14/06/06 - ACTION!...OR RATHER LACK OF!

OK. I have been getting frustrated recently due to the lack of action on the film. I am fully aware not to rush a process as you may lose a creative feel, making it too work-like. And although we are not off the boil, I still feel there should be more we can do, more we COULD do to move this along. In order to get out of this I again wanted to adpot the same attitude you would HAVE to have on a "real", studio paid-for film. Would the financers or producers simply let you idle along without results. No way. So I decided to try and move things along. I expressed a little anxiety and unrest in an email to Lee and Amanda. Saying what we needed to get on with. I don't enjoy pushing it as I do not want to appear like I am running the whole thing. I am not.
So I did this conciously and suggested an obvious course of action. When things are all coming together, but not fast enough, there is only one thing to do in my opinon......get the cameras rolling!
I decided to propose we get shooting. We start on one scene at a time, the more practical and less props driven stuff first. So i suggested the Sunday Dinner scene and said let's make that the focus of our efforts. The reason being is that the whole finished picture stops being the obvious goal. We narrow the goal down to shooting a scene. Bring the focus in.
And I am now confident Lee has taken the drive and we will now start working towards getting some footage down. Once the camera starts to roll and I get editing, I know it will snowball from there.
ACTION needed....we've talked enough to know where we are going.
Also, in the same way as using the theme to set a tone....I decided to finish one of the props that would be some fun for us all. Gaylon will produce a photograph of himself as a child, to a vicar in one scene. In it, we see him as a child, with his Dad (Elvis) and his mum (A Voodoo Priestess) and is sat on a donkey (which sports a huge erection). This is all on a beach at Blackpool. CRAZY!
I knew it would fall to me to do this and I knew it would be another driving element, and good fun too. To say, look how stupid and funny this film will be. They all liked it and it also got Ruth involved as I was showing her things as they were done via email. So she got a bit of insight into the work, not just the finished thing. It was really cool and I am so happy with the result. It is sure to get a big laugh in final show!
So...any lessons here?
If you are at the stage of getting last bits sorted and the whole process is slowing down some, focus in on what you CAN get done soon. Focus on one particular scene, just to get the cameras actually rolling.
Lee has been reading the script on the tram on the way home from work and things. What a guy. Taking his craft seriously and still having fun. I know all his time will SHINE when we get him in front of the camera again....where he belongs!