In mid-January, we filmed the second part of House Hunters International. This time we had a much larger crew and dedicated three entire days to filming. Our crew came in from the UK and again we had a blast of frigid temperatures-- we can't seem to get away from the cold! We had a director, sound guy, and camera guy who were experienced and had obviously worked together before. They were also teamed up with a "runner" from Geneva who would act as chauffeur for the crew, deal with contracts and scheduling issues, and much to our appreciation watch over the kids when they weren't required for a scene. We were also joined at times by a Geneva-based relocation expert, Sabine, whose role was much like a Realtor you would see in other episodes of HHI showing us the houses and going over our needs/wants for a home in Switzerland.
Many people have asked us if the show is scripted in any way, and the answer is no. Unfortunately, all the goofy comments are entirely our own! Sometimes, the director would ask us leading questions about the property i.e. "What do you think about the colour of the bathroom?" or "Do you think the kids would like this house?" It actually would have been nice to have a script especially when we would shoot a scene several times to get a different camera shot. We had to try to repeat our comments verbatim, but most of the time we had forgotten our initial statement. It was a bit frustrating but we understood that different camera shots make for a better looking end product. For instance, if Bernie, Sabine, and I would be discussing the kitchen size, he would first film all three of us talking together in a wide shot. Then we would repeat the conversation again, but this time the zoom would be on Sabine telling us about the fridge sizes in Europe. Then we would repeat it again, with the camera zoomed in on my reaction to the fridge sizes in Europe. So now you know why it took three days this time!
Without going into too much detail about the process of the show-- we've got to leave some room for the magic of tv-- I'll tell you our basic schedule. We visited three homes in the Geneva area. They would first shoot us walking up to place and getting our first impression. Sabine would tell us the price etc. then we'd shoot the indoor scenes room by room. The kids were quite disappointed that they couldn't be in these scenes. Ethan especially was hoping to give his comments on each place! The kids would hide out in a bedroom with a crew member and then move from room to room as we would get closer. They didn't mind too much as they got to play a lot of Angry Birds on people's phones. We'd then each take a turn doing a Q &A with the director about the home we just saw. Most of these interviews were outside.
Bernie snapped a photo of me during my one-on-one interview.
We also spent some time at Sabine's office (Active Relocation) in Geneva going over the basics about what we were looking for in a home. This time the kids got to hang out in the coffee room with Sabine's dog. Before you feel too sorry for them, they also got to have a ton of fun shooting the "lifestyle" stuff with us. The highlight was going to the Stettler chocolate shop to sample some regional chocolate called pavé. It's a delicious melt-in-your-mouth square that is supposed to replicate the shape of the cobblestone roads in old Geneva. Now, if you rememeber me saying so earlier, we often had to shoot a scene several times from several different angles... so you can imagine that we ate a lot of chocolate that day! We were also filmed ordering and eating lunch at a local restaurant, playing at a park, and going on a horse and buggy ride. So yes, there were many fun moments for us to enjoy as a family.
Chocolate ice cream after lunch
Trevor chose red berry sorbet... he ate enough chocolate at the shop!
Getting ready to film the ride
Ethan and Trevor going for a another ride after we were done with the scene.
We also headed to the Geneva lakefront boardwalk to shoot "the decision" scene. As we were trying for best natural lighting, it was shot very early Sunday morning and it was FREEZING COLD! Luckily, Ethan and Trevor got to skip this one and spent that time at a friend's house. If you are familiar with the show, you know that the couple breaks down the three properties, eliminates one, and then finally reveals their choice. Bernie and I are so glad we discussed the pros and cons of each place thoroughly the night before so at least the shoot wasn't terribly long. We hope they end up using the first take because we are sure our noses and cheeks were bright red from the icy wind by the last take. So now that all the shooting is finished, we are at the mercy of the editors to hopefully put together a great show that you will all enjoy!
