Sunday 19 September 2010

The Shoot - Day Four - 18.09.2010

Didn't really mention much about this before it happened but we shot a scene on Saturday. The reason why it hadn't been mentioned was that the scene didn't even exist until about 11.30pm Wednesday evening.

It was written in to add a bit more fun to the film before we drop into the stuff with the leads and also as a scene setter - we get a tiny bit more of a feel for the entire location with this scene which I think's a good thing, it gives a sense of how big the place is and so, if trouble arises, it isn't going to be easy to escape it.

We used this scene as an opportunity to throw a couple of things in that we wanted to but couldn't fit in the script as it stood. Wayne, the sound man, is in a Smith's tribute band called The Citizen Smiths (I video their gigs). We'd discussed throwing the band into it somehow in the original script and there was a line where it seemed this could happen though, when reading the entire scene through, it didn't make much sense and so had to be left out. But this time, I was adamant about getting it in there and so we did! So when you hear them mentioned in the film now, you'll at least know who they are (which puts you in a better position than the character in the scene - that's insider knowledge for you!). Anyway, check 'em out at http://www.thecitizensmiths.co.uk/ and maybe even drop by to their next gig! You'll get to see a great band and have a chat about scAIRcrows at the same time!

Then there's the interactive thing - yes, it does seem slightly silly and ineffectual but how many films give you the opportunity to have a say in the final product? When the character Erroll ends up asking for the sandwich that you voted for, imagine the pride that you'll feel - it'll be almost as if you wrote it yourself! It's a great idea and something I might keep in mind for future projects (as long as it was in tone with the film obviously).

I suppose the third thing we did with this scene was bring in an actor we really wanted to work with. I mentioned last week that Blue Jigsaw's video wowed us - so did our actor's in this scene, Merry Fotso. Merry's video was a bit of a breath of fresh air after watching countless videos where actors were literally reading the lines off camera. He did something different and it instantly stood out. We knew we really wanted to work with him but just didn't know where to put him as the film had been fully cast at that point. As I got the idea to write in another scene, we all knew we had to offer it to Merry and Merry thankfully accepted.

I'm really glad he did because this could have been a very difficult scene if the actor didn't get and embrace the tone that we were going for with it. Luckily Merry was more than up for it - throwing his own ideas in and putting up with my last second line changes. We didn't even mention the interactive scene until we were actually shooting it! There were many points where all of us, Merry included, just couldn't stop laughing.

Suffice to say, we had more than a little fun that shoot but still got down to business - the plan is to lay the credits over this scene, we cut to the title of the film and then right into the stuff with the leads. We'll see how it ends up looking but that's the idea anyway.

Anyway - photos from the shoot are up on Facebook and flickr - we took about 70 but I omitted quite a few as, again, I don't want to give away too much. The pictures of Merry on the phone - that was part of the scene! You can find the links to these by visiting http://www.scaircrows.com

A big thank you to Merry - you were there before we were and jumped into it literally five minutes later. There were a few points where you did more than what I expected you to do and it'll just add to the film - I can think of one shot in particular that will just look really cool and unusual and definitely will make the location seem further out than it actually is! And, apart from all that - you really 'got' it and made the experience so enjoyable for us all. It was a pleasure having you be part of team scAIRcrows.

Getting bored of thanking you both Jenny and Wayne! You know it's appreciated and this film's as much yours as it is mine. Very, very nearly there!

Next blog might be a few days off - there's a bit of production work to do! Will still throw quick updates into Twitter etc. And if you haven't voted for Erroll's sandwich yet - do so post haste! Let your voice be heard here http://apps.facebook.com/opinionpolls/poll.php?pid=1284882628

scAIRcrows wish you a good night.

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