ACT TWO…

Well it has been a while, hasn’t it? It’s been just over two weeks since we finished filming* and while energy and proper sleeping patterns have been restored, memories still remain strong.

It was all a bit of a surreal blur the four days, with some being more lucid than others. The days leading up to that first shoot day were a cacophony (I know that refers to the aural scape, but this is my blog) of last minute set dressing, purchases, prop making and taking notes from actors for a final rewrite (which happened first day - eve). By monday afternoon, were all but prepared, but I remember being in a daze and not truly comprehending that in just over twelve hours time, cast & crew would be on set preparing for the first shot.

Come Tuesday, it still all felt a bit surreal, even when the questions started rolling in from the DOP, AD, Script Supervisor, Actors, Producer…………. Here we all were crammed into our Producer’s house ready to film. I could go through a blow by blow of each day, but really, it’d be a lot of the same thing — talking to actors, choosing frames, discussing the script, putting out fires (although I give all the credit to Claire for that). Things would crop up during the day, some big, some small, that would have to be resolved, and Claire (God bless her) kept a lot of those things from me. Things like the permit for shooting in The Rocks not coming through until a few hours before we were going to shoot.

Tuesday and Wednesday went to plan, but Thursday night……. We were shooting at Cronulla and even before I’d arrived to set I already didn’t want to be there. We had an incredibly large amount of shots to get through, made all the more difficult that it was on a beach, and deep down I knew that we weren’t going to get everything. But to everyone’s credit, we actually started off really well. We wrapped for dinner a bit early, but soon we were on to the meat and potatoes of the night… and it was cold. Oh and it rained slightly. And the sand that the actors had to lie on was cold.

It. Was. Grim.

So this is about where I tip my hat to cast and crew for powering through the night and being so professional and fighting through fatigue and tiredness to get through it all. We had to cut shots, combine shots, rethink shots, just so we could get through the maximum amount of coverage that night. But no matter what, we fell behind. There was even a point where the crew was setting up for the next shot where I took a moment and walked away from the set, and crouched with head in hands, just wishing for it to all be over (and wondering whether I could still pull the plug on it). We were meant to wrap at 3am (?), and only stopped shooting because the sun rose and were hours behind schedule. I’ve never been so depressed and left feeling crushed and that everything we’d gotten sucked and that it was all my fault.

By the time I got home I only had time for a few hours sleep and before you knew it, it was back to Cronulla, but this, the last night, was infinitely more productive than the previous night. Spirits were high, we got through everything we needed to and picked up almost everything that we missed the night before AND wrapped 10 mins ahead of schedule just in time for wrap drinks at 2am before the long drive home.

And that was it.

No rest for Saturday as we wanted to get Claire’s house back in order after filming in it, but really, we were all brain dead — my brain felt mushy and I wasn’t sure if what we had gotten was any good at all. One of the biggest things I think I’ve had to come to terms with in this whole process is how the film evolves from the page, through casting, locations, lighting and performance and ends up becoming such a different beast to how you had planned it, and directly after, this was something I was struggling with.

But now, given my two weeks absence from thinking about anything to do with the film (I haven’t even opened the drives with the rushes on it), I’m feeling a lot better about the whole experience. Going back to work in design (for the first time in four months), my brain has begun rejuvenation, and I think I’ve got a better perspective on everything we’ve shot and the performances contained there in. Sure, I’ve still got to begin editing it, but I think we’ll start from a pretty good place.

So, was the experience a good one? Yes. Difficult, trying, exhausting and surreal, something that stretches you to breaking and even past it, but that’s making a film.

SOME THINGS I’VE LEARNT…

— Get the AD on board as soon in the pre production process as soon as you can to save yourself horrendous scheduling issues
— With actors, be slow to speak. Some actors like to be directed a lot, others a little, but by and large, don’t speak too soon. The actors primarily like to figure it out themselves.
— Shooting on a beach at night sucks
— Don’t do too many takes or you risk wearing out the actors.
— Actors lose energy after lunch
— Inserts are awesomely fun
— Be nice. I can understand when you hear about directors being overly demanding or blunt, but niceness costs nothing.
— Actors are emotional beings.
— Feed your crew well and they will go the extra mile with you.
— Be prepared to cut shots for the sake of time and sanity
— NEVER go without a continuity / script supervisor. Along with the AD and producer, they are the holy film trinity of helping you get through a shoot day.

Well that’s it. Once I start the process of editing I’ll get back into the blog. In the meantime, I’ll aim to start posting some behind the scenes photos from the shoot.

In closing, my sincerest thanks goes out to the cast and crew for all your incredible and tireless work.

Thank you all.

Glenn

* Actually, we’ve still got some pickups to do…