As a filmmaker and running in packs with other filmmakers, you sometimes forget how strange you might look to the outside world.

The prime example of that for me was during pre-production of “Jack Milton: Fairy Tale Detective.” The two producers and I (all males) were scouring clothing stores looking for character costumes. All well and good - except our characters were fairy tale animals - in reality people dressed up in very large animal mascot outfits.

So we didn’t think twice as we were going through a bunch of plus sized bathing attire for one of the characters who was to be played at the time by a Pig. (The Pig was going to have a lot of Pig “Groupies.”) The store clerk lady came up at the disturbing sight of three grown men in the women’s aisle and asked, “May I help you with something?”

“Yes.” I replied.

“Do you have any plus size swimwear?” we asked.

The stunned clerk’s face fell at that statement. I realized I needed to quickly clarify the situation.

“It’s not for us.” I implored. “It’s for a pig.”

And with that, the sales clerk turned away, putting distance between her and us. Only later did we realize it probably might have been a better idea to tell her we were making a movie.

I can’t begin to count the many times this failure to explain we’re making a movie has gotten me strange looks, including a time  when I was cleaning out my car of various vats of fake blood, and severed arms and limbs only to get very strange stares from my new neighbours…but that’s a story for another day.

Any filmmakers out there have any similar experiences?