Soul Searcher: October 9th 2003

Oh, merry me. Twiddly dee dum twinkly ho ho ho. Edd is now on the case. I don’t have to worry about anything any more. At this very moment he’s sitting at his laptop typing up call sheets for the whole shoot. He’s so on the ball, it’s almost scary.

We did tech scouts of most of the locations today. By we I mean me, Edd, Simon “chop socky” Wyndham, Ian “everything but the boom pole” Preece, Vic, Alie, Colin, James Swindells and Ian Tomlinson. The purpose of tech scouts is to familiarise the core crew with the locations, sort out mundane things like toilet facilities, power supplies and parking, and things of that ilk. I’ve never had the luxury of doing them before, and man were they useful. Particularly for Edd, who made copious notes, and Ian Tomlinson, who got to see the locations he would have to dress and how his props were going to fit into the scenes.

This evening Simon Ball and I went to the Courtyard to see the kids from Fame. Okay, not really from Fame. From the Courtyard Youth Theatre. In order to cast bit parts and extras. More tomorrow, I’m sure.

Soul Searcher: October 9th 2003

Soul Searcher: October 8th 2003

It’s 12:45am. The only reason I’m still up is that Edd, the 1st AD, is coming up on the last train in order to be present for tomorrow and Friday’s tech scouts. I’ve been taking the opportunity to catch up on some storyboarding, which made a pleasantly creative diversion from all the producing tom-foolery.

I tore my hair out last night and this morning trying to work out a final shooting schedule that took account of all the cast and crew’s availabilities, restrictions on locations, avoiding filming out and about on Fridays and Saturdays, etc, etc. After much rubbing out, pencilling in and rubbing out again (followed by some vacuuming to remove the rubbings-out), I finally arrived at a schedule that works, although five pence says it turns out I’ve made a fatal mistake somewhere.

This afternoon two of the camera assistants came over for some training on how to set up lights and tripods and jibs and things of that nature. I don’t know where the rest of the day went, but went it did.

Soul Searcher: October 8th 2003

Soul Searcher: October 7th 2003

I took Sunday off, which frankly I deserved, then got straight back to the phone calls on Monday morning. My last journal entry on The Beacon prior to the shoot mentions that I’d hoped to have everything sorted before production began, but that just hadn’t happened. The difference this time is that I won’t have to sort the outstanding stuff myself in between directing the scenes (yes, that’s what happened last time), but it still would have been nice to get to the end of this week knowing that everything is in place. (Next week I’m out of the equation, being booked on a corporate job.)

Our main task over the last couple of days has been to try and get final confirmation for the three big locations. The results have been mixed. A certain location (which shall remain nameless) wanted to charge us UKP1,000 a night for filming. Thanks, but no thanks.

The rest of the locations are pretty much sorted. After spending ages trying to work out where to do the scene in Joe’s bedroom, I finally realised that my living room has exactly the right layout for the shots I want. So our art director can look forward to shifting my furniture around and painting my walls blue. Sorry!

Yesterday James and I had to go see the police. We explained what we were going to be doing and they were fine with it, once they realised we weren’t going to be closing any roads. After that we went to the B&B where James was planning to put up the actors. It was only later that evening that we both realised that B&B owners are notoriously strict about what time of night their customers come in at night (I’ve had problems coming back from a shoot to a B&B at 11pm, let alone 3am), and of course they’re hardly likely to serve breakfast at the times our actors are going to want it. I suggested renting a house for six weeks. James adopts Geordie accent.. “Day 21 in the Soul Searcher house. The Grim Reaper has spilt a pint of milk…”

This morning we both got up at 7am and went to check out the sunrise on Ledbury Road. There wasn’t much of one, due to the cloud cover, but we were able to make sure that the sun would be in the right place for the scene anyway. Later I went to the chained library to work out how to condense a day’s shooting into two hours (they want UKP70 an hour to film there).

This afternoon I had to make yet more phone calls to the council. Helpful as they are, dealing with them is much like investigating a Russian Doll. Every person you speak to gives you three more people you need to talk to, and so on. As yet I have no evidence that this progression isn’t infinite.

Soul Searcher: October 7th 2003

Soul Searcher: October 4th 2003

James and I checked out another nightclub, which wasn’t as good as the one we saw yesterday, and was going to cost money. One of the location owners said to me the other day: “Is anything in this world free?” Without getting into any great philosophical debate, it did hit me then how lucky we are to get ANY of these locations for nowt, and the actors, and the crew and the….

We spent a lot of time driving around Hereford (quite literally around it, rather than through it, for the most part) trying to find a place to do a scene where a car pulls up on a hill overlooking town. We eventually found somewhere that provided an elevated view of the city without buildings or trees obscuring it, but the problem was Hereford really did look like the small town it is. We’re going to shoot that bit in another city.

Soul Searcher: October 4th 2003

Soul Searcher: October 3rd 2003

I met up with Max Van De Banks, Karen Nielsen and Nikki I-don’t-know-her-last-name to discuss make-up on Tuesday. The main thing to come out of the meeting was: bald caps = bad. Our design for the demons involves them being bald, and since we can hardly expect unpaid actors to shave their heads for a role, the plan had been to use bald caps. The problem is they’re expensive, not reusable and prone to ripping. Max suggested a balaclave-style full face mask. I can’t help picturing it as a rubber Halloween mask, but Max is going to do a demonstration next week so I can see what it will look like.

We found our train. Just like I pictured, only shorter.

Yesterday I went to London to talk to some students at South Bank University’s Special Effects department about the movie and see if any of them fancied working on the miniature FX. Several of them do. I also met with Matt Baker, who originally got in touch about making the props. I’d noticed such credits as “Modelmaker, Hogwarts Castle – Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone” on his CV and wanted to talk to him also about FX. He too was interested.

Other than that, it’s been the usual location phone call kind of stuff. I saw James today for the first time in three weeks. He’s finally emerged from his book bubble.

We’re still looking for a nightclub location. And sound recordists. Any sound recordists out there?

Soul Searcher: October 3rd 2003

Soul Searcher: September 30th 2003

Less than three weeks to go and things are looking gooood. I have become the producer for a couple of days, which for those of you not in the know means making LOTS of phone calls. I’ve been working through the locations list. I managed to put big ticks next to a couple of places, and most other responses have been in the “shouldn’t be a problem, but I’ll have to check with X and get back to you” vein. I had to rule out the football stadium, who wanted to charge us UKP500, but I won’t be shedding any tears over that. It was too green anyway.

I also spoke to the council and the police, which took a great weight off my mind, since neither seemed intent on shutting down the production. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Vic and Alie (not “Ally”, it seems) are tracking down trains (no pun intend), hunting down quarries (pun very much intended) and… er… looking for blacksmiths. Vic suggested doing the quarry stuff in Malvern. I explained that I might not entirely be the Malvern Hills Conservators’ favourite person, as anyone who followed the production of The Beacon will know. Plus I vowed never to film in Malvern again.

Lots of people are looking for a Cadillac too. If anyone out there owns, or knows someone who owns, a convertible car or pick-up truck of the American persuasion, please drop us a line.

Soul Searcher: September 30th 2003

Soul Searcher: September 28th 2003

James is up against it with the book. He has to have it finished by Tuesday. And now he’s put his back out. By contrast, I’m pretty much twiddling my thumbs, having run out of directorly things to do, except for storyboarding and lighting planning, which of course I can’t do until the locations are locked. At the moment, James is too busy to even e-mail me a list of things he’s too busy to do, so I can’t help him out. I’ve got some equipment to sort out – a wind machine, some lighting gels, odd bits and pieces like that, but mostly I’m sitting around worrying about whether everyone else is getting their stuff done. Which I’m sure you all are.

I met with John Galloway, Colin Smith and James Swindells yesterday – my crew of lighting-camera assistants, who will also be doubling as behind-the-scenes cameramen. They all applied after seeing postings on the net, but by coincidence I’ve worked with all of them before: John on Traction, my first professional-ish short film, back in 1999; Colin on Integr8, a video course run by James Clarke, also in 99, and James Swindells on Ledbury Lives, Hereford’s Day In The Dome film, shot by me and produced by Clarkey boy. What’s that you say? Hereford, small? I don’t know what you mean. At one point during our meeting, a randy old lady came up to us and said how much she liked my hair. John said that would end up in the director’s journal. He wasn’t wrong.

Today I met with Vic Perry and Ally Ball, though plans for my second consecutive afternoon in the Courtyard were scuppered when it turned out to be closed. So we went to Ascari’s. (Explanation: Doodies is closed on Sundays.) Vic and Ally will be helping out with locations prior to the shoot, then will be our production assistant and script supervisor respectively on set.

There’s a small chance that Luca’s car might wind up being a DeLorean. Which I would find highly amusing.

Soul Searcher: September 28th 2003

Soul Searcher: September 25th 2003

We lost one of our major locations, Maylord Orchards shopping centre, due to a change of manageress. It’s annoying but it happens. I remember locations being the greatest problem with The Beacon. The police and the council’s respective contacts are proving elusive. Since both these organisations effectively have the power to shut down the whole production, I’ll sleep much easier at night when we’ve heard back from them. For reasons which escape me, many locations seem much more reluctant to help us than they were last year. Frankly I’m not that bothered. Inevitably one or two further locations will have to be changed, but such is the life of the low budget filmmaker. And the big budget filmmaker, indeed.

Speaking to the various members of the art department is much more heartening. Props and costumes are progressing well, as is the casting of minor roles and extras. We’re still lacking a make-up artist for part of the shoot, but that shouldn’t be too difficult to sort out.

Soul Searcher: September 25th 2003

Soul Searcher: September 23rd 2003

In the ten hours between writing the last journal entry and leaving for the DW shoot in Devon (not Dorset, as it turns out), two large hiccups befell Soul Searcher. Firstly, despite my rejigging of the schedule, Penny Skinner’s boss wasn’t having it, and she had to pull out. I’ve since cast Katrina Cooke in the role. Secondly, I received a letter from our costume maker Harriet Kendall explaining that she also had to pull out, for personal reasons. Cue frantic phone calls. Charlene Whitney, another applicant for the position of costume maker, was the lucky recipient of a pretty out-of-the-blue phone call along the lines of: “Do you fancy making a whole bunch of complicated costumes in four weeks for no money?” Remarkably, she agreed.

Anyway, I eventually got to Devon (not to be confused with Heaven, but frequently confused with Dorset) and had a very relaxing week, well – mentally relaxing anyway. I was glad to get away from the stress of Soul Searcher for a little while. And the producer gave me the smoke machine at the end of the shoot. Which saves me buying one for Soul Searcher.

Speaking of producers, James has been chasing up locations. Thusfar the news is not good, with a lot of people wanting to charge us megabucks.

Soul Searcher: September 23rd 2003

Soul Searcher: September 16th 2003

Bleary of eye. Achy of back. Wee-small of hour. What’s happened lately? Well I met with Simon Ball, to brief him on his new Casting Director duties – he’s in charge of casting all the bit parts and extras. I’ve been on BBC Hereford & Worcester, talking briefly about the film and inviting interested investors to make themselves known. I’ve been sitting doing lighting plans, which is the kind of thing that only I could ever find interesting, and this morning I spent an hour or two worrying at the shooting schedule, after a call from Penny Skinner (Heather – or so we hope) informed me that she was going to get sacked if she took all the days off work she needed according to my original schedule. But it’s all part of the fun, isn’t it?

I also got some very nice images through from Ian Tomlinson, who has been promoted to Art Director since Jenni Gregory is mostly unavailable this year. I must put some of them up on the site. But not now. What with the bleariness and the achiness.

You won’t hear anything more from me now for a week, for I shall be ensconced in a cottage in a woodland area of Dorset (or possibly Devon – they’re easily confused), shooting a Doctor Who spin-off film for Reeltime Pictures. As you do.

But before I go, how do I feel? Other than bleary and achy. I feel stressed but happy. There you go. In exactly five weeks, we will be wrapping on day one of principle photography. I look forward to that day. For lo, it shall be sweet,

Soul Searcher: September 16th 2003