Captive State (2019)

In the scene where the actor takes a pigeon out of its cage, we checked the coop prior to shooting the scene. There were three trainers on set. One trainer was inside the coop hidden. Two trainers stood outside the coop with a net, while a monofilament line was attached to the birds. The opening was closed off to prevent the pigeons from escaping. On action, the trainer lightly tossed the pigeon towards the landing. Once the pigeon landed, the actor picked it up.

In the scene when the man opens a door, sees a dog on a cot, and the man puts a leash on a dog and leads him out, the trainer prepped the actor on how to interact with the dog. Before the scene, the trainer placed the dog on his mark in the back porch. On action, the actor called the dog to the threshold of the kitchen, leashed the dog and then proceeded to walk him.

In the scene where a man places a small electronic bug on a rat, the trainer carried the rat to set. Prior to action, he removed the rat from the container and fitted a small harness onto its back. He then reintroduced the young actor to the rat and gave him instructions on how to handle him. On action, the young actor, carried the “bloodied bug” from the operating table to the counter, removed the rat from the box, attached the “bug” to the rat’s harness and then leaned down and put the rat through a hole in the floorboards into the trainer’s hands.

In the scene where the actor walks into a church and sees a horse, the trainer led the horse into the church. The floor was tested prior to having the horse come to set. The trainer then tied the horse’s lead to the cross and moved the horse into position on the mark. She also brought hay and grain with her to be used by the actor to hand feed the horse. On action, the actor walked towards the horse, petted him and fed him hay. Then the church door opens, the actor turned, faced the door, the horse was stationary throughout the take.

Due to limited resources, American Humane did not monitor some of the dog action.