INT. ANDY’S HOUSE – MORNING.
CAPTION: Saturday 19th April 6:45am.
It’s looking a bit less messy. I’d managed to pack most of the stuff into the CRV and run it down to the cricket club earlier. I was picking up the bag with the cameras in and saying my goodbyes to the cats… Well OK, I was whispering – my voice had gone completely. I was at the ‘it hurts to speak’ stage.
I drove back down to the pitch in the MX5, leaving the larger car for my wife to bring down lunch and a baby visit later. The sky was part cloudy and it was a little cold. There was no sign of rain as promised. It looked like it might be a good day. Once in the pavilion I stated unpacking the essentials – the drinks, coffee, & croissants. The biscuit tin had the batteries taken out of it, and filled up with custard creams, chocolate bourbons and other biscuits from the 80s. I was putting out the sugar and coffee cups when the crew started appearing. I greeted them with a croak. The production manager called me Dan (the name of the new DoP) and continued to do so for most of that day.
By 830 ish all the crew were there. Things were looking busy. People were huddled over kit and tripods and lights. The runner, GB, arrived and was helping shift things around, set up stumps and write details onto the clapper board.
I was dealing with a fridge.
The bastard wouldn’t close… it had frosted up so badly the door wouldn’t shut. So there I was on my hands and knees with a knife hacking and slashing at the solid mass of ice clinging to the top of the fridge…
It’s a glamorous life this directing business.
The first actors started appeared at around 9… Things progressed…. Many many cups of coffee were being slurped… the first scene was being set up in the changing room.. lighting was being adjusted, a cricket bag was unpack, repacked, and the unpacked and repacked again just for good measure…. The lead actor (the older brother) WD took his place on the bench in the changing room… and we were off. Someone called for me to shout action. I tried. Failed… No one heard me croak. I whispered for MM do it in my place…. And so – ‘Action…’ was shouted for me.
It’s a glamorous life this directing business.
A few takes were in the can, the lighting was being adjusted. The B camera shot was being set up. Just then the H appeared in our midst with husband in tow. I was introduced to them and must have looked blank. I suspect I was thinking about focus and the Nikon D610. Cakes? Someone said. Ah yes – cakes! This was H from @chataboutcakes. I apologised for being miles away and we went out to their car. In the boot were so many cakes I honestly thought she was taking them some elsewhere next. But no. Joyously they were all for us! Victoria sponges and scones. 4 massive sponges and 2 enormous boxes of scones. Amazing!! And boy did they taste great. (There was so much I had to take scones into work afterwards…)
I was dragged back to the shooting and H disappeared – her job here was more than done.
The first shoot scene seemed to take an age. Just to get the light right seemed to take what felt like a decade. I suspect this is when I began to understand how slow things can move on set. I was pondering such thoughts, and speculating when I could get away with attacking the cake, when the production manager SF sidled up to me. ‘Dan,’ she whispered. ‘I think we need to get outside. Use the fact its not raining. We’ve got lots to do out there’.
After a brief chat with DG & MM, we filmed a quick few shots of the Younger Brother (BA) finding the Lucky Charm and set off outside.
It can be too sunny for filming. Once outside this became obvious.
Next Time: Filming Day 1: Part 2: Now it’s too sunny and look is that a panther?
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PS – For those who might remember and were expecting a possible panther in this entry, I have had to split my blog for filming day one into two parts. The original – At just over 1700 words – was a tad long. Sorry!