Conquistadors: The Stories: Sally Thomas (Line Producer)
Worst Moments:
Not being able to satisfactorily account for the whereabouts of Mike's passport after it was supposedly in my possession. I still can't but am no longer losing sleep over it..
Being told at 6am on a Monday morning by the crew at Gatwick airport that Continental Airlines no longer take excess baggage to South America. A rule they made up over the weekend without telling me. Twenty-two silver boxes were at risk of arriving 3 days after we should have left on our llama trek to Cajamarca in Peru. Fortunately our excellent relations with Continental managed to get the boxes on the plane - it was touch and go!
Stomach churning guilt that I hadn't actually given the GPS co ordinates to the helicopter pilot and our local fixer supposed to be picking up the crew at the appropriately named 'Lost City' in the Andes assuming that they knew where they were supposed to be flying to. I was given the impression that they'd made this trip many times before (it finally transpired that this was their first time).
Not going on the shoots when I knew every detail of what the crew would be doing everyday. And I love trekking, camping, rafting, horse riding, flying...
Best Moments:
The relief every time the crew landed safely in London with the rushes and all shooting accomplished according to the schedule.
Would I do it again? Of course. It's a great team to be part of. Enjoyable and fun - what more does one want from work?
My Lasting Memories of Production:
The new friends I have made. For a period of time, I have intense email and telephone correspondence with my fixers. The beauty of email is the informal quick fire 'conversations' you can have so you really get to know the people you're working with. They've been fantastic, working incredibly hard so cheerfully. I'm looking forward to taking up the invitations to visit and doing some of the journeys we shot but without the inconvenience of filming and having to be up at dawn everyday for the light!
What did I learn about the Conquistadors?
They were unbelievably tough, hard men. Having organised following in their footsteps with all our mod cons - it's very hard to imagine how they accomplished what they did without aeroplanes, mobile and satellite phones, mosquito nets and repellents, thermal underwear, waterproofs, fleeces, arctic sleeping bags, tents, bottled water, an extensive first aid kit, wellington boots, battery torches, hi-energy bars, toilet paper or shower caps.