The most intricate part of the shoot yet, as we had to handle a very delicate dramatic scene (albeit with a couple of lighter moments), started off the day. Liam Blundell and Stuart Almond had travelled from North and West respectively just to take part in the project. The pace was steadier than the mania of Day Two and we focussed intently for several hours on two key scenes which involved a deconstruction of one character’s personality, by an incredibly smarmy journalist, played by Liam Blundell. It was the kind of day that reminded me how much fun a shoot could be. Taking it at a steady pace, tackling meatier scenes, adding an ad-libbed moment here and there, and enjoying the insanity between takes (Tom Bridger is editing a behind the scenes video for Week One as you read this). The only mishap of the day came when, during a messy fight scene in the film, I accidentally make contact with Liam Blundell’s face. I felt awful. But he knows how to take a punch, so i didn’t feel bad for long.
Later in the day we returned to the performing arts centre to film the two smaller scenes we were unable to shoot the day before due to time constraints. These were also a joy to film as we felt no pressure. A few extra friends joined us for the shoot (Lewis, Jonny and Amy), making the shoot feel even more fun to crack on with. It’s nice that we’re surrounded by so many supportive, creative people who not only want to get involved but are happy to just be around and add to the atmosphere. The scenes we shot were a little trickier technically (single take dolly shots spanning the length of the studio, with a lot of actions by all the cast before the camera). They took a fair amount of orchestration but they will stand out a great deal in the final film. Something I’d like to note (if I haven’t already) is how much of a huge step forward we’ve taken with the visuals of the film. Not just thanks to the new dolly tracks and lighting equipment we purchased later last year, but because we’re taking even longer than usual to do the very best we can every step of the way.
Watching back the footage from the entire weekend that night I was taken aback by all we’d done. Like I mentioned yesterday, it’s felt like a bit of a blur. Actually seeing all that we’d accomplished in such a short space of time was quite overwhelming. All the performances are even better than I could’ve imagined. I cannot wait to show the film to the world. You have no idea what we’ve got in store for you…
