"Quiet on the set! Roll camera and... ACTION!"

A friend of mine called to tell me (the day I was at the "Y" for Women's Conference), about a documentary that our Church was filming for and about President Monson. The studio was in need of Samoan children between the ages of 6 to 13, for a small portion of the documentary (click here for the story based on President Monson's experience as an apostle--->President Thomas S. Monson - Gift of Faith). I knew it would be a great experience for Tiani, Deuce and Anson, making this their second appearance (as extras), in a film. So I sent in my children's photos along with a brief description for each of them. I wasn't expecting my children to be selected, but I was definitely hopeful. A few days later, I received an email stating:..."Out of nearly 100 submissions (and only 30 slots), your children have been selected to participate in this documentary shoot." We were ecstatic!

On the day of the shooting (last week Wednesday, and yes it was a very busy day for me), we arrived at the studio right before the 9 a.m. call time. The studio property is beautifully surrounded by trees and located beside the Provo River. When we arrived, we had to stand in line that was formed outside the studio, to complete some final paperwork. Standing there would have been fine, but it was a bit nippy and my children were complaining about the cold. So, I did my best to complete my children's I-9's and the New Hire Paperwork as fast as I could. The end result was writing that resembled some what like the penmanship of my 4-year old, Hinckley. Oh well. Like I said, I was in a hurry. When all the documents were signed and completed, we were then sent inside the building to the waiting area where the children were to get dressed in their wardrobe and wait to be called on. The wardrobe was a school uniform that the studio provided. There were many beautiful children there. Some were half-cast and others were full and it seem most of them were just as excited as my children. Tiani did not like the "no "product" applied: no gels, hair spray, mousse, or other styling products" and "no make-up" request. She had to wear her hair back, which made her look very young and natural. I had a hard time controlling Deuce's hair without gel. I kept him running to the sink to wet his hair to keep some of the strands down. The folks who work at the studio were very friendly and they provided snacks for all the children (and even some parents who snuck in a cookie or two). While we were in the waiting area, I met with Junior, who's a son of one my Mum's friends from way back when. I've known Junior and his siblings since we were little children and had lost contact with them after they moved to Utah from Cali. We even did a few Polynesian shows together when I was in high school. Those were the days. I was glad to see he had done good for himself and he and his wife are raising a beautiful family. While filming was in progress, I ran into one of Scott's first cousin's son, Dustin, who also told me that there were a lot of submissions (for Samoan children) for the documentary. Dustin works at the studio and is a talented singer and actor. He played the young Joseph Smith in "The Restoration" and "Praise to the Man." It was nice to see him back in Utah. Anyway, during one of the scenes, the director was constantly saying: "Anson, sit back please. Sit back, Anson. Anson, please scoot back. Move back a little Anson. Don't lean back Anson. Anson..." I can't remember how many times I heard this, but it was quite funny. The shoot finally ended after 1 p.m. and we headed home from there. My children had a great time and they each earned $50.00 for the day. It's not much, but to be a participant in this documentary about our latter-day prophet is a big deal to my children and they would have done it for free. We felt very blessed that they were a part of it. I am very grateful that Mom was able to come over and watch my younger children while I shuttled the older ones off to the studio. I could not have done it without her help. Overall, it was a marvelous day and a fantastic experience for my children, who enjoyed everything about the filming. We're looking forward to seeing the finish product. Who knows... if we're lucky, we might see a quick glimpse of my children after the final cut. ;)

Could you believe it? I forgot both cameras at home. I was kicking myself. Luckily I had my cell phone with me and I used it to take the photos above. Sorry the pictures are not the greatest quality. For a larger image, click on the bottom right-hand corner.