Quick Turn Around

I stepped into the truck almost before the sun rose today. As my team and crew started piling on I could sense an electricity in the air - it was the signature Friday feeling. Sure enough, they churned through it in the floor and we mostly got out in great time, ready for the weekend. I got off so early in fact that I got to pop out to the local board game night again and Rebecca even joined in for the fun and games! Though my brain may have been turned to mush by my work week, I always have a second wind for my hobbies.

Fit and Healthy Kitten

 Worked from home this morning so I could load up the cat into the carrier so Rebecca could take her to the vet for her annual checkup. She got a clean bill of health, but noted she'd put on a little bit of puppy fat, gotta keep her diet a bit leaner before she turns into a chonker.

Back at base it turned out my entire day would revolve around coffee - but not actually making any of it. I dashed out to get more pods for makeup department and did a cost report on the price differential on getting the cast a mini pod machine vs them asking for posh coffee from nearby shops. I managed to massage that request in our favour but there's still a few more battles to fight. Keeps me on my toes these fun requests!

Babysitting

As a little thank you from the cast, we were treated to a coffee truck on set today. Once upon a time I used to ask if I could man the machine but I let these chaps to the heavy lifting today - I was unusually busy in the run up to lunch helping out the catering department do some leg work. That and a wifi chap came to peddle his wares to our top dogs and I had to chaperone him around set. If I was being pessimistic I would call these two instances babysitting... Let's just say I was indeed feeling pessimistic today.

Low Profile

 Another 2nd Unit day but I didn't have to do anywhere near as much heavy lifting. Our units were only a few minutes from each other so catering and all other requirements could be easily serviced. I kept to myself for the most part, playing the role of wifi engineer whenever I could and doing a supermarket run. We've just about hit a nice stride now, with any luck we'll keep on this pace until we wrap.

Blessed Monday

Returned to the truck for another day of shooting. The crew seemed much more chipper after a 3 day weekend, refreshed, peppy and generally in high spirits so it was a fun day all round. I even got to toddle down onto set to watch a bit of the action unfold. Since we were outside there was plenty of space to meander around the place, chat to people and watch the monitors. The weather was nice too! All in it was just one of those days where I felt blessed to be working in such a unique industry with a solid crew.

Can't Handle the Hot Pot

Turned the key for the last time in our cosy sheppards hut, our long weekend holiday was over. We left Wales feeling refreshed and rested, an ideal city break for us both after a busy March. Such a quirky accommodation, no doubt it'll stay in my memory for a long old while.

My parents came visiting from lunchtime onwards, in-between cups of coffee and sofa chit chats we took them to several of the finest eateries in town. Rachel recommended a hot pot place - the kind where you cook you own food in a bubbling cat of broth. We opted for a 50/50 split on the soup, a classic side and a spicy side. We asked for 'low' spice level, god help anyone that asks for anything more potent than that because I sweated out my body weight after only a few mouthfuls. Louis kept glancing at me and giggling because I couldn't handle the heat. I don't think he could either but he just masked it much better. Doing something different with my parents is always a good time though, shame the day went so quickly because it was great to see them again.

A "Short" Hike

Starting in Monmouth Rebecca and I had high hopes on hiking out to Symonds Yat and back again. It would only be 4 hours of walking, how hard could that be? We'll, in the sunshine and showers plus the muddy terrain it turned out to be a bit of a mission. Luckily we packed a top tier lunch and just keeping that in our minds gave us so much mental will power. With aching legs we returned to our hut filthy and battered, ready to crash out in our digs and enjoy the peace and quiet. I took a beer outside and read some of my new books, drinking in the countryside in between page turns. You forget just how revitalizing a little break can be.

Hay-On-Wye

 First day of my three day weekend, what better way to spend an extended break than with a trip to Wales. Rebecca and I are bunking in a sheppard's but which is all in about the size of our living room back at home. It's super cosy though and is, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. First on our hitlist was a trip into Hay-On-Wye, a town we haven't visited for a good few years now but remains famous for its high concentration of book shops. I went in with a mental shopping list and emerged having bought everything I ever wanted, including a hardback of Jilly Cooper's Rivals! We did well to scout out that one. I daresay I bought more than Rebecca today, which seldom happens when we go out for books.

Friday's Friday

Toddled down onto set a lot more than usual today, either for signatures or to set up wifi links. Though I'm just the chap that sits in the office, the crew are starting to recognize me. I immediately got some silent street cred after fist-bumping the DOP in front of everyone. Slowly but surely I'm capturing hearts and minds which is what it's all about. Otherwise I was scrambling around trying to get everything done before my three day weekend! Such a treat to be able to take it easy for such an extended time - lord knows I deserve it.

Super 2nd Unit

The sky turned from black to navy blue as I drove towards a Greggs up in the middle of nowhere. Their card machine was busted so I had to nip out, get money, then return for my 30 breakfast baguettes. All while getting funny looks from the clientele as I loaded them into a hotbox. The food went down a treat through, fueling the team as we sauntered up a muddy track. Only the morning was grotty, after lunch we were tucked up at the studio and it's mighty green screen. That also gave me the perfect excuse to check in on my office-based team and wish our Travel and Accommodation Coordinator a happy birthday. She was thrilled to bits with the present and her card (as signed by all the team) made her shed some heavy tears. Successful day all in. My unit wrapped early too so I actually got to enjoy an evening with Rebecca and the cat too. And sleep, I sure am looking forward to sleep.

My First Callsheet

I could almost be a professional plate spinner. Though I guess that sums up the job description of anyone in my industry. I made more phonecalls today than I've done across this whole job so far, wrangling powered access vehicles and finding out information from the crew. All with a single goal in mind: making my second unit callsheets bulletproof. A Base Runner I've shared multiple jobs with and I sat down together and built our first ever callsheet. It was a great learning experience and it felt great to put all the pieces in place... Now all we have to do is shoot the damn thing!

Greggs I Guess

 Found out today that you can in fact make pre orders at Greggs. We got another cheeky second unit day coming up and I've been roped in once again to do some heavy lifting. Specifically on the catering side if things which is the element I always find the most stressful. Greggs is a serviceable breakfast but lunch is the kicker, especially as the notice for this one has been so late in the day. I think I have something in the back pocket but that was only after a fair amount of scrambling. Figures that just as I start to feel on top of things I get hit with a new wrinkle that spins me out.

Sunday Traffic

I couldn't believe how clear the roads were on the drive into work today. Then it hit me, it's a Sunday and everyone that wasn't in our crew was enjoying their full weekend. At least we all got a big roast dinner at work plus all the trimmings. I reckon I over indulged in the veggie nut roast as I felt bulbous once I returned to my laptop, I just wantes to lie in the sun like a cat. 

The truly early shifts are becoming a reality now. My alarm is set for 5am ready for a bright and early start. They'll be no cars on the road though, again only because everyone working sensible jobs are still snoozing.

Mega Megaphone

Fir my one day off I vegged out with a side order of errands. I took Louis up to a garden centre and I later ran up into the retail park to get some small bits for work. Finding a megaphone is surprisingly tricky as it turns out. In the past zi cheaper out a little bit and got the Fisher Price kind of one. I splashed out on this job though, I installed 8 C batteries into the thing and ran my finger over the receiver and nearly deafened myself - this one will work a treat on set. 

 Rebecca is out in London so I am mostly home alone for the next 24 hours. I will be working tomorrow though so the time will pass quickly. I'm already dreaming of my real weekend this time next week, one day just isn't enough.

Paddy Power

 After the false start of yesterday, today was the perfect 'uneventfully productive' kind of shoot day. I got through my backlog quicker than expected and the folks in the floor wrapped with time to spare. So much time in fact that I went out to celebrate St Patrick's Day alongside Rebecca and a few mutual friends. I'm feeling on the right side of tipsy right now which is what the holiday is all about.

2nd Unit Shenanigans

Ok, first of all the catering chaps I arranged were the highlight - there I said it. Lunch was ace, everyone felt happy and recharged afterwards and it went incredibly smoothly.

The rest of the day however...

We were shooting a very light motorbike stunt today. On a closed off road a stunt driver overtakes a few others vehicles. Standard driving fare. We rehearsed, rigged and tested everything and all was going well. Roll camera and action motorbike... The bike won't start. Que a bunch of chaps frantically trying to resuscitate this period bike with little success. Someone dashed out to a repair shop, so after being stood down for basically an hour the bike was ready to roll. It roared into life and the whole crew cheered... Then it conked out again. 

The remainder of the day was riddled with similar problems, all of which were out of our hands. As they like to say in my industry 'it is what it is.'

Roll 2nd Unit

My penultimate brain cell has gone towards preparing all the 2nd Unit stuff for our shoot. I keep getting flashbacks to doing these on The Last Bus, nothing went wrong, but it was just a lot. Catering should be all good though and though it seems like we've ticked all the boxes, there's that resident niggle in my brain that tells me otherwise.

Yesterday Me

 More than usual I was a busy bee. We have a hefty 2nd unit day on Thursday which I've been asked to arrange all the catering for. Based on Mark Stopher's recommendation I went with a little company and built a solid rapport with them, today I had to chase down 35 crew members for their food pre orders before 6pm today. Even with constant nudging I only got half of my guys.

I was still technically playing catch up from yesterday in the midst of this and what I honestly could have done without was a drive up to Cardiff and back to drop off some camera gear. It had to be done so I did it willingly, but every minute that ticked by was unspent on doing other things that were slipping through my fingers. The day always ends a-ok though, I'll just be picking up 'yesterday Theo's' jobs. Man, I hate that guy sometimes.

Timesheet Trouble

Not quite sure how but I got roped into the drab world of timesheets. Every member of crew submitted one last week and me and the PM combed through them, converted all of them into PDF's and then alphabetized them. It was a longer process than we had expected by far, which pushed some of my normal work over to the side, luckily I can just about afford that today but I gotta do some crunching to get back in pace. Especially since the amends came flooding in.

Post-Pandemic Bristol Board Games

It has been almost exactly three years since I went out to Bristol's famous board game cafe: Chance & Counters. Covid obviously starved us off (ironically enough, the final game I played there was called Pandemic), so returning today felt like a homecoming. It was only me and Rebecca that went along because we fancied a 'date afternoon' filled with  2 player board games we'd never tried before. Despite me learning all the rules in advance of each game so we could maximize our time slot, Rebecca still beat me at every single game... She'd never played any of them before! I swallowed my pride (and my nachos) and we went back home to enjoy the final hours of our weekend. Easily done when a homemade chicken poke bowl is on the menu and I suddenly discovered a key ingredient that leveled up my Asian cooking game: seaseme oil! Good lord, a few dabs in the broth and in my sriracha mayonnaise took me to another plain, I gotta start using it more often.

Weed Whacker

 My attention shifted towards the garden for the first time this year. All of our grass has seemingly died a death and weeds have taken hold, it was my job to reclaim our tiny patch if nature. Trowel in hand, I got to the roots of dandelions and curious clovers, digging them up and sprinkling grass seed around the place. With any luck we'll have a luscious garden once again. Otherwise the day was spent resting. I sonehow wen from not having any games to play to having too many on my radar, now the winter lull is over the scene is bursting back into life. Shame I'm so time poor these days, still it gives me plenty to do in the evenings and offers something to look forward to.

Coffee and Cigarettes

In between my actual day job I'm making coffee for stars and getting cigarettes for my boss. I didn't really get that Friday feeling, the day ended with a few pats on the back and then the truck was empty. The drive home was a real mission too since the motorway, and by extension the bridge out of Wales was closed. A early evening home with Rebecca turned into another tiptoe into bed. At least it's the weekend.

VIP Coffee Club

I got to demonstrate my coffee prowess to my colleagues once again. We've invented an impromptu coffee club where you get access to high quality beans, but only if you contribute a pack of them to the communal pot. Us VIP's are enjoying some of the finest brews in the industry I'd wager. The first batch of script amends came in for me to tend to. The pipeline is different on every job but this was a good little job to test how it all works. As long as I'm across all the new stuff then I'm at my most useful.

Production Igloo

Laced up my Winter boots because today was a snowy one! The security chap on our gate into base camp built a snowman that waves to everyone as they came in. A cute little way to get everyone in a fun mood. Plus there was a full on omelette station being manned by a very savvy chef, eyebrows were raised big time and that helped take our minds off the cold. There was a point where the snow begun to settle in the car park and we got more than a little worried about getting home. Instead I just sat in the Production igloo and beavered away at my work. Snow is fun for a day or so but then it just gets a little tedious.

WiFi to the Stars

I rubbed elbows with a few the stars today all because I know how to set up wifi routers. I was plugged into my nerve centre once again today coordinating the drop off of an internet dongle, the whole thing went remarkably smoothly and reflected incredibly well on our team. That and the call sheet went out bang on time so I actually got to leave on wrap. I said it yesterday, but if the whole job carries on like this it'll be a dream.

One Down!

 First day of a new shoot are often characterized with learning curves and teething problems. But by most accounts, the day was pretty smooth. I did get a message saying the internet on our truck went down which immediately put me into high alert mode, but we resolved that quickly too... It was kinda nice actually, let's just hope this pace continues for another 169 shooting days. One down!

The Big Shoot Starteth Soon

I had the dream lazy Sunday - video games, coffee and a trip up North Street. All the things I need before the shoot starts tomorrow. This will be the longest shoot I've ever worked so I'm trying to pace myself, it's a marathon, not a sprint after all. First week is a lot of late starts and later finishes, I'll get to make breakfast for Rebecca which will be nice, but I'll miss out on evening hang outs - just as we only have about a half dozen episodes of The West Wing to finish up with too. I just need a bit of time in the morning to triple check my personal inventory and we'll be off the the races. I get to find out whether I actually have a chair on our truck tomorrow, of if I'll be long-term hot desking... Only one way to find out.

Racking up the Austens

 A house guest was crashing in our spare room last night, as thanks they offered to buy Rebecca and me breakfast. Sadly they woke up far too late in the day and had to run off to catch a train, so Rebecca and I just had porridge like normal. shame because I was looking forward to a free cooked breakfast, guess I'll just get one off the catering truck on Monday.

Rebecca declared the other day that we should watch all the good film adaptations of Jane Austen's works. We did Sense and Sensibility last week which I rather enjoyed, what I liked a little less was the 2005 Pride and Prejudice. Slowly I piecing together what makes a good Jane Austen film (and why Sanditon misses the mark). Having a cheery/cheeky sense of humour is helpful but not as important as an ensemble of characters that are all rooting for one another. A close knit group of family and friends that come together to share the good and the bad times. This Pride and Prejudice felt a little busy and didn't capture the warmth people yearn for in these adaptations. We have Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma to go yet!

Happy and Sad

And so, after 12 weeks of prep, it classically ended in a mini scramble ot get everything ready. That's often the way though, my big job was getting the truck in fighting shape, but in between that I was wrestling with lunch orders, all the while trying not to get out main cast sick in account of their severe allergies. I heard no report of nasty convulsions from them after lunch so I think we're all in the clear. Feel a little sad for my office team, I got to know them all so well but I'll be leaving them all to enjoy the truck life. I'm happy and sad at the same time, I just need to stay in touch with my team on this one and lean on them whenever I need to.

Production Fixer

I sat at the throne of the Pret Lunch Nerve Centre once again. Orders came in, I wrote them down to pass onto my teammate, I middle-manned the whole operation. Thank goodness we're all unflappable because what we were up against today would have made a normal person quake in their boots. No balls dropped though and everything went as smoothly as it could. I'm earning a fair amount of brownie points with the crew already, people know my name and know I'm the fixer. I've joked about being a Production Fixer before but perhaps that's a better job title for me... Even better if it came with a pay raise.

Best Backs

Rehearsals took place at our studios today so it was all systems go for our AD team... And me. The unspoken rule is that I deal with all food related matters, and as it was a working day for our cast I liased with my team to get a big old food order in from the one, the only, Pret a Manger. I even had to call ahead to check if the kitchen could rustle up a special order to make it safe for someone who has some dire allergies. I was the nerve centre of this operation, taking the orders and giving them to a member of my team who was poised and ready at the cafe to collect the big order. I always stress about getting food for people because it very quickly can ruin someone's day. When it goes well though it's very rewarding to see all the little pieces come together. 

Our directors chairs made their way back from the printers too. We did the old school Hollywood thing of putting people's roles on each chair's back rest with decent results. I built a good rapport with the printer and he even got this great action shot of me dreaming big.