2:00 o'clock. We would have to shoot around the other show, which took place in the jungles of Guatemala. What a surreal scene that was.
Best solo scenes: Packer escapes from jail, and Packer crouching by the fire, roasting a piece of meat. He is holding a knife with a large chunk of meat stuck on it, and he is gnawing on the meat. Hardest scene: Packer kills everyone in their sleep. I scramble about with a fake hatchet chopping the guys in the head as they struggle to defend themselves. I try to keep my long coat out of the campfire. After a few takes, the Director tells me I'm not enraged enough, I need to be screaming in rage the entire time. (Won't this wake the other fellows up? I think, quietly to myself. I quickly learned you don't say anything unless you have to. Actors are props.) So I screamed my head off, and killed those sleeping guys. Then I collapsed by the fire, hoarse and genuinely exhausted. That's a wrap.
Worst scene: Packer kills Bell. (Again.) It was late in the second day of shooting. None of the rest of the cast was called back for the second day of shooting, and Vernon, the first assistant director was standing in for Bell. Vern was the bad cop. Everyone on the crew was very cordial and polite, Vern was the guy who would yell at people. You need one of those guys. He had a vicious sense of humor, he could yell at you and you'd still crack up. I really enjoyed working with him. But he couldn't do his job because he was standing in for Bell. The entire scene would last less than a minute onscreen, and it had already taken over an hour and a half to light and frame it properly. We still had much work to do that evening and this scene was taking way too long. Tensions were running high, Vern was losing his mind. I was to walk into the scene, discover everyone dead, and Bell is roasting a piece of meat in the campfire. Bell grabs his hatchet and makes for me, and I shoot him. Piece of cake. Several takes later, Joe, the Director, is not happy with the way I am shooting Bell. Frankly, neither was I. Now I would consider Joe to be a real pal, someone I'd love to hang out with, but we didn't have time for that. It was the only time anyone really got in my face, and I didn't care for it much. I felt out on a limb and was desperate to give him the shot that he wanted. We got it in a few more takes. Afterwards Joe apologized, and I told him it was no big deal. Then he said, I'm not really sorry, it got me the shot I wanted. He was trying to make me desperate and a little edgy; it worked.
People have asked me if I had fun, and I can honestly say it was not a lot of fun. It was lot of work, a lot of hurry up and wait. Long hours, we shot until 2:30 am on the second day. After we finished the final shot the director said that's a wrap shoot for our friend Mike, and the crew applauded. Joe told me he's been doing this for over ten years, and he's never seen the crew do that. I learned a lot and I am very proud of what I've done. I have tried to represent Lake City and myself with dignity and professionalism.
Special Thanks to the Director Joe Wiecha, Assistant Producer Scotty Guinn, First Assistant Director Vernon Guinn. Also, Costume Designer Lance Culpepper and Tia Gorsick, make-up and hair. Here at home special thanks to Peggy Bales, Paula Davis, Jill Dotzenko and Mary Stigall.

Magic Cabaret 2004

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