I can see it. Field of cows in plaid flannels.
Need Advice. Anyone Here Push Cows?
- Thread starter Zack Miller
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Grew up doing cattle driving. You got some good advice here, some interesting responses too. Ditto on don't let on that you have riding experience and let the horse do the work. Listen carefully at the briefing, watch the ones who seem experienced and learn some of their tricks, and make sure to have a lot of Tiger Balm and Gold Bond on hand for the muscle soreness and chafing. Also practice swinging a lariat on the side so that if asked to do so, you don't hit the horse...which will end badly.
Apparently the people who read KickStarter didn’t think so.
cows are afraid of storms. When the barometric pressure drops before a storm gets here, a cow will drop her calf up to two wks early. They can sense a predator around long before it makes itself known. And sometimes they just get spooked.
I was raised on my uncle's farm. To be domesticated, cattle can be awfully nervous animals.
Yep, & it only takes one to set them all off.
Two speeds: graze and stampede. Sadly, kind of like most people these days. ?
Don't smoke while riding herd: methane! Cows put out a lot of methane as well as semi-solid material that some call "pies" or "patties". The latter don't explode, but are messy on your boots.
Let them cow patties dry and they make for great fire starter though...
heck I am not sure it isn't still.
t.v. You just have to look the part. There is a good chance no cows will be involved. And back ground actors equal part of the scenery.
Is there a way to nominate this thread for "best of?" Like on Craigslist?
Hi-yahhhh! Why not contact a local ranch, explain your situation, and see if they'll let you job shadow or take a tour for a day or 2? Yes, they may treat you like a schoolboy on a field trip the whole time, but in my experience, half of the farmers and ranchers out there are more than willing to share their trade with others. This is especially true for those with smaller operations.
When I was small, my dad decided to raise a cow or two in the field, until we finished eating the former cow. This worked until bugs ate the grass and forced my dad to buy cow food.
I learned two important lessons during this time. It is fun to sit on the cows backs, while they are eating the cow food. BUT, be sure to get off before they finishing eating. Also, when the cow's horns first start to grow, they are very ichy. That is fine, unless they decide to scratch their horns on your chest. It is even worse if they have pinned you against the barbed wire fence.
I learned two important lessons during this time. It is fun to sit on the cows backs, while they are eating the cow food. BUT, be sure to get off before they finishing eating. Also, when the cow's horns first start to grow, they are very ichy. That is fine, unless they decide to scratch their horns on your chest. It is even worse if they have pinned you against the barbed wire fence.
I have no experience with cattle, but I do have experience at being an extra.
My wife and I were extras in an episode of Chicago Fire (season 2, episode 7 "No Regrets"). Be ready for long days (4 days for us), 12-14 hours, most of the time just sitting around doing nothing. We spent many hours sitting inside train passenger cars or tents with all of the other extras.
We would arrive at 5:30 am, be in the extras tent by 6:00, eat breakfast, go to another tent and change into our "extras" clothes, provided to us that you have to return at the end. Then off to make-up for our injuries, bruises, dirt and bandages. Then we would sit around until they called for us. Then lunch was served...separate from the stars of course. Then back to sitting around doing nothing until needed. We would be released around 6 pm, then we changed back into our own clothes, check out with someone and head home for dinner around 7:00 pm.
My wife and I were a couple of passengers on a train that derailed and crashed into a building. We were extras in a lot of scenes, but ended up seeing ourselves in the episode only four times.
Here's a few tips: don't be late, don't talk or bother the stars, listen and do exactly what they say and when they say it, bring something to occupy your time (phone, book, magazines), use the restroom before going on set...once on the set there's no just walking away to use the restroom. Do as they say and you won't have any problems. We had a couple of extras asked to leave and not come back. This was our experience, your's may be different.
All of the behind the scenes stuff was interesting and it was a fun experience. I always thought that the actors new all of their lines/script. They didn't. They filmed in very short segments, a couple of lines at a time. They filmed several scenes many times over and not in any kind of order.
When my wife and I watch the episode we can see mistakes with the extras. Things like seeing the same extra walking in a different scene in the same clothes or walking in a different direction.
Have fun and let us all know how it goes.