'Guardian' shoots Pittsburgh scenes

Most everywhere but Seventh Street, Downtown, Friday was just another dog day of August.

But there, crews for "The Guardian," a popular television show, were filming scenes set in late October or early November.

Carol and Norm Anderson, professional background actors, stood along the sidewalk, guzzling bottled water between shots. She wore a navy blue skirt and jacket; he, a dark brown wool suit.

"That's acting," the Penn Hills man said. "You just put yourself in a mind set. The worst thing to do is a scene in December when it's supposed to be April or May."

The legal drama, which runs Tuesday nights on CBS, was created by Pittsburgher David Hollander and is set in Pittsburgh. Mayor Tom Murphy greeted crew members outside the City-County Building when they filmed here in October.

This time, four of the five episodes with Pittsburgh scenes already have been mostly shot on a Los Angeles film studio, and the remaining one will be completed after crews go back. Besides shooting on Seventh Street, crews throughout the week have been to several other locations Downtown and to Donora. They plan to film on the North Side today.

The challenge, crew members said, will be making the real Pittsburgh -- with all its heat and humidity -- fit with the fake studio one. Everything from hair to props to lighting has to match.

"They got a real Pittsburgh day, overcast with no sun," said Bart Flaherty of Baldwin, the best boy grip, who held a light standard with a filter designed to cast more "natural" sunlight.

Karl Wesson, the show's department head for hair, spent several minutes before each shot to make sure strands on the head of Simon Baker, the show's star, had been plastered down to match scenes already in the can. Whenever cameras stopped rolling, an assistant stood next to Baker, holding a golf umbrella to shade the actor -- and his hair.

"The humidity makes it curl more," Wesson said.