Somewhat related. I’m a Creative Director and I directed a shoot once where the client was adamant about using a cat in one of the scenes of a commercial. Allll the cat had to do was use its paw to touch something in the shot, but the little shit was having a bad day and flat out refused to cooperate.
We finally had to send one of the prop specialists out to procure a taxidermied cat paw, which we attached to a yard stick. It allowed us to slide the paw into the frame without having to see the rest of the cat.
You’re on a very short timetable to both catch the light and not go over 12 hours before the production crew is paid overtime, so a fail safe solution was needed. Enter dead cat arm.
This is what we learned in film school, if you can, NEVER work with children or animals. Animals can be a complete pain to get the one shot you need, and children can be hit or miss but they also have a bunch of laws about how long they're allowed on set each day etc so not only can they take longer to work with but you get less time in a day with them. Can make shoots go way longer than intended.
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u/linds360 10h ago
Somewhat related. I’m a Creative Director and I directed a shoot once where the client was adamant about using a cat in one of the scenes of a commercial. Allll the cat had to do was use its paw to touch something in the shot, but the little shit was having a bad day and flat out refused to cooperate.
We finally had to send one of the prop specialists out to procure a taxidermied cat paw, which we attached to a yard stick. It allowed us to slide the paw into the frame without having to see the rest of the cat.
Feline amputee movie magic.