Preparing for Overtime

Had one of those days where I couldn't believe how quickly the time was going. With so much to do ahead of our read through I was crunching pretty hard to get everything ticked off my list. Every time I got into a good flow, something came out the woodwork to stop me dead in my tracks. But we got it all done... Even after waiting for some late scripts to come out ahead of printing, at least I'm getting some overtime for this one.

This weekend is going to be an odd one too - up in London tomorrow, with Rebecca's folks on Saturday, then working Sunday.

Smoothest Meeting

I've done a few Production Meetings in my time, but today's one went wonderfully smooth. Everyone in situ, technology just worked and food was timely and delicious. I thought my day would slow down a touch once the meeting was in full swing - in reality I got hit with a pair of tricky odd ones that I spent the next few hours unpicking. In the midst of it all though I met my new boss, the Script Supervisor. We chatted a bit about what my role would look like and what steps I should do in the run up. Lots to think about but hopefully I'll be ready to hit the ground running by the first shoot day.

Braincell Allocation

It was all hands in deck to prep for the Production Meeting. I was printing name cards and wrangling chairs/tables all to accommodate our vast team. Despite having a bigger space and more seating than my other jobs, I'm still shocked to learn just how tricky it always is to fit in everyone. Between my whole team we managed to make it all work and we're in a good place for tomorrow. Fingers crossed there aren't any huge curveballs coming our way because we have to dedicate our braincells to other areas now.

False Monday

Took me a little while to get back into the swing of a false Monday. My to do list was quite full and it only got longer by the end of the day. On the plus side, the new Production Assistant started who is already impressing the team - they'll be in good hands after I shift department. We're gearing up for our Production meeting now. My world is posh biscuits, table arrangements and name tents. And catering, but I've already got that one locked and loaded so I'm ahead of the game in that respect.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

 With a loosely goosey Bank Holiday Monday on our hands we figured we should treat ourselves to a trip to the movies. I wouldn't call myself a die hard Mad Max fan but they scratch a certain action film itch that no other contemporaries can scratch, and this new one was no exception. About halfway through this one there is a convoy under siege sequence that blew the roof off of anything else I'd ever seen before, it almost felt like blinking would do the on-screen effort a disservice. It's also hard to to consider every creative element a success here, art, costume, stunt and hair design was impeccable - this is a considered world and there wasn't a moment that pulled me away from it. But while it's a technical achievement, after I came out of the film I felt battered and exhausted, as if I'd been in a car crash myself. It's hard to sustain adrenaline for 150 minutes as it turns out. I wouldn't say it was badly paced but it was occasionally relentless, I was craving something quiet time to myself after the film was over because it was so full on. If that's what you're looking for in an action film though (like I normally do) then this is a winner.

Happy Birthday Rachel 2024

I popped round to Louis' home this afternoon to celebrate Rachel's birthday. The bunch of us played a ton of Mario Wonder, it helped that we all had good platforming instincts so we were all on a level playing field. There was also no onus on progressing, we were all there just to have a good time and we had a total hoot with it. The night was rounded off with homemade cake and a trip out to our favourite hand pulled noodle joint which leveled up even more from the last time I was there. My belly is full of pork belly, but that's a good place to be on an idle Sunday on a 3 Day weekend.

Human Traffic

Just me, myself and the cat this Saturday. Rebecca is out in Berlin so I dedicated today to myself - pure R&R after a long work week. A good chunk was spent playing the Paper Mario remake which got me feeling like a kid again... Has it really been 20 years since that game came out? I did step outside for a quick stroll up the hill to my nearest coffee roaster and cafe. I'd never been there before so I wanted to give them a whirl and I'm happy to report it was worth every step to get there. The coffee was also fuel for me as I sat in the park with my laptop. I wanted to do the finishing touches to an article I'd been pecking away at for a month or so, I submitted it today to my collaborator and I'm just waiting for them to give it the green light.

Movies are always a favourite thing of mine to marinate in while Rebecca is away and I squeezed two in today. The Crowd from 1928 is another great example of silent cinema at it's zenith... Just as sound was starting to step into the scene. The thing I'm constantly taken back by when watching movies that are nearly 100 years old is how they still manage to tap into the human experience of today. I always stereotype people pre-WW2 as quaint folk without a shred of self awareness, but this film knew how to twist unemployment, domestic bliss/bedlam and how to treat your in-laws in a way that still resonated. Sprinkle in some dreamy cinematography and misty-eyed close ups and you got a 20's banger.

The film that really caught me off guard was Human Traffic, a 1999 time capsule about weekender who live for the raving, pill popping lifestyle. It hot swaps between filming styles and zips in and out of character realities in a way that still felt fresh and fun. It's all tied together with John Simm's narration that self-depticating but occasionally piercingly human. I felt nostalgic for a time period I only half belong to (I certainly wasn't gurning when I was 5 years old) but I felt drawn to the costumes, set design and topics. I went in expecting a Trainspotting clone, what I got was exactly that with a dash of Koyaanisqatsi plus an electric performance from Danny Dyer. Underrated and underloved.

Pooch Patrol

Rounded off the week with very little running around in the morning, but by the afternoon it was a slightly different story. Kimchi is a staple food for our Line Producer so it always has to be in our office fridge, I know a handful of supermarkets that sell the good stuff and one of them decided to discontinue seemingly as I entered the shop. I had to go further a field as a result which has a small knock on effect with a pickup that got pulled forward. The executives brought their dogs with them this week and have been leaving them with us during the day as an impromptu doggie day care. With everyone traveling back home today, I was asked to bring the dogs over to the execs and take them all to the train station. So my car was loaded with a pair of dogs, perhaps the strangest cargo if the job so far. Once I scooped up the execs we immediately got stuck in traffic, thankfully my local road knowledge overode Google Maps and I was dubbed a hero once I took us on a diversion, we got everyone to the train in time, while I was left with a car full of dog hair.

Prepping for Leaving Prep

Another recce bus sent out to the yonder and today I finally had a moment to catch my breath. I tied up most of my loose ends and turned my attention once more to getting ahead. I remember why I hate this part of prep so much: there's just so much going on back to back. Production Meetings, Read Through, Makeup and camera tests - it all gets tricky to give our full attention to because we're being pulled in so many other directions. Anything I can do to chink away at the mountain of stuff to do in the coming weeks will be invaluable though... Again, it's food related but that'll only be my remit for a handful more days.

Storyboard Chaser

Bid the Recce Bus farewell once again nice and early, little did I know I'd be chasing it down with storyboards that got forgotten about. My calm day of catch-up turned into, once again, a day of catering wrangling. I booked tomorrow's recce breakfast, chased people for their lunch orders tomorrow, started talks about another upcoming event that needs food and arranged a finger buffet for our Production meeting. All the while I was losing my mind over our branded coffee cups which someone decided to maybe change the look of last minute. Unusually for me, I felt myself getting a little riled by it all today, I still grinned through it but deep down I was stressing. Dare I say... Tomorrow will be fairly chill(?)

Bye Kids

Waved the recce bus goodbye first thing this morning. It's like saying goodbye to you kids as the leave for school, their lunch boxes packed with all their homework done. Once you see the back of them you breathe a sigh of relief knowing everything will be quieter with them away. I still had a back to back busy day, but I think I've broken the back of my workload, for now at least. Fingers crossed tomorrow let's me play catch-up as I've been letting a bit of housekeeping slide.

Green Recce

With our tech recces looming, it only felt right to needlessly stress out about every minor detail. It's not just food and coffee that's in my wheelhouse, it's bins now too! There's a big push to make these recces as sustainably minded as possible, I'm wrangling a lot of reusable coffee cups as a result and telling people where to put their waste. I just want to get a passing grade from the powers that be on our efforts to make everything nice, I low key reckon they'll still find fault with something but let's just pray it goes well.

Race Across London (Mark's 30th)

So Yesterday Rebecca and I took the coach up to London to compete in Mark's Birthday spectacular: A Race Across the World event all within London. Rebecca and I made up one of four teams that all met up in a location near Paddington at 11am, from there, there were four taxis awaiting ready to whisk each team to a different corner just outside the M25. The objective... Return to a pub as fast as humanly possible while doing a few light challenges along the way. 

Despite our phones needing to be on Airplane mode for the duration of the challenge, I thought it was going to be a cakewalk... Then our taxi took us into the countryside, and then a few more miles away for good measure. We really were in the middle of nowhere (turned out to be Horton Kirby, which is quite nice this time of year), but at least we got dropped off near a pub. Best ask the locals for directions. I anxiously approached the bar, afraid of being mocked or being told we really were stranded. As I asked where the nearest train station was an old boy halfway through a Guinness rose from his chair - he was put on this Earth to give us these directions. So we cut through a meadow, passed a cricket game and ambled along a main road, before we knew it we were already back on a train to Victoria!

Back in central London the challenges begin. To avoid some time penalties we had to get photos of us eating a food beginning with the first letter of our names. I got tortilla chips while Rebecca splashes out on a red velvet cake. We gobbled them down on a bus, as another challenge was to get photos of us using 4 different modes of transport (we ended up doing train, tube, bus and a Boris Bike... kinda). The bus took us towards Buckingham Palace where we figured we could fulfill our final task: best photo with a London Landmark. The palace was too far way to justify, but Wellington Arch, plus some tourist happy enough to take our photo did the job.

The cheesiness made it a winner. After that we hightailed it to the finish line. All the while Rebecca and I was self assured of our win. Our trip was lean, not an ounce of dilly dallying was permitted. So imagine how crestfallen we were to discover we'd come 3rd! The Birthday boy himself had done EVERYTHING before we had even landed back into Central London. We were well and truly beaten, but we nursed our pride back to with pints, pizza, pool and cocktails long into the night, each of us regaling our races across London. Mark did a spot of lucky hitch-hiking, his Mum's team caught a peddalo and Dan's taxi dropped him off a 10 minute walk away from his home near Croydon. 

I slept the whole way back home on the couch, totally pooped from all the racing around. But we celebrated Mark's big day in style. Every single tourist and taxi driver was envious of our game 'That sounds like such amazing fun' they each said - and it sure was.

Write Up Incoming

With an early start and a late finish for me today I'm totally shattered. I wanted to do a little write up of the shenanigans we got up to on Mark's Birthday, but in order to do it justice I need to not be craving my pillow. Stay tuned for tomorrow... Which is already technically today now but you know what I mean.

Friday Time Compression

 I wore my new running shoes into the office today, the universe must have noticed because I was put to work today! We all got called into a meeting to plan out the recce order of business - for me that mostly came down to the running of snacks and sustainability. This resulted in a few more curveballs than any of us were ready for on a Friday morning, luckily we are a super team capable of cooking up a plan and executing it swiftly. It was a lot of work though, it felt like we compressed about a weeks worth of work in half a day. I didn't even have the mental bandwidth to go out board gaming when I got home... An early night on a Friday!

The Phone that Didn't Ring

Literally as I sat down to write this I remembered I forgot to call back someone when I said I would. Hope I haven't dropped any more balls like that...

We've officially moved out of getting spaces ready work into doing stuff for the shoot work, a gear shift that made me realize why I hate prep. I basically hocked furniture and bought bananas for 7 weeks, that ain't why any of us are in the business, it's all about the crunch on set, quick problem solving and being out in location. I'm counting down the days til we get there now. In the meantime, I'll continue writing emails to get our logo printed onto some cups.

Tetris Fiend

Collectively, the whole office is starting to feel a little bit burnt out. Everyone is still in high spirits and cracking jokes but the slowdown is noticeable. As a direct result, everyone is becoming all the more appreciative of small favours and gestures (this is my world). We're all relying on each other to crunch out through the run up to the shoot, we'll get there, even if it's kicking and screaming.

A few days back I wrote about how I used to be in awe of Daniel's Tetris playing skills. Well that continues to be my reality because we played some competitive games this evening and he smoked me at Tetris. I thought I put up a good fight to start with, but it turned out he just needed to reconfigure his control scheme - immediately after I tasted his dust. I don't know if I'll ever get marginally better at the classic game, but it would be fun to give him a run for his money.

Hollow Hourglass

A horrible thought crossed my brain around midday today. Our Tech Recce's are a full week ahead of what I expected them to be. This means breakfasts have to be organized alongside snacks and lunches - I'll have to put my catering hat firmly on for one more rodeo. There was still technically plenty of time to do all this and I know the ropes but I oddly found myself feeling slightly panicked by the situation. The sensation of grains dwindling in the hourglass or the sun slipping over the horizon. I'll have to ratchet up my day and keep smiling all the while. That said, I'm still hitting all my marks and impressing the right people. Just keep swimming I suppose.

Gas Leak

Back to back busyness all morning. Costume van bookings, rail pick ups, printer paper problems, overflowing water coolers. My momentum was only halted when someone announced they could smell a gas leak which prompted a full office evacuation. We were let back in shortly after, I also remembered that I could delegate a bit now since the other Production Assistant has started. It's like there's two of me!

Tetris Effect

The remnants of yesterday's good time still lingered in our kitchen. I made breakfast around the mess while slowly working up the bandwidth to deal with it all. Between Rebecca and I we got the house back into tip top shape before heading out to enjoy the sunshine before it slopes away for a bit. I bumped into not one, but two old colleagues from Coffee#1 which was a sincere treat. One of them was running a market stand on behalf of a friend so it was a perfect excuse to buy some homemade tiffin which went down well alongside and iced coffee.

I picked up a remarkable version of Tetris this weekend which I just about completed on the 'Normal' difficulty level. Tetris Effect pairs every action to the music while presenting some really turn of the millennium aesthetics, all the while preaching a message about how we're all connected. It's immaculate stuff. I was never that good at Tetris, I left that one to good old Daniel who can trounce some of the most seasoned players. Maybe, just maybe I get it now? Makes me want to play more of it to hone my skills. I could be like that guy at parties who can solve a Rubex Cube super quick.

Eurovision 2024

With the plan committed to paper, Rebecca and I set out to get the house (and the pantry) ready for our Eurovision party. I hit the shops and the butchers for some beef and sausages because we had our first BBQ of the year this evening. I low-key forgot some of the biggest tips on how to use a kettle BBQ and as a result, we had a very minor false start which was quickly rectified. Burger, mushrooms, hallomi and beer boiled sausages piled our plates, while leaving leftovers for tomorrow. If anything I think we all are a bit too much because energy levels slumped immediately when we all sat down for Eurovision - but we made it through! A really solid show overall, we all saw the winner from a mile away but several of the other acts were legitimately decent, nor was there any act that could be branded as woefully poor. High on good food and good vibes right now, and the best part is I have all of tomorrow to feel smug knowing we already weekended well.

Watermelon

 The heat was merciless on our production office, but today we came prepared. A colleague arranged an air con unit for our meeting room while I filled the freezer with ice lollies. I also had the bright idea of picking up a watermelon, putting it in the fridge for a little bit, then cutting it up. People lost their minds when they saw it hanging around in the kitchen - whoever thought a piece of fruit would earn me so much clout. 

To celebrate Friday, Rebecca and I grabbed a drink near our house. We had a mission though - armed with pen and paper we planned our whole tomorrow, from chores to food shops. This Eurovision party/BBQ is going to be the best coordinated one in our postcode.

Car Smells

Picked up my Line Producer from a nearby swimming pool before work and conveyed him to the office. All the while he was treated to the smell of my car as fresh bread filled the air. That was later replaced by the smell of a 2nd hand refrigerator, a chunky one at that which only just fit in my boot. Two hours later it was full again if M&S lunches for the hungry masses. Me and my car do a lot of odd jobs together, just a few more weeks and the weirdness will be replaced with a kit bag. 

The office is really heating up in the sudden May Summer. We blasted all the fans on in our meeting room but barely made a dent in the centigrade. Friday treat will be ice lollies, I can feel it in my bones.

Kettle Wizard

So there I was, in ASDA's car park far too early in the morning, scrambling around  trying to find the release lever for my car's fuel cap. No matter, I had bigger fish to fry once I got to work, namely finding yet another fridge for our offices and rearranging furniture for meetings. My tea and coffee skills continue to be over inflated people keep requesting my wizardry over the kettle. I needed more than a bit of coffee to get me through today though because I was feeling so sluggish latterly. That 3 day weekend ruined me, I just crave sofa time like Haribo now. Two more days and I'll be where I want to be.

Job Title: Juggler

As soon as I put my bag down, the morning workload didn't let up. Between new starters, coffee runs, furniture shifting and petty cash reconciliation I was asked to source a juggling instructor for one of our cast members. It's important to note here that in spite of all the random things that were thrown by way, I hit all my marks. The juggling guy I found turned out to be perfect for the job and all the other smaller jobs were met with a lot of appreciation. My list of responsibilities keeps growing with every week, just a little longer until another assistant starts to lighten the load.

Grub and Games

Fought my way through the hoards of people in the supermarket who were shopping in the exact manner to cause me the most inconvenience. I legitimately wondered if it was a full moon tonight because that was the only logical explanation why people were hovering in front of every item in my shopping list. I didn't get too grumpy though because the rest of the day was dedicated to taking a load off. Louis and Rachel popped round in the evening for some grub and games. They briefly mentioned that they played some old Streets of Rage so Rebecca and I put a controller in their hands so they could experience the 4th game that came out only a few years ago. We had a slamming good time in the chaos of four player bedlam but we laughed all the way through. 

I kept forgetting it was Monday today. Nice to know we only have a 4 day week ahead of us, but I'm already mulling over all the little jobs I need to do tomorrow.

Richmond Pancakes

Totally lost track of time without an alarm to regiment my sleep time. Rebecca was already dressed with a belly full of breakfast and coffee before I had even opened my eyes, and honestly, I could have slept even longer. But there was friends to meet and brunch to consume! A bus ride to Richmond took us to Bills to meetup with Matt and Ben for pancakes and my first iced coffee of the year. They can't make it to our Eurovision party next weekend so we caught up with them today instead, exchanging stories about TV we've seen and how our individual filming jobs are shaping up. Time goes so fast when you're having fun though and before I knew it I was in the driver's seat taking Rebecca a d myself back to Bristol, navigating the various motorway closures all the while. Very glad I got the bank holiday off tomorrow as well, I got big plans to catch up on all the nothing I didn't get a chance to do earlier.

Nodding Off Nodding Along

 Taylor Swift accompanied us on our drive to London. For a mega fan, Rebecca was appropriately critical of Taylor's latest album, which we listened to in it's entirety along the motorway. I just wanted to sleep because the cat was being more than. A little cheeky this morning by waking us both up before sun up. I had a nice day in London with Rebecca's parents but every now and then I found myself nodding off. I'm doing it right now!

3 Day ASAP

It feels like everyone kinda forgot it was a three day weekend coming up... Until about midday that is. A sleepy morning turned into a 'gotta get it done ASAP because we lose a day!' afternoon that none of us were mentally prepared for. I had to take my laptop into the kitchen so I could write emails while the kettle was boiling at one point. Still, we got it all done as usual but we were showered with praise as we started packing up. Everyone was in a good mood so I left the office with a renewed sense of peace with the world. I'm gonna sleep so much tonight and decompress all the way down.

Return to NQ64

Business as usual in the office, as per usual I quietly watched in awe as my team swiftly dealt with curveballs and tall orders. I will alway be proud of my time with those guys and sit amidst so much a capable and fun-loving group. At the work social later on this evening everyone begun lamenting me leaving and saying we should have a big thing for me moving on up to Script Supervising. It'll be my 'funeral' since I'll be dead to them shortly but no doubt we'll have a hoot arranging that one. 

Our social night was at NQ64, the gamer bar with arcade machines aplenty. I flexed my guitar hero skills and only just managed to beat our line producer at Mario Kart (clearly I need more practice) but the whole thing was a lot of fun. We spend so long shackeled to our desks it's lovely to see people outside of work just being themselves.

Pancake Flat

My tire pressure light came on and I decided to ignore it. There was a bit of chunking coming from the rear of my vehicle, but my Producer needed a lift and I didn't have time to check it out. Once I pulled back to the office my tire was flat as a pancake. Yikes.

It didn't matter too much though, my afternoon was occupied with a catering meeting where we attempted to reinvent the wheel. There's a big push for sustainability here and we're doing everything we can to accommodate that before we hit a point where crew start getting irritated. All our intentions are pure, now we just have to see if everything works in practice. I worked a little late tonight so I really cherished those few hours tonight with Rebecca and later Mark and Dan playing games, when you have something to look forward to after a long day, that's the best feeling.