Ok, I know. I've done that one before. But it's 11:30pm literally the night before our big shoot and yes, my brain has officially gone to sleep.
Nevertheless, I know I have neglected my blog lately and thought it was high time I write a little something about the progress of our production.
In a nutshell, this week has been absolutely hectic. Starting with Monday, after having endured yet another 20 hour set of pre-production planning over the weekend, I had to launch straight into arranging our camera rehearsal for that night as well as checking in on my actors to see that they were ok with the script, making sure equipment/crew/food were all organised for tomorrow's shoot, and trying to condense my ever-expanding shot list. To say the least, I was a little stressed. Not helped by the fact that my little sister arrived in town that day and I had absolutely no time to spend with her whatsoever. Luckily, the night ended well with our camera rehearsal (it was touch and go for a while as we attempted to battle peak hour Public Transport Riders but we made it) where us four plus Arthur got a good idea of where everything would fit over the two nights and how we could set up the camera for our shoot.
Tuesday consisted yet again, of me attempting to condense the shooting schedule. Whilst most director's go by scenes, I decided that an actual shot list would be more efficient for the shoot as we would know exactly what angle, frame and composition was needed at what time for the script. From talking to Robin and Paul, as well as other TV1 colleagues, I've learnt that apparently this much detail is not normally considered at this stage of production. I realised though, having heard a number of horror stories from other productions as well as having endured many horrible experiences myself where shoots have run completely over-time, that the best way to ensure that every shot I wanted from the storyboard was actually filmed in the short space of time we had, was to create a shooting schedule by shot, not scene. Robin and Paul both expressed reservations at my 40 shot shot list but I'm determined we can make it work. As it is, all it took was figuring out what shots could be filmed from the same position in the house and as Robin suggested, what shots could be taken out should we run out of time.
Come Wednesday, I was starting to unravel a little. I had been getting enough sleep but there were just so many things I knew I had to keep thinking about and I was really worried I wouldn't be able to focus on Lara at our shoot that night. As it was, I had to direct Louise and Deanna to go find a picture frame for Friday's shoot (which didn't get very far), print out all the paperwork needed for that night's shoot, make sure all the equipment was picked up so it could later be transported to the house that night, and ensure Lara knew where she was going. At the shoot, I was then in charge again of setting up the shoot and making sure Deanna had done white balance and exposure (which apparently only happened for the former part) whilst also setting up the lights and checking Lara was getting her makeup done. Finally, after all this running around, Lara and I managed to get a quick half hour rehearsal in before we started shooting. The shoot was great though which really made it worth the hassle. Lara was a true pro and together, we had a lot of fun. Not only that, but we finished early enough to pack everything away and get the equipment out on the street where my friends were waiting to pick it up whilst also looking at the rushes from that night.
Today was a different story. Having to not only juggle all the planning for the shoot, I also had to try and concentrate on True Lies, a course which normally blows my mind even on a good day. As a result, I definitely don't think I got as much accomplished as I had hoped: I sent the call sheet off, yes, but I totally forgot to pick up a high hat as well as Arthur's wooden board for the dolly so I'm really hoping Louise will be able to get both in the morning on her way over.
Apart from all that, I just going to try and enjoy tomorrow night I think. I know it's going to be stressful and I totally appreciate I have been ambitious in my planning but I'm confident in Luke and my crew that we'll get it all done. Until then, you may not hear much more from me so I'll let you know how everything goes in a few days time.
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