All Pet Naturals Interviews Georgina Bradley from DogStars
by William Greenbaum, aka love ya woof!
Ferndale, WA. BILL: It is my pleasure to be here this morning with Georgina Bradley of DogStars, which trains animals for roles in films such as 101 Dalmatians or television shows like Smallville. Welcome Georgina.
'Billy' the Cat in I Robot starring Will Smith
GEORGINA: Good morning Bill. Thank you for inviting me.
BILL: I wanted to begin by asking you what is DogStars and how did you get into the business of training animals for movies?
GEORGINA: I have been in the business now for about 25 years training dogs and animals for film, print work, TV, press and commercials; and we have an obedience school where we offer courses and teach owners how to train their pets. I got into this career in my teens because I started as an assistant in a veterinary clinic and someone came in looking for help on a film set. So I worked on that one job, and then kept in touch with all the contacts I made and shortly found myself working more and more in the film industry training animals for different movies. Six years ago we started DogStars.
Bill: What’s it like working on films and working with marquee Hollywood actors such as Will Smith or Glenn Close?
101 Dalmatians
GEORGINA: There are two things that come to mind. I would say the bigger the star the more normal they are and every actor I’ve worked with has been so easy and we do prep time with them and they love the animals. I guess the other thing is that they are all shorter than they appear on camera except for Will Smith. They are all great. They have first class work ethics because they have so much pressure on them. They show up on set and are 100% professional.
BILL: What was it like working with Will Smith?
GEORGINA: He’s awesome. We worked with him on the 2004 film I Robot. In the scene that we did, Will Smith is sitting in a room and his cat rubs up against him and then he picks it up and makes a dash through a collapsing building with smoke and explosions going on around him. There was lots of prep time involved – about three months for a 45 second scene, and just to do the shoot took about three weeks. He’s so easy going and he is just, well normal, friendly with everyone — the crew, other actors and all the stunt people.
BILL: Incredible. In films, what’s the difference between working with dogs or cats?
GEORGINA: Dogs are easier. Cats have attitude because they are more sensitive so training takes much longer and you can only get about 12 behaviors. For dogs, you generally get 6 to 20 behaviors depending on the dog. It goes way beyond sit/stay. In films we’re usually training our animal talent for more complex behaviors taking into account new camera angles or any last minute changes the director may throw at us, so it takes much longer to prepare; in fact often many months of work before we go on set. Once we’re on location, the animals need plenty of rest before they shoot and so we bring equipment and set up a kennel — an animal camp like a Green Room — where they can relax for about 12 hours and then get their make-up done. When we did I Robot we had stunt doubles meaning we had six cats playing one cat. I remember we trained 2 – 3 solid behaviors with each cat for that scene. The animals also do rehearsals, the whole thing just as if they were human actors.
BILL: Tell us about 101 Dalmatians. How did that come about? And what was working with Glenn Close like?
GEORGINA: I’m actually British so I have a Passport which made working in the UK possible. But going back before this, we worked on a Disney film that was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1994 called Homeward Bound, and when we finished the producers asked us if we wanted to bid on the Dalmatians project and go to London and of course we said yes! It was fantastic working with Glenn Close. She is a consummate professional. We were over in the UK for about a year working. on that film. Since then we have worked on Air Buddies, X-Files, Cats and Dogs Part 2, and Marmaduke and then on television shows like Smallville and The Chris Isaak Show.
BILL: Tell us more about DogStars.
GEORGINA: We not only do animal training for film and television but we also have obedience classes, workshops and we offer courses on puppy socialization, acting classes for dogs and behavior modification. We also have courses leading up to an elite training instructor level. Finally, we have a talent agency where we rent out animals for print photography and other special events. Its fun and our clients really love the results.
Georgina Bradley of DogStars
For more information about DogStars, visit their website and blog CLICK HERE. For puppy training classes call Georgina at 604-878-STAR or by email info@dogstars.ca.
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