21/08/06 - DAY THREE SHOOT!

Again, another stunning days work today!
We were shooting in a hired school room and using the most amount of extras for this shoot that we will be using. I wont bore any readers about there with a repeat of precious subjects (camera excellence, preparation, performances etc), but rather share some highlights.
First and foremost today was making sure you LOOK AFTER YOUR CAST AND CREW. I had booked the room for a full day, even though I only expected to need it for approx 4 hours. At the cheap cost, it was the best option. Some advertising needed here….ANYONE in South Yorkshire region needing school rooms, training rooms, creche room, a bar / café, courtyards etc should give a look to the Burton Street Project (http://www.burtonstreet.org.uk/) as not only are the varied rooms and location IDEAL for independent film use (The Full Monty shot here), but the staff are really really helpful! Thanks to them for an excellent day.

One of my biggest challenges today was to not keep people waiting around too long. We had (via contacts made) some new cast of extras to work with and they were all absolutely fantastic. Creative, enthusiastic, excited and a pleasure to work with. There were some very young children too whose parents were on set and although I was conscious the subject matter was a little much for them, the parents were more than happy…so I went with them!

Now in terms of looking after them all….CATERING was my main aim. If you are using cast and crew, on a weekend, for free, for several hours…the very LEAST you can do is make sure you have a decent spread of drinks and food for them so I made sure this was looked after. As it happens I went overboard, but heh, I wanted to them to know they were valued enough to be able to relax.

Another pointer from today, which I would recommend to anyone, is that future cast were on set to see how we make our films, and how I run a set. We had Karolyn, who will shooting green screen for a role in this film – so would not have met up with anyone or seen a decent size cast and set in action. She also helped out with “making of” footage which was handy. And Dave Oxley, who we have for a small role in this film, and a entire future project lined up based around him. So again, this was his first taste of how we do. And we had Theo Garvey, who is a freelance Special FX Make Up whiz, who will be doing the make up for our later Exorcism scene. He brought two friends with him who also work on films and all 3 added a TON of weight to the performances! And I feel we made some good contacts with them to help each other out on each other’s future work.
Also present were the children and their friends of Dave Oxley who were there for the pure fun of it! They were brilliant also and again, as extras I will have no doubt we will have future roles for them. They were all so good it is a joy to be cutting them into the final edit.

Lee also had a friend, Jarrod, who attended. Again, he has never acted on screen before to my knowledge. He was also sublime in his enthusiasm and work. I singled him out for a very specific role which some “actors” would be challenged to take up…and while he said his nerves added to the performance, what I really noted was how he took direction. I was expected to re-direct and re-shoot as need. Not needed as he took in, processed info and turned out a first rate job.

I have already started on the editing for these scenes. I SHOULD POINT OUT that I am not posting much to do with editing techniques here as I feel this is something a filmmaker or editor should personally get in touch with and develop themselves. The only thing I would say is that I feel that to edit between shoots is a real key. Get on the editing while the days shoot is still fresh in your mind. Anyway…that is a separate subject for a separate post! The point I will make is that during editing I have found that the PREP I did has made massive payoffs. The shots I had been conscious of during pre-shoot all are playing out superbly in the edit so far. The biggest challenge I present myself is my speed of shooting. By the time I walk on set I want every shot I need in my head. Add that to knowing the pace of shots before, and shots that will come after. I use a constant moving camera for this so I am conscious of being aware what is happening with the camera movement not just for this shot, but combined with the flow of previous shots. Add that in with watching for performance quality, audio issues, lighting and the physical demand of being in all manner of positions for handheld work and I really do have a fine days work! It is all good fun and days like this prove it.

Final note is that in the very first stage of editing I have tested on some shots a post-shoot digital White Diffusion effect that I had been playing with. I am not speaking too soon when I say this effect raises the already great quality to stunning levels and I will be using it extensively on the post production work.

The day was capped by several cast and crew all chilling for a barbeque afterwards which even the crappy English weather managed to part the heavens for! It’s as if Gaylon himself had commanded his God to give us some final summer weather for a day’s wrap BBQ! Awesome…