The next film festival I attended took place the following week, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. I left to attend early because I was taking the train down to the city, and ended up getting there much sooner than I needed to. The extra time was a nice perk because it allowed me to relax and take my time arriving at the theater for the movies I was going to see.
On my way to the cineplex, I saw that the road I was on was blocked off, and a short while later, I saw signs that filming was going on. There were people on the sidewalk in front of me who kept going, so I decided to follow suit. No one was telling them to stop and turn around, so I figured I was good to go as well.
Eventually I saw cameras and dollies strewn on the sidewalk, and crew and gaffers setting things up. I was still following some other pedestrians, and when I saw the crew pay them no mind, I continued on as well.
Following the app on my phone, I needed to cross the empty street, and as I did, I heard over a megaphone that filming was about to start. I was able to cross the street without a problem, but after I did, I paused my journey so that I could catch a glimpse of production.
With the street shut down, this was obviously going to be footage of a car driving through a New York City street. I got the impression what they would be shooting would be part of a chase sequence. There were some other onlookers, and although we were ushered back a bit so as not to be captured in any of the shots, we were allowed to watch.
This felt exciting to catch a glimpse of the filming process – I was in the city to experience the art of film after all, and I thought it’d be cool to watch, even if the sequence I was watching never made it into the movie. I balanced on the tips of my toes when I heard a voice on the megaphone blare “Action” as if this would give me a markedly better view.
There were some people walking up and down the sidewalks that sandwiched the road that had been blocked off. When the megaphone voice called for a reset, it was apparent these were extras, as they all seamlessly returned to their starting spots when the cameras had first started rolling. From what I could gather, something had affected the lighting, maybe a renegade cloud, and they wanted to take it from the top.
In the interval where the extras were setting up again, I realized I had no idea what was being filmed. While I saw camera, equipment, extras and crew in this blocked off section of New York City, I didn’t see anything that indicated what movie the road had been blocked off to shoot. Even if I caught a glimpse of the car, I wouldn’t be able to tell if I was watching the next James Bond movie, or some generic action movie that a couple of dozen people would ever see.
The megaphone voice called “Action” again.
The only way I’d know what was being filmed was if I saw a vehicle that was distinct, that was associated with only one series of movies. Like, the Batmobile.
A moment later, weaving through the cars with stunt drivers simulating traffic on a blocked off road, was the Ecto 1. The film they were shooting was Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.