It's a sunny morning in late January when I step onto Continuum's permanent set, located in the basement of the CBC's downtown headquarters.
My goal is to get a glimpse into the inner workings of a 麻豆传媒映画television series, and it doesn't get more "Vancouver" than Continuum.
Showcase鈥檚 hit sci-fi series 鈥 which stars Rachel Nichols as a cop from 2077 who follows a group of terrorists back in time to 2012 鈥 is both shot and set in Vancouver. 听
More than 160 cast and crew are required to bring each episode of Continuum from concept to completion, the unit publicist tells me as we pass through a cavernous set-building workshop and into a hallway lined with doors where my footsteps are the only ones that seem to echo.
First lesson of the day: only unknowing journalists would wear clickety-clackety heels to set. (I spend the remainder of the day treading lightly on the balls of my feet.)
We pop our heads through the door of the main soundstage, which contains the tech-heavy office set for Alec Sadler (played by Erik Knudsen). The crew is setting up for the first scene of the day, and so we begin combing through the adjoining dressing rooms in search of a crew member with a few minutes to chat about life on the Continuum 蝉别迟.听
When we stumble upon Courtney Frey, 1st assistant make-up artist, she鈥檚 studying continuity pictures of Nichols. Such photos are essential tools when you鈥檙e shooting scenes for two episodes 鈥 and from two distinctly different time periods 鈥 in a single day. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stuff happening, and we need to be prepared,鈥 she explains. 鈥淚t keeps you on your toes.鈥
As we soft-shoe our way back to the main set, I nearly bump into Amanda Tapping, who is directing back-to-back episodes after directing one in the previous season.听
The previous day, she鈥檇 tweeted that she was 鈥減syched and scared and excited鈥 to be back in the Continuum director鈥檚 chair (she used the hashtag 鈥渄irectorangst鈥), but moments from shooting I observe only calm and ease 鈥 no visible traces of fear or angst.听
She slides into a chair in front of a couple of monitors, confers with director of photography Dave Pelletier seated beside her, and calls 鈥渁ction!鈥
The scene is a tense interaction between Alec and Madga Apanowicz鈥檚 Emily, who I am shocked to see because her character was killed in one of the episodes I鈥檇 watched during my research binge. (The publicist tells me it鈥檚 okay to mention Emily鈥檚 presence because photos of the actors shooting new scenes together had already surfaced on the internet; just remember that Continuum regularly switches between time periods, and so she might or might not be a flashback.)听
During the take, Tapping is laser-focused on the monitors. Once she calls 鈥渃ut!鈥 she鈥檚 out of her chair, quietly consulting with the actors.听 They shoot the scene a few more times; during and after every take, Tapping smiles broadly.听
There is laughter between takes. The vibe on the set is happy. The crew is delighted with Tapping. They wrapped early the day before and, given the speed with which they鈥檙e moving through the current shot list, they鈥檙e poised to do so again today.听
Soon Apanowicz is wrapped and has a moment to chat. 鈥淸Continuum] is lightning in a bottle,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get it in every show, and you don鈥檛 get it in every cast and crew, but there are times when everything comes together, and everyone appreciates it, and I feel like Continuum is one of those.鈥
In the middle of the afternoon, Continuum鈥檚 executive producer, Simon Barry, arrives. He sits down with me in the middle of a yet-to-air set that wows me with its steampunk detailing.听
As Continuum鈥檚 chief architect, Barry holds to the answer to a question I鈥檝e pondered since the pilot: why did he decide to set Continuum in 麻豆传媒映画when so many other locally shot series choose not to?
In short, Continuum is set in 麻豆传媒映画because no one said it couldn鈥檛 be. 鈥淭he idea [for the show] was location-proof. These are big concepts 鈥 time travel, and the politics of corporations, the politics of freedom fighters and terrorists, and the politics of what the present means to the future 鈥 and so where the show was filmed, or what city it was set in, was always secondary to the mythology,鈥 he says. 鈥淕iven that we were a Canadian show, we bluffed our way through just not trying to reset it. We said, 鈥業t鈥檚 麻豆传媒映画鈥 let鈥檚 just see how far we get before somebody says we have to set it in Toronto or New York or LA.鈥 No one ever did.鈥
As a storyteller, he draws his inspiration from 鈥渢he world that we live in.鈥澨
鈥淥ne of the traditions of science fiction,鈥 he says, 鈥渋s you get to talk about things directly in an indirect way, draw real-world events, real-world concerns, plug them in to the show, and because we鈥檙e telling the story through the prism of science fiction, no one really looks at it as being overt. Yet our fans and the people who watch the show know that we鈥檙e tackling things like globalization, terrorism, corporatization, and privacy issues.鈥
Back on the main stage, they鈥檙e shooting a scene involving Kiera and Alec. Standing next to Tapping is Luvia Petersen, who portrays future terrorist Garza. Today, however, Petersen is shadowing Tapping, soaking up knowledge from an actress who learned about directing the very same way: by shadowing directors on her breakout series, Stargate SG-1.听
鈥淸Tapping] knows when to step in and give a piece of direction, and she knows when to step out of the way,鈥 Petersen tells me between takes. 鈥淭his is a great crew, and they know what they鈥檙e doing. She is so good at picking her moments.鈥
At 5pm, dinner is called. Cast and crew head upstairs to eat while Tapping darts into a dressing room to review shot lists for the following day鈥檚 location shoot and answer a few of my burning questions. I ask about the anxiety she mentioned on Twitter.听
鈥淚 think each time, I would like to say you get more confident, but that鈥檚 not true because I still feel like throwing up the first morning on set,鈥 she says. 鈥淢y job is to tell the story and to tell it in a visually beautiful way, [and] to understand technically what I鈥檓 doing, but then the actors have to understand their process through the arc of the story, so that weighs heavily on me, coming from an acting background. 鈥
Tapping feels other big responsibilities, too: to create a joyful mood 鈥 鈥渢he more joyful the mood, the more productive you are, and the more creative people feel鈥濃 and to ensure that everyone 鈥 producers, writers, actors, and crew 鈥 feels 鈥渟afe.鈥澨
鈥淪ometimes you鈥檙e on sets where you can barely get the air into your lungs,鈥 she says. 鈥淭his is a joyful set. I get nervous, but I love it.鈥
My day ends as it begins, at the main entrance to the CBC. The sun is setting; I realize I haven鈥檛 seen it in nearly seven hours. As I make my way home through the rush-hour crowds, I think of the Continuum cast and crew who still have a few hours to go before wrapping for the day.听
颁辞苍迟颈苍耻耻尘鈥s characters live in our future and recent past; in the present, the show is contributing much to the fabric of Vancouver, on screen and in the heart of downtown.听
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Continuum returns for its third season on March 16.听