Courtesy of anonymous
“And we’re rolling!” calls an invisible voice. “Rolling, rolling,” confirms another. “Rolling, rolling, rolling on a river,” I sing under my breath, sitting up straight in the wooden chair I’ve been glued to for some indeterminable amount of hours. I purposely tear my gaze from the other actors at my table, determined to suppress yet another oncoming fit of laughter as crew members scurry away from view, at last satisfied with the dark yet festive room’s appearance. The iconic white clapboard appears, ready to crack the whip on our buzzing energy. A moment of silence hangs in the air, a collective breath held for just two magic words: “And….action!”
Like any good coming-of-age film, my story starts with an ordinary girl— the classic college-student-on-summer-break-transformed-into-movie-star-in-less-than-24-hours narrative. This June, another Connecticut College student and I were given the opportunity to be featured in the Hallmark Christmas movie shot in part on our school’s campus, pulled from obscurity at 6:30 p.m. on a random Sunday to act alongside a main character. Over the course of several days, I not only gained an inside look at the College’s newfound claim to fame, but found myself immersed in the process behind creating a large-scale production, witnessing every element from blocking to rehearsal to the grand finale. Though the temperature may have been 80 degrees, I nonetheless pulled on a sweater and boots each morning with a smile on my face, captivated by the (slightly sweaty) Christmas magic both students and the public alike will experience this winter.
Still, there’s no need to simply take my word for it. “It is very much a Hallmark Christmas movie. It takes place at a college—[the film is] set at Christmas and it’s about Christmas trivia. And then, of course somebody may fall in love,” hints Andrew Gernhard, filmmaker, producer, and owner of local film production company Synthetic Cinema International. Summer sunshine? No problem. “We make it look like Christmastime…[the effects team] will turn everything white and fall-looking and add snow on the grass, the roofs, and all that type of stuff.”
Though Gernhard does not hold any control over the script, direction, wardrobe, or other creative aspects of the film, he and his company have been involved with Trivially True Christmas nearly every step of the way. “On this particular [movie], I was production services. The script was not our idea—it was given to us by Hallmark—and we were hired to just make sure the movie is completed and works,” the producer commented. “We handle everything from pre-production to production to post-production.” Further adding to the workload, staff were given a tight timeline. “This movie had to be done before July 4,” Gernhard explained.
Facing an impending shoot for a major network, Gernhard knew he needed to find the perfect spot to create Christmas magic—and fast. Responding to whether it took multiple months or just a few weeks to decide on Conn as a shooting location, Gernhard confessed, “I think it was three days! We could expand and say I think everything happened between me and Connecticut College within a week. We first heard about this project in I think May or June…and then [Hallmark] immediately greenlit it to go to production.” Regardless of short notice, not just any academic institution could fulfill the specified look outlined at the film’s core. “The script called for not a Harvard, not a state school, but a nice, established older school… and I heard in passing (I don’t know what the truth is) that people consider Connecticut College a mini Ivy school, from the look of it. It literally fit the script perfectly.”
Coming from the Synthetic Cinema International co-founder, that’s high praise. “We look all around Connecticut for Hallmark locations, whether it’s inns, or hospitals, or colleges, or coffee shops, all the standard stuff. We like this area, we have a lot of vendors in this area, and this movie had to be done rather quickly. First step I went was to Connecticut College—working with the Connecticut Film Office—and I knew this movie might be coming, so I organized a conversation, which led to a scout, and then rapidly led to ‘hey, we’re shooting a movie here!’” shared Gernhard.
Indeed, viewers can expect nearly every part of Connecticut College’s campus to have a moment in the spotlight (though I would not get my hopes up for a Larrabee dorm feature). Over just a few short days, Trivially True Christmas has roamed all around campus, deeming spaces from Shain Library to the Arboretum to be Hallmark-worthy backdrops. “We used multiple buildings, almost kind of equally, and you might know the names of them before I do!” Gernhard laughed. “We spent a lot of time in the science center, but we did shoot at the library, we shot in…is it Fanning Hall? We shot at a couple different of the beautiful entrances of the various halls.…We also used that little log cabin that’s in the woods off to the side. The outside of the college is going to look nothing like it looks, because we’re going to be [computer generating] it and using stock footage to make it be winter.”
Even less-than-idyllic buildings play a role, providing a space for all the behind-the-scenes chaos to occur. “We utilized one of the dorms for our production office, and art and wardrobe. That’s where the most time was spent,” said Gerhard. “Our talent had dorm rooms each.…There’s a big room that was a production office, and a big room that was art, and a big room that was wardrobe. We definitely had plenty of room, because no one was around.” Connecticut College, you heard it here. Your new dorm might have doubled as a dressing room for a star over the summer, so be sure to inspect the space closely for any movie souvenirs. While some secrets can’t yet be divulged (such as who exactly those actors may be), all will be revealed before the end of the year. Keep an eye out these next few months for the release of Trivially True Christmas—I’ll see you from the screen!
