The Nun (2018)

In the scenes where we see the actors driving a horse drawn carriage down a dirt road through the woods, the horse was brought to the set by a team of animal trainers who kept the horse well controlled and closely supervised. The set was safe and the horse was bred to pull wagons on this type of terrain. Our American Humane Representative checked the road to make sure it was safe for the horse to ride one.

When the woman hangs from a scaffold with crows pecking at her face and body, this scene was filmed on stage. One crow was placed on a dummy, the rest of the crows were placed in the shot through CGI. The crow provider is an experienced animal wrangler. He brought the crow to the set in a crate. He placed the crow on the dummy, who proceeded to peck at the dummy’s face. Once they got the shots they needed, the crow was placed back into the crate.

In the scene where the actor leads the priest and nun through his farm and we see chickens, pigs and goats in the background, the animals lived on the compound where this scene was filmed, so they were in their natural habitat. Production made sure all of them were watered and fed.

In the scene where the actress walks into the church and a pigeon flies up to a window, only experienced bird handlers handled the birds. It was a closed set and there was complete silence when the birds were on set. All doors of the studio were closed and manned at all times. The birds had safety threads connected to them to prevent escape. All SFX including smoke and candles were prevented from being used. Prior to shooting the scene, a mono-filament was attached to the soft tape pad on one pigeons leg and a second soft tape pad was attached over the top. The end of the mono-filament was held by one of the bird’s handlers. The mono-filament was used as a precaution only and no pressure was put onto the attachment. On action, the other trainer released the bird, who flew towards the window, then returned to the owner. They got the shot and the bird was returned to his crate.