Penelope Keith and Heinz Soup

Lights Camera Action

"Heinz Soup Commercial - Take One" - The voice of the director rang out in Schramm's school room on April 15th and 16th as the Great Southern Film Company made a TV commercial for Heinz new "Big Red" tomato soup. Our cottage is on an Australia wide listing as a beautiful venue for films needing a colonial background.  When initial photographs were shown to the Heinz directors, they were delighted with the result and the decision was made to do both exterior and interior shooting at Schramm's.

This is NOT the actual commercial, but a similar one made about the same time.

It was a great shock when we were asked if the Art Director could paint the school room claret red, cover the chimney breast with timber and add a mantlepiece.  However, complete restoration was part of the contract, so the painting went ahead.  It was so effective, that many people suggested we leave it that way!

Filming began at 6.30 am with the arrival of the canteen van to provide breakfast for the technicians, directing staff, child actors and parents.  Huge vans trucks and two large dressing rooms rolled into the car park. Breakfast was sumptuous!  Canadian smoked salmon, cheeses, bacon and eggs and mounds of steaming croissants, with tea and coffee available throughout the day for all staff.  It was fascinating to see the huge lights, with various coloured cellophane to obtain the desired effects.  Scaffolding, on which to mount the movie cameras - mobile cameras and meters of wires and cables which ran everywhere. Everyone had his job to do - at least eighty technicians seemed to work in harmony - moving swiftly from place to place to obtain the best results.
At last the star arrived - Penelope Keith stepped out of a limousine and straight into a portable dressing room to be made up for the part. A long refectory table and forms had been moved into the schoolroom to be the dining room of a home. Ten children sat around the table to taste the Heinz tomato soup. Penelope Keith ladled out the soup from a tureen and the final picture was of a steaming bowl of "Big Red" tomato soup and some fresh tomatoes, framed against a roaring fire. Many retakes were needed and it was late afternoon before the outdoor filming was commenced.  The effect desired was a thundery rainy day to form a contrast to the warming, welcoming interior, so rain and thunder-making equipment was in place.  Ironically, real rain fell heavily at this point, so cameras and other gear was hurriedly covered, and filming was suspended until the storm was over.

The world of film making is truly an alien one to most of us. Among the personnel on the set were the gaffer, key grip, and the best boy.  Who knows what these terms mean?  One lady who had her hands made up as Penelope Keith's hands, because Penelope's hands don't photograph well, and presiding in the kitchen were a team of dietitian from Heinz to prepare the soup properly showing the correct colour and texture.

It was a very long, but exciting day, and one well-known member of our society was heard to say that he at least saw Penelope Keith at close range, and if he couldn't actually speak to her, he sat down on her chair!

Retakes continued the next day and when the last van drove away at 3.30 pm, calm again descended at Schramm's Cottage.  In the words of the Heinz campaign line for 1992, "Well done, Mr. Heinz, well done.

Judith Leaney writing in 1992 06 DTHS Newsletter