Detailed Animal Action Report

In the scene where the man is lying facedown in the snow, surrounded by a few wolves, who nudge up against him, prior to filming the scene, three trainers set up fence posts in consultation with the director. Then they strung two strands of wire and hooked up battery power. Trainers used Malamute mixes, which resemble wolves. The trainers walked the dogs to the set and showed them the fence perimeter with ‘Hot’ command.  Then the trainers settled them on marks.. On action, the trainers used treats and verbal cues to get the dogs to come towards the actor in the snow. The dogs hit their marks and they cut the scene.

In the scene where the family hunts turkeys in the field and the little girl shoots the turkey, production closed the park for shooting. The animal wranglers were standing out of frame at all times. The turkey rushing toward actors had its wings taped and a string on the feet to facilitate retrieval if needed. The turkeys were habituated to performing the animal action needed. Prior to shooting the scene the animal wranglers placed five turkeys on a pen close to set.  One of the trainers made sounds to encourage the turkey to advance from point A to point B while the other wrangler held some turkey feed. Nobody fired a gun at the turkeys.