This post first appeared on Ren’s Patreon page.
When last I wrote, we had just test-screened Season Three. The next step was to work out whether any extra shots (“pick-ups”) were needed to make clearer the bits which had confused the test audience, and to organise filming those.
Understandably it was the later episodes in the season, where all the plot threads draw together, that required most work. 301 didn’t need any pick-ups, and a session of tweaking and tightening with editor Cat Ashenden was enough to arrive at a locked edit. This episode then went off to Dale Suttle for sound editing, to Rob Westwood for music, to Mara Ciorba for colour grading, and to me for VFX.
On the last day of August, Ash Finn, Michael Hudson and I convened at Burleigh Hill Farm to prepare the ground for the pick-ups shoot. The main task was to reconstruct one wall of the castle battlements set. Fortunately Mark the farmer had kept all our wooden pillars in the grain store and we could use those as structural support, hardly having to move them at all. Just as fortunately we were able to extract a panel clad in polystyrene stonework from the middle of the hayloft storage. A boat is currently stored underneath the hayloft and we didn’t relish the idea of pushing its trailer out, building a scaffolding tower in its place and unpacking half the loft to get to the right panel. But, with more pivoting than the Friends cast moving a sofa, we managed to slide the panel out and down through the hatch. We spent the afternoon repairing and dressing the wall, and rigging some small black drapes around it.
This Friday a skeleton cast and crew assembled for the actual filming. We began with a couple of shots of Emma Robson (Eumaya) in the medieval barn which involved throwing liquids at her face. Huge thanks to Emma for trekking up from London for that!
Then we moved to the grain store and, working around the tractors, building materials and of course a not-insubstantial pile of grain, captured some pick-ups for 305. These were all of Tomas, the Archivist, but since they involved a stunt and didn’t see his face, he was doubled by Kate Richey, one of Ronin Traynor’s team from IDFight. Thanks to Kate and Ronin for making the trek up too.
The afternoon was very laid back, as we were down to just shots of props and hands that needed only the art and lighting departments. One shot, for use in a VFX composite, involved spraying WD40 at a candle to get the flame to flare up. Do not try this at home. Although I did try it at home, or at least in my friend Chris’s garden, a lot in the nineties. My early amateur films were full of pyrotechnics!
By 5pm we were wrapped, and within a couple of hours we had cleared up and put everything back where we found it. The 27th and final shooting day on Ren Season Three was over.
This week we should be able to edit-lock 303, with 305 following soon after. The next task will be ADR (additional dialogue recording), though we recently got ahead on this when Helen (Sol) stopped off at Dale’s studio while she was passing through the area.
Don’t forget we’re appearing at the Renaissance Faire in Kent this Saturday. In a slight change to the planned line-up, I’ll be joined by Florian Hencher (Tomas), Christopher Dane (Karn/co-creator), Crina Ciobanu (make-up designer) and Hannah Young (costume designer).