Two of the film's major stars were not on the set. Robert Redford finished shooting and left Otago a week ago. The computer-generated dragon that will be the boy hero Pete's friend has yet to be created by Weta Digital.
Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of acclaimed director Ron Howard), Wes Bentley ("American Beauty", "The Hunger Games") and Karl Urban ("Shortland Street", "Star Trek", "Dredd") were still working, but Saturday's filming was focused on child star Oakes Fegley ("Boardwalk Empire") who plays Pete.
He scampered over a car in what appeared to be a hospital gown and later he froze in the middle of the main street before fleeing left.
Wayne Morrell, of Gore, watched the scene unfold and noted the amount of repetition needed to get the shot of Pete running left as a yellow school bus filled with children about the same age drove by.
''That bus driver must get sick of driving around and around in circles,'' he said.
Rose Dickison came from Gore with her children Lucas (13) and Kaylee (15) for a couple of hours to see the change that had occurred in the town.
What struck her, amid all the orange cones and men in high vis carrying stop go lollipops, were the number of lumberjack style beards sported by the men carrying all the cameras.
Her children were impressed by the retro vibe and surprised by the low prices shops advertised. A ticket to "The Fox and the Hound", playing at the Millhaven movie theatre, was only $5.
Set on 'the edge of the forest'
Production designer Jade Healy said she was impressed with Tapanui at first sight and tried to keep it much the same in its transformation to its current slice of "American Pie" nostalgia.
Millhaven's slogan ''the edge of the forest'' was borrowed directly from Tapanui. Recreation opportunities in Millhaven include ''Millhaven's picturesque 18-hole golf course at Heriot''.
Mitre Peak features prominently in Millhaven's tourism information.
The spotted pig used as a logo at Millhaven's Food Mart, Ms Healy said, was based on a real pig she met at the former Blue Mountain Lumber mill where shooting had just wrapped.
But some of the design team's work was a little too convincing for passersby.
She said people had tried to shop at the thrift store her team had created.
And a couple had tried to bring in their old clocks to the second hand clock shop that exists only in fictional Millhaven.
Executive producer Barrie Osborne ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Matrix", "The Great Gatsby") said he enjoyed the reception from Tapanui residents so much he wanted to come back again.
''It's a great vibe from the town. They've really been co operative, supportive.
''They're proud of [Tapanui] and they should be.''
Filming started on January 19 and would wrap at the end of April, but the film is not due to be released until mid 2016.
Creating the computer generated dragon in the movie, would take ''close to a year'' to complete, he said.
''The amount of detail you see on the street, that much detail and more goes into creating the dragon.
''We have iterations of the dragon and it will continue to evolve. We have a pretty close idea what the dragon is going to look like.''
Mr Osborne joined the production in March 2014, well after producer Jim Whitaker and associate producer Adam Borba were sold on director David Lowery's ''very contemporary'' take on the story.
But he said he liked the people he was working with and the story about the growth of the young boy Pete. It was a story about ''friendship, family and understanding'', how people relate to one another, and ''finding your place in the world''.
West Otago Community Board chairwoman Barbara Hanna was one of the first in town to know film crews were coming and she was among the first to arrive to watch filming on Saturday.
She saw locals bringing their children down to watch the filming and embrace the experience.
''I'm very proud of the district, how they've supported it,'' she said.
The friendly, cooperative nature of the film crew had not gone unnoticed.
''They think of every single thing. I think they really look after everybody.''
Locals in the spotlight
Mark Schmitz, of Gore, is a postman in the movie. Despite signing a confidentiality agreement, he was allowed to speak about his first day of filming.
He showed up at 6.30am for wardrobe and filming started ''immediately'', but his role as an extra required patience. After nearly nine hours on set, he estimated an hour of shooting had occurred.
''It's a lot of waiting for the next scene.''
During the scene where Pete flees the main street, Mr Schmitz as the postman starts walking towards the action from the edge of town and continues up the street ''until I notice the scene'', he said.
Filming continued yesterday, but with rain expected today, cast and crew have been given the day off.
