Opie goes to Margaritaville

Mason’s call time was 7AM. That’s 7AM on set, ready to go. Thankfully he was excited about the day causing him to be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30 this morning. I sent Scott and Mason off with snacks and a big suitcase full of clothing options for the wardrobe department. We spent weeks looking in stores for Jimmy Buffet styled shirts, and had quite a collection. Hopefully we had the right outfit in there somewhere. Scott text and called throughout the day to keep me informed. I am so thankful it was Scott who took our son to his very first commercial shoot. I would have been a nervous wreck, especially after what my hubby told me. The pretend parents and extras were required to report at 3:00AM to shoot night scenes. Since the majority of the crew were already on the set, no one was at the gate to greet Scott and Mason. With some fast thinking and fast talking, Scott got our boy to wardrobe on time. He said it was so strange to stroll through Universal Citywalk when it was a ghost town. Below is the first photo Scott sent via e-mail.

And all I could do was laugh. All those shirts we bought only for them to pick a shirt straight from Margaritaville’s gift shop. Our little Opie did great with hair, but was not too keen on having foundation and powder. Apparently the makeup artist wasn’t too thrilled either as Mason wiggled and squirmed to avoid the sponge. Here is Mason’s pretend sister.

It is pretty wild to see how much they do look alike. Next stop was the main floor of the restaurant with cameras, lighting and rigging everywhere to capture shots at any angle. Now the whole pretend family is together at last! They shot multiple scenes: being seated, ordering, receiving gifts from “mom”, eating chips, and watching “dad” pretend to eat a cheeseburger (Pretend dad below).

I find it so interesting that they shot the “eating chips” scene ten times, but how many seconds of that will actually air for the commercial. Thankfully Mason likes chips and stayed focus each time they called for action. For the “gift” scene, our boy was given a treasure chest. There was no acting necessary. While they continued to film, Scott said there were about two to three photographers rapidly snapping shots of the scenery. Guess we will be looking out for Mason in print as well. During this time, Scott talked to the “sister’s” mom who also does commercials. Both of her daughters have been in the business for quite awhile, so she was kind enough to share with Scott some tips and pointers. They broke for lunch at 9AM, and even had kid friendly food included in the spread. Mason’s work day ended at 1:30. For the entire film crew, it was their last day of shooting after two long weeks. For some reason, Mason thought part of the deal was a free ticket into the park, but Scott was able to walk him around Citywalk for a little while before heading home. Our Opie was so excited about his big day, and is looking forward to his next gig. Not sure exactly when the commercial will air, but if we find a clip I’ll be sure to post it.