The Camel

Imagine having designed and built the set, and then being asked whether Sue White could ride a camel down the corridors?

Just another little predicament to solve.

Once we had found the camel, we had to brief the handlers as to exactly what was required, and then work out whether the animal would not only fit into the set, but would be happy to do it.
There were all sorts of logistical problems, such as how best to get the shortest route to give the camel the least amount of walking in the studio as possible.
What to do about the inevitable camel mess....
At this point, it's worth mentioning that the welfare and well-being of the camel was completely paramount.
It may look a bit mad and a bit of fun, but a huge amount of planning went into this sequence in order to make the camel's filming as pleasurable for the camel as possible.
This meant keeping the camel on set for a very short space of time, and allowing it's handlers to have complete control over what was possible for the camel to do, and when it needed to go back to its trailer. The handlers were extremely professional, and the camel was very well cared for during it's brief visit..

On the day, it was beautifully behaved, and more importantly for me, didn't mess on the set at all! (When I worked on Brass Eye, we had an elephant in the studio that decided to relieve itself, and when those things wee, they just go on and on. It was like emptying out a paddling pool....not fun)

This particular picture shows the camel arriving on set.