There is so much I know I don’t know about making a film… I was truly unconsciously incompetent
The secret, it seemed to me, was to surround myself with people who were unconsciously competent. Those who know what they don’t know – err. You know what I mean… Right?!
So I’d somehow convinced a producer that Lucky Charm has legs, yet I had no real idea how I might actually make it. So I turned to the Ugly Boy for advice. One of his sage thoughts (don’t tell him I said that) was his list of four things needed to make a successful film:
- A great Director of Photography
- A top Sound Guy
- Keeping the actors and crew fed and watered.
- Having fun and eating cake.
OK OK, I confess… the 4th is all mine…
I added number four to the Ugly Boy’s list, as I think people working for nothing bar expenses need to enjoy themselves. Also, I often think you can see in a film that people had fun making it. It adds an extra something that makes the film greater than the sum of its parts. The Deal (2008), for example, written by and starring William H Macy, I’ve only seen recently, but I bet they had fun making it.
My job as director I figured was to try and achieve the above and to let everyone get on with what they do best with minimal interference from me (because let’s be honest, that’s what it would be). I just needed to create an atmosphere where I could herd, cajole and bribe (with cake), coffee and fun as needed.
As I’ve said earlier, I’m slightly obsessed with cake. I regularly use the hashtag #sendcake when something happens (good or bad). So cake needed to be part of making Lucy Charm. I approached someone I’d met on Twitter (@chataboutcakes) and asked if she could make cakes for the shoot. At first she said yes (yay!) then she said she would be away (boo!), but a few days before filming she said she could (thrice yay!) And boy did she deliver. So many cakes. So little time! The rest of the food and drink still needed planning though.
So I’d achieved number 1 and made steps towards number 4. So that left 2 & 3 on the list.
No 2 – a top Sound Guy… while Lucky Charm has no real dialogue, sound will be crucial. Once again I was very lucky. The Ugly Boy introduced me to a sound guy, DG, whose background is theatre sound. I sent Lucky Charm to him and asked if he might be interested. He was. We met and had an initial chat about all things sound. The way DG talks about sound is enthralling and fascinating and a complete eye opener. He was definitely the right man for the job.
Compromise compromise compromise… is the other mantra I’ve learned on this journey especially as actor wise – things were proving tricky. One of the lead characters is a young boy aged 10ish. The other his older brother aged 19 or so. JH emailed me to say things were tricky with labour laws and children and did he HAVE to be that young? Actually, No as long as their relationship (in the script) was believable. That’s the bottom line – I said.
Back to the hunt JH went… as did I. I started looking locally and once more the Ugly one came to the rescue… He’d just directed an actor, WD, at one of the drama schools he occasionally works at, who he thought might be a good fit for the older brother. I met WD for a beer and chat. He couldn’t have been better.
The younger brother role was still unfilled. The shooting date was getting closer. People audition and weren’t right, in acting ability, looks or age. Then I met BA, via his mum who applied to a casting I’d done. 10 years old from just down the road… and he was perfect. He couldn’t have been a better fit if I’d written the part for him. He even looked like a mini me version of WD.
Luck really was on my side…. We had a DoP, a Sound Guy, Lead and support actors, the lending of an only 40 of them in the world Lotus, and the promise of cake.
A week later… I was an unsent email away from giving up.
Next time: Rare Gems – Above and Below the Line II – The people you don’t know you need.