Another Sausage?

Learnt the hard way that if a supermarket has avocados on sale you should run for the hills. Rebecca was truly excited to have some for breakfast this morning but was dismayed to find out the she could hear the stone of her avocado rattling around inside. Sure enough, it was a plague pit when it was opened up, it was only bought less than 24 hours prior. 

We made up for that food disappointment by hosting a BBQ for Rachel and Louis. Funnily enough we prepared the same menu that we did for Eurovision when they couldn't make it, only difference was the grill didn't go out halfway through cooking so it looked like we really knew what we were doing. I will throw my hands up and say I overate, even before I went for a second helping of summer pudding I felt ready to burst. Guess I'll be sleeping easy tonight ready to hit set again around midday tomorrow.

Carpet, Right?

Saturday's are all about getting up late and tucking into a bowl of porridge. They're also all about doing some light adult stuff. Rebecca and I popped into a local carpet merchant to ask about fittings etc. We left with three swatches that we tried out, firstly aestheticly and secondly we did a 'barefoot' test to check comfort levels. Otherwise I had some free time to catch up on some 'me time', a resource that I was lacking over the night shooting period. My paycheck this week proves that there is a small upshot to the later days though so the sacrifice wasn't entirely in vain.

What's that Beeping?!

Big Friday energy flowed through me as I strolled onto set. Vibes were good overall across the board with the sun poking out and an above average lunch fueling the momentum til they called wrap. Best of all, I get to sleep in my own bed tonight! For the past two weeks I've been parked up in our spare room since my sleep schedule was so different to Rebecca's. Now at long last, I get to dive in.

At least that's what I thought. Next door's burglar alarm has been going off non stop for the past few hours while they 've been away. Unless the thief has succumb to a heart attack, he's probably a phantom, doing more harm to the community who have to listen to a constant beeping. I think it's shut off now as I'm writing this so I will get to sleep in my own bed properly and deeply.

Just One More Night!

It was a very swift morning at home getting ready to punch the clock once again. We actually ended up finishing just before midnight today... Tomorrow will be before sundown!

My biggest hurdle today was tracking down a huge battery that was left on a minibus. It took the whole crew to track it down when it ended up being with the very first person we all asked hours before. I was reunited with it bang on wrap which was painful. Let's do it all again tomorrow.

Night Shooting Novelty

 Not that there ever was any grand novelty to the whole night shooting thing, but the charm of it has started to wear thin. You can see it in the crew as well, everyone is craving to have a shred of their social lives back. At least we're coming out of them now and Rebecca have already laid down a relaxing blueprint for the weekend. I feel like I've barely seen her this week so a chance to spend time together will be very welcome.

Thinking Back on Beans

 Another 4am'r but thankfully the last one for a while - it's only til 3am tomorrow so that's a treat.

It strikes me as I write this that this used to be the time I used to get up to open the coffee shop up. A part of me misses that little routine and the few hours in the morning I'd have to myself. Defrosting cakes, checking the deliveries, baking pastries and prepping the espresso machine all ready for the first customer. A simpler time I suppose but one I look back on fondly.

Against the Commuter Grain

 I put my cat's dinner out and walked against the grain of commuters as I headed into work at the ripe old time of 6pm. I did get to spend a bit of time with Rebecca before shooting out though, she's got a nasty cold at the moment so I was helping her through that one cup of Lemsips at a time. I managed to sleep for 12 solid hours last night, I don't think I'll be able to repeat the trick again today but I'll try my best to ignore the dawn's chorus...

I also learnt that there's no sound more depressing on a night shooting than a roosters call at dawn while knowing there's still an hour of the day to go.

Faffing Fete

Mum has spent the past few weeks desperately trying to wrangle a parish fete and she called in the Calvary to come and help set it up. By that I mean, stroll in a bit too late to help put a marque up, shimmy a few chairs, carry on table, wrap up a bit of bunting then drink some tea. Somehow we were still considered amoung some of the more helpful volunteers.

Joking aside though it was nice to help out on something that Mum had clearly put a lot of thought into. We left Newbury shortly after lunch and the niggling weekend blue hit the second we pulled out of the driveway. I'm back to night shooting hours for the rest of this week, gradually returning to some sembelence of normality a bit later on. Here we go...

Summers Long Gone

 I wasn't too weary as it turns out, in good spirits to hang out and hold conversations with my family. Just as the afternoon was drawing to a close we took a walk around my old Scout Hut and Secondary School. It's been a while since I last visited those spots, especially during the Summer months, but being back there today brought back a lot of memories of idle Augusts with Daniel and company. Without sounding like Dandelion Wine, the time felt slower back then. The sunshine and the tall grass was all still there just as I remembered, only difference is that I'm much taller now and time marches at a much louder pace. It was nice to take Rebecca on the walk down memory lane too though, sharing it with someone helps make it real.

All the Day, and All of the Night

 We very literally shot all through the night. We had to wait for the sun to set and I'm about to drive home as the sun pokes over the yonder. I did feel a bit weary going into today, the craft coffee truck and a little Korean sweetie my folks brought back with them after a recent trip saw me through to wrap. Just hope I can get a bit of shut eye before I head back to Newbury tomorrow. Don't want to be too comatosed during my visit.

Shrugging off the Nights

Still trucking through these night shoots. I haven't started flagging yet but I feel like tomorrow's 4am finish on the longest day of the year is going to be a real killer. The thing that really kills me is when I get home and the light of tomorrow is already breaking as the dawn's chorus begins to harmonize - my body clock kicks in then and it's game over. Still, I'm getting through it all and learning plenty in the meantime. Every day is a school day as they say.

Early Wrap = Good Morale

Got some good script supervising wisdom hurled at me this afternoon, luckily I was well rested enough for it to stick in my brain too. Felt more at home with the crew than ever today and as an extra morale bonus we wrapped pretty dang early. Good vibes all round, especially when everyone realized it meant a bit longer in bed.

The Witching Hour

Good news first. My cat killed the intruding moth. All I had to do was remove the carcass from the carpet by virtue of a carrier bag.

Less good news, I slightly failed at the whole sleeping in to counteract the night hours thing. I also misread my call times gently so I could have spent even longer in bed if I wanted. No matter though because I felt surprisingly awake and happy across the day. I was given some good little on set jobs to do and actually had a chair today. 3am finish is still a bit of a killer, no doubt I'm gonna crash out hard as soon as I get home but for now I'm doing ok. 

Plus I have sleep mask now, so I should get some good kip.

Dialling Nocturnal

Setting no alarm on a Monday that I'm working felt sacrilegious. Yet there I was, calmly enjoying my morning, sparing time to cook porridge on a very low flame and even get some video games in. Of course, all good things come to an end. My work day started a little after midday and as a direct result, ended a mite after midnight. We're on night shoots baby and only necking copious amounts of caffeine apparently gets you through. I abstained for today but I reckon after my body clock has switched into full on 'night owl' mode it'll be just what the doctor ordered.

About an hour before I finished Rebecca let me know that the cat had brought in a little present. Namely a giant moth or may bug... I'm walking home now and I'm praying to the father, the son and the holy Spirit that the cat has killed and/or eaten it.

Self-Jet Lagging

Took the concrete road back to Bristol where Rebecca and I unpacked and mentally prepared ourselves for the coming week. I'm transitioning into a lot of night shooting over the next two weeks so we set up the spare bed for whenever I inevitably stumble back after a long day. Expect Blog updates to be a little jet-lagged too in the coming days.

I got the Sunday blues before I had even opened my eyes today though and now that I'm ticking down the hours of my Sunday I almost can't bear the thought of Monday being around the next corner. Because I'm still quite new at my current role I felt a bit of anxiety about heading into each new day. That'll obviously get better as my confidence improves. Back as a Production Assistant I felt calm as a cucumber, but a little nervousness is the price you pay for moving up.

Boxing Day in June

In spite of the multiple glasses of arrival champagne I consumed last night I awoke feeling rosey. So did the rest of us actually so the walk through the rain to our pre-booked brunch was less if a trudge and more of a jaunt. The windows were steamy and condensed as we tucked into hot coffee and cooked breakfasts. If there's a vibe I love more than this then I've yet to experience it. 

Our convoy returned to Twickenham for a sleepy afternoon of literally nothing. We're all running on power saving mode now to recouperate after yesterday's festivities. It almost feels like Boxing Day, sleepwalking through the day, not knowing if you're hungry or full and struggling to get on and off of sofas. I'm looking forward to a bit more normality tomorrow once we're back home in Bristol, as I bid farewell to my 4 day weekend that somehow has gone by quicker than a normal weekend...

Wedding Ready

I ironed my shirt and trousers in front of an audience of Rebecca and her parents in preparation for the wedding we were attending. I also helped cook a slap up breakfast and re-learnt how to do a half Windsor tie knot all so I could look my sharpest. It has honestly been a long while since I'd been invited to a wedding, particularly for the ceremony onwards. Somehow I landed as a mini guest of honour, I was parked next to the head table during the speeches/meal because I was considered 'family'. Honestly I had only me the bride and groom for a total of less than 10 hours but I was truly chuffed to get the full invite privileges.

We witnessed the echan of vows, ate canapes, drank champagne, bundled in for photos, drank more booze, ate a good meal, listened to heart felt speeches and drank more. The night was danced away with the other guests but the tiredness was staved off with an espresso martini. That got me to midnight but now I'm exhausted. There's only so much of a good thing you can enjoy but for the bride and groom, they undoubtedly had the best day of their lives - I was just humbles to be a small part of that.

10 Years

I booked my first ever day off a filming job so Rebecca and I could make the long journey East to Tunbridge Wells. We're in an Air B&B ready to attend her cousin's wedding tomorrow afternoon. I'm low key excited to get suited and booted, it's been a hot minute since my last big function so any opportunity to doll up will be a lot of fun.

In the spirit of celebrating partnership, Rebecca and I raised a bowl of porridge in celebration to our 10th anniversary of us dating. We smiled as we recalled our milestones and holidays together: Interrailing, Scotland, Canada, moving to Bristol, buying a house... It's all been a wild ride and a ton of fun to do with my favourite person.

Scurrying Rats

Against all odds, locations somehow managed to find the pokeyist filming venue to house 60 members of crew. The whole day we were scrapping all over each other, I did my very best to tuck myself out of the busyness with varying success. But I feel better and better day by day of my work and my place in the crew. I felt a bit bad that I would be taking the next couple days off to attend a wedding... Then I remembered where we were shooting over those next few days and immediately felt much better about that decision.

Cosy Video Village

Our video village was a bit cramped as we shared a small space with about a tonne of derelict office furniture. We certainly visit a few odd locations in this line of work, and part of the daily challenge is learning where everything fits in. Set is every evolving and learning where to set up shop is a key part of it all, thankfully I'm already a little savvy to that but you get thrown a few curveballs from time to time.

I am Crew

Had to undergo a small adjustment period as I clocked that I was not Production anymore... I was crew. I at breakfast on the dining bus and rode down with the masses, I rubbed elbows with my colleagues on a very pokey set and we all ducked under cover when it started to rain. I kept my eye on the monitors and my stop watch, clocking everything I could and filled my brain until it reached capacity. It was a good first day, though after standing up for hours and walking to and from work, my body is already in need of a long rest.

Stopwatches in the Bag

With shoot day one knocking on my door I did my bag packing ritual. It looked a little different this time mind because my part to play in this grand adventure is now much different. I subbed out staplers for iPads, coffee grinders for stop watches - I must learn to live off the land rather than off the steady hum of the unit base. I did a bit of homework today too by swotting up on the software and the call sheets. Glad I did too so now I can hit the ground running. 

It'll be a change of pace for me tomorrow but it's a challenge I'm very much looking forward to... Only thing I need to recalibrate to is the early starts... They never get any easier.

Carpet Wisdom

Despite the oddly awful traffic, Rebecca and I made it to Newbury to spend a day with my parents. We took a stroll along the canal and into a Carpet Right to do a little recce on home flooring. My parents passed on the wisdom of their lived experience: get carpeting with flecks of colour (hides the dirt) and don't let babies vomit on carpet (some smells never die). Dad and I also took a bow saw to a few long standing trees to clear out the garden. With bellies full of soup and seafood lasagna we waved goodbye, though we'll be back again in a few weeks time. My parents wished me luck on my days on set - just hope I can do them and myself proud.

I Do it all with a Runny Nose

Despite the stress dreams last night and the fact I was quoffing down Lemsips like they were going off the market, today was pretty good. I've certainly endured final days of prep that have been more crazy and stressful - I could have done it all without a constantly runny nose but we made it work.

In a bittersweet turn, today marked what could potentially be the final time I ever staple together a set of sides. That used to be my thing and it feels alien to pass that mantle onto my successor. It's time though. Time to get out the office and hit the floor, reborn as a scripty assistant.

We Are the Roaches

Still scrambling to get over the prep finish line. The only reason we all left the office is because the space was due for bug fumigation, had we all stayed we'd have been sleeping with the roaches. I'm slowly doing more and more script stuff but occasionally find myself embroiled in the day to day. One more day though and then we're out on set - most of us have office cabin fevor and just want to hit the road, especially me though. Bring in Shoot Day 1!

Filling my Boots

My leaving drinks at the pub was once again put on the back burner, but for good reason. Our to do lists are growing faster than we can complete them because we are fast approaching the first shoot day. I'm continuing to tie up loose ends in Production: buying coffee machines and handing out post. That said, my replacements are really outdoing themselves. The Production truck turned up today, normally a big part of my job involves getting it ready for the shoot but I handed that over to the guys... And they did a better job than me! I've taught them well and couldn't be more proud. Letting go of my old responsibilities has been harder than I thought but it's time for someone else to fill my boots.

Sands of Production

I tendered my handover across most of my time in the office. My two new replacements are great though and I have no doubts about leaving my post in good hands. I still need to pack up my desk properly amidst a handful of other smaller tasks, like a flipped hourglass my production duties wane as my Script Supervisor responsibilities mount. By Friday the sands of production will be depleted and I'll be on the floor with a new family.

Readthrough Rascals

Perhaps I overindulged in pastries over the course of the day. A petite pastry with my hotel breakfast, a croissant horn as our readthrough was kicking off, a cinnamon bun chaser once the readthrough was over and a nightcap pain aux choc this evening. My stomach was not short of laminated butter that's for sure, but neither was my tummy tied up in stress knots because the day went swimmingly well. Again, I'm intensely glad we had yesterday to do a lot of the legwork, we just glided in this morning without breaking a sweat. I even overheard another group hosting their own readthrough at the venue getting a bit jealous about how much more prepared we seemed. Back out of London now though to rejoin the office, officially as the Script Supervisor Assistant! However I apparently don't have much homework to do this week so I reckon I'll get roped into all manner of Production stuff on the sly.

Sunday in Soho

9 hours of sleep is exactly what I needed to put the pep back into my step. I taught Rebecca's Dad how to make scrambled eggs and we all sat down to compliment him to a good breakfast. I couldn't saddle round for long though because today was a working day for me - I was needed to go do some readthrough setup stuff. I got into Central London way before my colleagues which was great because I got a chance to go up and down Tottenham Court Road to visit all the shops I needed to. I bought more glasses, more cafetires and even more table cloths all to spruce up our venue. We left everything in a good place and decided to grab a bite, then a drink, then another drink. Even though we're working we might as well enjoy ourselves a little bit! We chatted about movies, weddings and life in general - surprisingly little chat about shop but that was greatly appreciated.

I'm currently sat in my hotel room charging various iPads as the readthrough draws ever closer. I have little doubt everything will go according to plan yet I always quietly prepare for unforseen circumstances. Fingers crossed everything goes by without a hitch.

Uptown, Upstream

Unbeknownst to me, I'd be spending most of my day on various forms of transportation. I caught the train into London, then headed out of Central to meet up with Rebecca in Twickenham. I dropped my bags off and then immediately headed back into Central to hop onto a boat ride. For Rebecca's Dad's birthday we went upriver along the Thames for a delightful boat tour. I just switched my brain off entirely and watched the world go by, a process that made me only now realize how exhausted I am already from work. I'll be working tomorrow getting bits ready for our read through, while it's annoying not to get the full weekend off, it does alleviate a ton of stress getting in to quash any potential problems at the venue. Just gotta sleep tight tonight and hope I feel peppy.