We had planned to meet at the location at 6 o’clock in the
morning, I was a bit late but Aaron and James arrived on time and had already
brought the equipment in. When I arrived they were enjoying their breakfast
which I wished I thought of, but whilst they were eating I turned on all my
heaters so that the house would warm up. We made sure we had ample time to set
everything up so we arranged for the actors to turn up around 10 o’ clock. We
set up the lighting which wasn’t difficult at all seeing as we had worked on
the positioning on the previous reccy, but we kept working on the white balance
as Aaron was experimenting with his own equipment. We ensured that everything
was taped down and out of the way of the door so nothing was at risk and we
finished setting up the props. We had a little issue with one of our props; we
need a dirty plate so we at first used stuff left in the house but it didn’t
look realistic enough so we went to the shop and bought instant mash and beans.
By time the actors arrived we were completely ready, we had
a short break which allowed both our actors to talk and feel better about
working together. Christi began makeup on Margo once everyone had a chance to
chat. Christi did struggle making the bruise stand out in a realistic way but
she eventually reached the quality previously on the last reccy.
I got to say I really enjoyed talking to Pete, seeing as he
is a professional actor I thought I would take the opportunity to ask him about
his process and any advice he may offer to me. I explain that I mainly enjoy
script writing and want to major in it; he spent some time telling me about his
past experience which was just fascinating. Apart from what I already know
(being a tough business to work in) a piece of advice he gave me was a type of
idea exercise, he suggested every morning if I remember my dream, I should
write it down and keep hold of it until something comes together with all my
dreams. He said I should redo this process every week so that I don’t get stuck
on one dream/idea.
Aaron wanted some time to work with both Margo and Pete so
that they all understood what was to be expected but once he had done with them
the rest of us could join. I joined for a short time but found it difficult to
stay as they was working on the intense bullying segment and the performances
was so impressive that I believed it, also Margo is my grandmother which made
me feel awkward anyway.
We had a couple stops and goes because we had our tutors
turning up at different times and the noise from downstairs could be picked up
on the mic. Our main issue was time, we began at 11oclock and due to the time
of year, we would have to finish at around at 4oclock. We wanted it all be done
in this session which is very difficult but we worried that if we went away and
came back, continuity would be a factor, something would bound to be out of
place. Also Pete had to leave at 3oclock for his own reason so we mainly focused
on his scenes.
Roughly at dinner Ruby (our young protagonist) turned up,
unfortunately we wasn’t close to ready for her scenes and she had to wait for
some time. So instead of leaving her to be bored and sit on her own I offered
to run through with her, she was ace. I was worried about the fact she only had
three days to learn her lines but she knew them perfectly. As I have seen how
Aaron directed Margo and Pete, I explained to Ruby that to try and make it feel
as natural as possible, if a line or act seems not realistic she could change
anyway she wanted.
We were going to have a dinner break and order food but as I
mentioned time was a factor so we ordered food and continued production. Aaron
had tasked himself as director and cameraman and James was on the boom mic, so I
mainly was on runner duty. This wasn’t an issue for me as I worked on the area
that I mainly wanted to, script writing.
It was a brilliant day in my opinion and the overall
production towards this has truly shown a high level of professionalism; we
planned and executed this in two weeks, got real actors instead of friends, got
a proper location, showed skill to set up a scene with lighting and camera
positions, and most importantly, teamwork. Writing this up makes me remember my
time last year, how we would have spent about 3-4 weeks just planning
production and how much I have learnt at Blackburn College. I can’t wait to see
the final product; I have full faith in Aaron skills to edit. This may be my
favourite piece I have worked on to date.
