Week 11 – Action!

Monday was a full day shoot for Lord of the Rings in 60 seconds. I was so impressed, even honoured, by the way everyone worked together. At one point I was in need of set-dressing for Gandalf’s classroom and I set some TPA students on the job. Within minutes a large white-board, a small blackboard and a boxful of amazing props were being wheeled in the door! Ultimately it was an amazingly fun shoot, which went really quite smoothly; we got all the shots I wanted in the can, and more. I just hope the finished product does justice to the great team of people who worked on it.

That night I had a bit of a panic about an actress we’d engaged through an agency for Ross’s film who I was worried we might have to pay. This would involve Adam drawing up a contract which practically would not be possible and could very likely get out of hand financially. I didn’t sleep all that well that night… a Producer’s lot!

It turned out, when I phoned first thing on Tuesday morning, that the lovely lady I’d organised everything with at the agency had assumed that it wasn’t paid, as had the actress herself! So I could breathe a sigh of relief and in the end we just gave a donation to cover expenses for our actors.

So Tuesday was yet another full day shoot this time as a First Assistant Director on Ross’s film Love, Mugs and Stickmen. Maybe it was the willing co-operation of the cast, maybe it was the size of the location, maybe it was Ross’s time-saving directing, maybe it was even my spacious scheduling, or maybe it was due to all of these things but whatever it was the shoot seemed very smooth, relaxed and productive. I can’t say if the footage reflected this with creative quality but then that’s not my responsibility. We got there, we got it done, we got away. Job done, I’m happy!

Wednesday morning was slightly more panicky because we had extra shots to squeeze into the schedule and the palates class, that would force us out of the location, was happening an hour earlier than we previously expected. Nevertheless, we managed to finish with plenty of time and a full can ready for editing. I must confess that two and a half days of strenuous shooting, with barely any sleep in between, did throw off my groove somewhat. I was barely a shadow of myself for the rest of the day.

For some reason, beyond my own comprehension, I had volunteered to help as a student mentor for an open day for S6 pupils on Thursday morning. So instead of catching up on some much needed shuteye I found myself following five sixth years’ around led by two volunteering (wide-awake) student mentors from TPA. Thankfully my job was relatively simple. “Here’s the Edit Suites. Here’s the Kit Room. Yeah, it’s a great course.” Which of course is true, and deserves enthusiasm, but I regret to say I lacked vigour.

At lunchtime we had a brief initial production meeting for Dust; the collaborative project that Murdo pitched. Again, only half of me was present but we covered everything we needed to cover I think. Following this I took some time to digitise the footage for Lord of the Rings in 60 seconds. Some of it looked really quite impressive and I look forward to when it’s cut together to see if it was all worth it!

The last day of Term Two was spent away from the Academy. Charlotte and myself reported to the big BBC building (only seven minutes late) for our induction in preparation for the Showlight shoot in May. Contrary to what I had hoped this involved the fairly mundane duty of sitting at a computer and watching some videos that discoursed on the importance of safety and the correct procedure regarding risk assessment, etc. at the BBC. However, it was exciting to get inside the BBC building (it is so awesome inside), be shown the lift, the toilets, the water dispenser and the canteen and then sit at a computer in the midst of a working BBC office. Of course, the best part of the experience was that Sheila Kane, the nice lady who showed us around, let me keep the BBC pen!

So, philosophical reflection on Term Two: it was grand, even better than Term One! Seriously, I did enjoy it and can barely wait for next term but at the same time I’m very grateful for a holiday. Do try and carefully consider the real meaning of Easter this year. There’s a serious message behind all those chocolate eggs and it has an eternal significance so it would be worth some thought.