That's a Wrap!

Today is the last day of COSMO SUMMER shoots and everyone is a little on edge. It’s been a hectic stint for the production crew – 10 days that, at times, felt like a weird combination of Groundhog Day and The Truman Show. Wake up, hair and makeup, breakfast, styling up, shoot, lunch, hair and makeup, styling up, shoot, supper, sleep, repeat, repeat, repeat… Ian’s tired of waiting for everyone in the lobby; Anthony’s tired of the vans we use as transport; Kelly’s tired of rubbing oil into models’ bodies and I’m officially tired of drinking sparkling water and feeling spare.

We’re just tired, man.

It’s a hot day, so we hit the Valley Of The Waves early. It opens to the public at 10am, and we need some clean ‘beachy’ shots for the Guess spreads. Too bad the (insert your chosen alcohol distributor here) conference doesn’t get the memo – they waltz across Anthony’s set in a manner befitting a herd of wildebeest as they make their way to the amphitheatre above us for a ‘ra ra’ power talk before they check out.

The Valley starts filling up with parents and kids, so the crew moves around to avoid the crowds. For the remainder of the morning, I’m delegated to watchdog duty – we can’t keep on moving the gear every time we do a new shot, so it stays in one place and it’s my turn to keep an eye on it. Just as well I’m there – a bunch of foreigners who speak no English move in on the reflective sunbounce and, taking it for a blanket, start spreading their worldly goods all over it as if they belong there and plan to stay. I have to resort to expansive and rather firm hand gestures to convey the ‘don’t put your stuff on this’ sentiment, but I’d rather be hated on by a bunch of strangers than face the wrath of Anthony if any of his equipment gets damaged on my watch.

And then, just like that, it’s all over. We pack the gear into one of Anthony’s beloved vans and head back to the hotel, where Groundhog Day continues with lunch. It’s the first time in a long time the whole crew’s been at lunch simultaneously; they all look a touch bemused and lost at the thought of no 3pm call time.

But the feeling doesn’t last long: taking charge, Ian organises a supermarket trip to get provisions (booze) for tonight’s wrap party and outfits (hideous) for our last day at Sun City, which we’ll be spending at the Palace. At the heated pool. With cocktails in our hands. And the possibility of a conga line once we’ve drunk them…

It’s going to be an interesting 48 hours.

Over and out.

Author: Ania Rokita