With the help of producers Katy Richardson & Chris Bailey, preparation for the shot was now complete; we had organised a timeframe of 2 weekends and a week in between that everyone was available for. Organised camera and lighting equipment, dietary requirements of cast and crew, itinerary for the shooting days, contingency for when it inevitably hacks it down during an outdoor shooting day, finalised the script, communicated with the actors and conceded that more rehearsal time would have been better, more rehearsal time seems to be my biggest failure of the preproduction period.
This seems to chime with things I have read about film making in general. Prepare for more rehearsal time that you could possibly need, so that when it gets eroded by other commitments you still get at least nearly enough. My next project will be started with this as my main consideration: Rehearsal Time is Magic Time. Book as much as possible and be there for anyone and everyone that can offer their time to it.
The first weekend of the shoot arrived and we threw ourselves into it, it is definitely my favourite part of any film project, the culmination of all of the planning and preparation – the time when you turn the lights on and turn them on the subject and say “once upon a time”.
Seeing the team work together so well was exhilarating, there were obviously hiccups and issues: access to buildings was delayed, clouds plagued us during those moments Christian really needed clear skies, the sound of traffic or wind forever being battled by Jack on sound, and times when my direction hadn’t been quite clear enough for one of the actors to fully understand my intention.
Getting the scenes framed and blocked, working through reminders of the characters intentions using verbs with the actors, setting up lights and tweaking everything until I was happy to say Action; then letting go and tumbling down the drop slide of each performance of a take was incredibly satisfying, and each member of cast and crew were focussed, organised and conscientious of each other. Playing dress up has truly never felt so good.
