Bournemouth - Still Kicking

Even with the sun beating down on us, that wouldn't deter us from walking into Bournemouth town center. I heard on the grapevine that the high street was hemorrhaging and my eyes can confirm that. Since the big department stores have pack up there's a feeling that many shop front are just husks that may never be filled. On the flipside, all the good bits are still alive and kicking. The Lower Gardens was well kept and thriving - a chap did a blindfolded hurdle over knives and fire at one point as a bit of midday entertainment, we just happened to be at the right place at the right time. The cafe where Rebecca and I shared our first date together is still going strong too. Basically all the things I care about are alive and kicking so it's still a nice place to visit, even if I didn't end up buying anything beyond a bus ticket back home.

Getting Toasty on the Beach

At least once a year I like to make the effort to go into the ocean, today's trip to the beach ticked that box. We slathered enough sunscreen on ourselves to just about make it through the hottest day of the year so far. I'm praying I don't wake up tomorrow with burns because when I was reading on the sand I lost track of time and felt my skin getting toasty... Time will tell I suppose. 

I'm also enjoying playing video games in the Bournemouth house living room, where some of my most formative gaming experiences took place. I'm digging crashing out on the sofa playing some early 2000's games while Rebecca reads Stephen King and reciting her favourite passages to me. Holidays are two partners for me: the activity time and the recharge time. Two halves of the same coin, both ultimately becoming synonymous in how I remember a holiday.

Taking Stock of the Livestock

I hadn't visited Studland since my GCSE geography trip (in which we compared and contrasted the area to Swanage). It was a grotty day back then but the sun had his hat on for us today as Rebecca and I did a round route to Old Harry Rocks and along the coastal path. The rocks were great, but the real highlight of the jaunt was going through a field brimming with cows. They were so chill with humans that it actually felt a bit surreal to be so up close to them. 

Part two of the day's fun was a self-imposed cooking challenge. Everything we eat for dinner must come from the Korean supermarket, so I made a Frankenstein Pho/broth bowl with pickled radish, kimchi and tofu. Just what the doctor ordered after a massive walk.

Back Down to B Town

 'Leisurely' doesn't quite do justice to describe how late we left it to eat breakfast this morning before hitting the road to Bournemouth. Rebecca and I basically got a free sauna treatment having to sit in her non air-conditioned car in a traffic jam, but we kept smiling until that infamous 'Welcome to Bournemouth' sign waved us in. Since we landed a bit later today we kept it simple with a jaunt up Winton high street to revisit our old stomping grounds. G&T's, Lidl, Coffee #1 and Seoul Plaza were all present and correct - the more things change the more they stay the same. 

It's nice to be back in the house as well. For part of the car ride I was regaling the verbal history of Frederica to Rebecca. The video games me, Louis and Dan would play together, how we rode toboggan-style down the stairs in our sleeping bags and finding new games to play with whatever tat we bought with our pocket money from G&T's. Lot of good memories made under this roof, hopefully this holiday will provide even more.

Kiss The Chef

Despite the late bedtime last night, I dragged myself out of bed to finish packing for my holiday. We did a quick pit stop to Louis' house to drop off a bottle of champagne - a tipple he can enjoy to celebrate the launch of his game next week. Then we hit the road to London, a friend of ours was hosting a Birthday BBQ which I prepared lashings of lemonade for, both the lemon and grapefruit variety. We joked that I'd probably end up in front of the grill doing the cooking... 5 minutes later I might as well been wearing a 'Kiss the Chef' apron because I was cooking for 19. Was a lot of fun though, was great to do something while our hosts could kick back a bit and enjoy their own party. I was smitten by how well the lemonade went down, people couldn't get enough of it.

2 Week Hiatus

Some of us were nearly nodding off by wrap, but we got it all in the can. As soon as they called it there was a mad dash off location as we all high tailed it home. 2 weeks holiday starts now and I am so very ready for the respite.

Pizza and Crumble

 Back on set just as all the end of block nice stuff started pouring in. A pizza truck AND a crumble truck - just a shame I was too full from lunch to partake but the vendor is one of my old favourites so it was great to see a friendly face. I was quietly taken aback by everyone smiling when they saw me to say 'hey, you're back!' It's a little hard to gauge how much of an impact I'm making on set but glad to know I'm liked.

Final day before a brief holiday tomorrow. All of us are raring for time off, just one final hurdle and we're over the line.

Brand New CPU

 The second and final day of my training course was equally good and enjoyable. I got to even better grips with how to break down a script (an always fascinating task) and what to look out for. Coincidentally I did a bit of that on our job just this Monday for my own sake, now I'm thinking of returning to that once a new batch of scripts come in to lend a forensic level of detail to my next pass of it.

I was jazzed to get back to Bristol though, my latest PC upgrade landed in the mail which I was keen to play around with. A new CPU has really propelled my system into a new stratosphere - everything that used to run a little choppy now runs like greased lightning. That's been my little treat to myself - I think I'm worth it.

Back into the Classroom

It hasn't been since I helped shoot Together back in 2017 that I've returned to Uxbridge. The geography of the high street came back to me all the same as I rode the bus into town. This time I was hear for a training course, specifically a Script Supervising one so I could establish a bedrock foundation ofy understanding - all of my training has been on-set so classroom time is useful (I also get a nice qualification I can put on my CV). There was only students in the group so it's been a really intimate learning environment, but everyone else is equally excited about the role so it's a great environment. We learnt all the basics again (always good to see how other people do it too) and did some practical exercises too. I was oddly exhausted once it was all over, maybe it's the heat but I was ready for bed after getting in this evening.

Practical Practice

I took it upon myself to do some prep work for our next block of filming. That's the one main gap in my Script Supervising knowledge so it was practical practice to have a go at breaking all the scripts down. Alongside reading them with a fine toothed comb I made notes on who plays in each scene and made a call on story days and time of days for each given scene. Though lengthy it was a good process that really helped cement the story and things to look out for in my mind. This evening I waved Bristol farewell for a bit to spend the night with Rebecca's parents. I have a two day training course in the city which I'm very much looking forward to. Earlyish start for me tomorrow, but nothing I'm not used to from a day on set.

Spot on Sunday

We weren't hungover by any stretch this morning, but Rebecca and I were certainly cursed by the after effects of a night on the town. Nothing that a big breakfast and a stroll up North Street couldn't solve though. We had a little hit list of stuff to buy which we just about managed to complete, a few friends have birthdays coming up so my rucksack was brimming with goodies. Afterwards we just melted on the sofa, the heat picked up and we ran out of chores so we had plenty of time to take it easy. We played a board game this evening which I actually won for a change, though Rebecca was very bitter about losing - she can't win all the time though! All in all a pretty perfect little weekend for us, busy doing adult, sociable and recharging stuff - ready for the new week now.

Longlegs

What started off as a pretty low-key day turned into a fairly fully stocked Saturday. First up was the grown up stuff. We revisited our carpet guys place to grab a few more sample. We've triangulated much more on what we'd like and with the help of the manager we left with some great swatches. 

In the early evening we went out with a friend to see Longlegs. In famously terrible with horror films, especially ones at the cinema... Doubly so when we are in the 2nd row from the front of the screen. The film did wonders cultivating a constant feeling of dread and imminent horror - I was on the edge of my seat throughout. A late film revelation kinda killed all the suspense for me, but then again it's tough to name a horror piece that remains effective as the information is drip fed to you.

Shortly after we were whisked down to Harbour-feat for a quick drink. Then another, then another, then another. Weow-key ditched the people we were with as Rebecca and I were keen to get some shut eye. Right now I'm a fan of that choice

1 Face, 3 Films

Several of the crew were finishing up on their 6th day today. You can tell because a lot of them get a bit loopy and excitable about the prospect of a weekend. The whole of the floor carried that energy with it, just good vibes all around. I was stationed to assist the covering Script Supervisor and together we muddled through the day just fine. Everyone also got a big kick out of my Friday Quiz - I'm pretty pleased with it so I'll share it here too.

1 Face, 3 Films

Below is a list of three films, you just have to figure out the common actor. Who could they be? 🎭📽️ 

Happy Friday and best of luck!

1.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Back to the Future Part 2

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2.

Julie and Julia

Kramer vs Kramer

Mamma Mia

3.

Stardust

The Deer Hunter

Joker 

4.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 

Much Ado About Nothing 

The Matrix: Reloaded

5.

Fight Club

Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix 

Les Miserables

6.

Drive

Never Let Me Go

Saltburn

7.

Pulp Fiction 

Moonrise Kingdom

The Fifth Element 

8.

Face Off

Adaptation 

Kick Ass

9.

Love Actually 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Saving Mr Banks 

10.

Grand Budapest Hotel

Atonement 

Little Women

Transport Nostalgia

I caught the bus to the studio this morning, something I haven't really done since my early days working on The Last Bus. Despite having a hire car I was petrified of driving it so for the first two weeks I rode the bus in and out of work. Time spent on the bus was used listening to albums inspired by lockdown and watching YouTube videos about speed running. Commuting on public transport is something I get oddly nostalgic about. Something about having that time to yourself as you transition in and out of the working day - a chance to prep your game face or dream big about evening plans while your music acts as the soundtrack of your life. Rebecca's car will be back with me tomorrow, but as I write this I'm on a night bus back home looking forward to laying my head down.

Flying Ant Day

 Flying ants were abound, not that it mattered all that much since we were tucked away inside the studio. I'd effectively been away for a few days off main unit so it was really lovely when everyone came to check in and say hello to me properly. Due to the nature of the day there was a lot of downtime so plenty of chatting took place and I started drafting up this Friday's quiz. I also lost all track of time standing in a dark room with no windows, when I thought it was midday it was 7pm. At least my body clock has re-synched with the main unit now and we're on late, but normal enough days.

Turnaround Day

 On account of my very late (or early) finishing time yesterday, I was given a turnaround day. Basically a paid day off to reset your hours and to protect your sleep cycle. It was a welcome bit of respite after a such a wet and long day, but I didn't fully get as much kip as I needed. I woke up with an empty stomach, the last thing I'd eaten was a small falafel wrap about 14 hours earlier. My blearily eyes were set ablaze as I tapped in 'food' in a desperate kinda of way into Google Maps. A McDonald's was a short walk away from the hotel and was decidedly better than a petrol station sandwich, plus I could get a coffee. The limited menu item was 'The Hat Trick', an optimisticly named triple burger inspired by the Euros. I hadn't gotten much out of the football over the years so I might as well enjoy what I can get. Holy moly it was filthy. Been a long time since I'd consumed that much meat. It set me up though, I went back to the hotel and just napped, chilled out and packed down when it was time to go. I'm back home in Bristol now ready to enjoy the rest of the sleep I so badly need. I'll be over this jet lag soon.

St Swithuns Day

The say if it rains on St Swithuns day it'll rain for the next 40 days. I'm certainly hoping that isn't true because it chucked and chucked it down on us. I wouldn't have minded too much usually but since we did some stuff with a drone the weather grounded us until it all cleared up. And instead the rain got worse! I felt like a right melon putting on my waterproof trousers and wellington boots, but now I think I'm the only crew member with dry feet.

 

So we started a bit on the backfoot but we got back on track. I'm writing this now as we wait for sunrise at 5am-ish so we can shoot that before going back to my hotel for a very, very well earned rest.

Dreaming of Sunrise

Cake, coffee and card games filled the afternoon as we went over to celebrate a friend's birthday. Though I enjoyed the day to the fullest, my mind often wandered over to my work day tomorrow which sports possibly the most savage work hours I've ever seen. I'll be working til 6am so I'm already try to front-load as much sleep as I can get. The day itself should be pretty chill (minus some possible rain), just keeping my eyes open is going to be the hardest part. Gotta dredge up the old sleep mask once again I reckon...

A Family Affair

We got the house ready for our guests for the day: Rebecca's Parents. Fresh from their trip to Spain, they wanted to call on us to check in and to pick up a plant that Rebecca has been taking good care of. A pub lunch was in order so we took a walk up and around the Harbourside to the Cottage Inn for some fish and chips. No one else could quite manage all their food so a lot of the scraps were pushed my way, which was fine by me.

Once our guests left Reb and I wanted to watch a 'no brain required' movie. Netflix are trying to rekindle the mid 2000's rom com vibe recently and A Family Affair can be loosely put into that pigeon hole. The problem with a lot of these recent rom coms is that they're too long, and this one really started to drag in the second half because there was no conflict or tension - it just kinda scuds over the finish line like a dopey, harmless cloud. Bizarrely though the film had a real problem with introducing moments and characters so it was tricky to gauge how invested into a scene you needed to be. It got a handful of chuckles but there was no magnetism between the leads (Zac Effron & Nicole Kidman) which makes it very hard to recommend to anyone. Hopefully we'll get a true noughties rom com one day... But then again maybe they were all terrible, at least some had fun though.

Quiz Whizz

With a slower morning for me abound I set out to bring a bit of cheer to the set today by devising a little Friday Quiz for a few people. A couple others had a stab at some film quizzes so I wanted to throw my hat into the ring with my pub quiz round 'Here's the song written for a film, name that film'. I think it hit a good mix and people kept coming up to me to check their answers. Good Friday vibes.

Speaking of good vibes, I finally got a chance to head back to the local board game night for some very literal fun and games. A solid crowd of 8 turned up for a bevvy of heavy hitting games, it was a roaring success, so glad I got the chance to attend again after being locked away by a series of night shoots. Everyone still remembered my name and there was still a bit left of my favourite rum.

Too Much Haze

I wondered why my throat and nose felt so dry throughout the whole of today. Then I turned my head a little bit and noticed the smoke machine was pumping out haze about half a meter away from me. The whole place smelt like Lazer Quest (minus the sweat thankfully) but there was a point where we called the SFX guy out a bit for being a bit heavy handed on the smoke. Sure it lends texture to a frame but when the crew can't see their way around set then maybe it's a bit much.

Veggie Wednesday

Meat Free Monday is a classic on set sustainability measure. A blanket ban on all meat (except fish) across all meals. A full English veggie breakfast is available and all meal options are packed full of chickpeas and lentils. It's also a wildly unpopular scheme, nothing worse than going into work on Monday and being told you can't eat meat. That's why we've been doing Veggie Wednesday, to take the sting out a bit. That said it still rubs people the wrong way and the absolute worst part about it is having to listen to people belly-ache about it. It continues to blow my mind how people want to be sustainable, but want to do it on their terms. I've said it a few times now but people need to learn to sacrifice something - I know it gets trickier with age but some folk just need to do without some luxury.

Close to Normal

 Back on set and back in the studio, home sweet home. I ate my lunch at my old desk during prep and admired my handiwork of some well taped firelanes in our soundstage. The greatest perk though is being able to get back home in good time to enjoy a chunk of my evening like a normal person working a normal job. There's only a week to enjoy these creature comforts afforded by normal working hours, guess I gotta lavish in it while I can.

Rest and Reconciliation

My day off sick allowed me to finally catch up on reconciling my petty cash receipts. Turns out I spent a bit more on my personal card than I realized to keep the Production Office kitchen afloat. Every penny was accounted for with paperwork and the accounts team all like me so it's all coming back to me soon. Meanwhile I did my best to relax and recouperate today in spite of me being consistently nosey on the set updates Whatsapp group. I kept myself more or less in the loop so I can go in tomorrow in good stead. Weird to think I'll only be doing a four day week as a result but I'll take the perks when they come, especially if they block my nose and ears for the privilege.

Bout of Illness

 Sorry there wasn't a post here yesterday, last night I was hit with a sudden and quite shocking bout of fever. Despite Rebecca telling me I was almost too hot to touch, I felt like I was in an ice bath. My teeth wouldn't stop chattering and my vision started going a bit hazy. Glad to say I'm over the worst of it all now though - I just have a head full of cold so Rebecca has been taking good care of me. I booked tomorrow off work too so I wouldn't potentially infect anyone else on set - I'd hate to pass something that nasty onto anyone else.

So my today was a duvet day, but yesterday was a lot of fun. Rebecca and I went out on a very spur of the moment pub crawl with some friends we haven't seen since Christmas. Strictly half pints were consumed as we walked up and around to all pubs that were brand new to me. We somehow ended up in a sports bar last at the EXACT moment the football went to penalties. The patrons roared when England took the win and it was hilarious to land in it all then. It was a great day til I got the chills...

Red Friday

The rain couldn't get down everyone's Friday feeling, multiplied by a more than favourable election result. Electricity was in the air and everyone was buzzing to get the day under our belts in good time. The universe always has other plans though because an unlucky technical failure forced us to reorder our day. It wasn't a huge biggie but we were a little on the backfoot as a result. 

I rushed back home tonight to join another session of Baldur's with the Boys with Mark and Dan. Lord knows we've been busy recently but it was great to finally carve some time out to hang out online again. We're approaching the latter portion of the adventure now when every quest ends with a big fight and bigger loot - we spent a while taking down a big zombie dragon together and it was hype as anything - positively beaming afterwards and an excellent start to the weekend.

Voting Eve 2024

With our work schedule stabilized for the next week a couple of co workers of mine proposed a little post-work drinks, who was I to say no. I clearly hadn't eaten quite enough though because my first and only pint went straight to my head. Emboldened, I very quickly walked to my neck of the woods to go and cast my vote. The drink didn't impair my judgement on who I voted for, I queued up with a handful of people, put an X in the box, and walked home. Tomorrow will hopefully be the dawn of something new, egged on somewhat by my small efforts.

Harbour Rats

I always wanted to do some filming along the harbour side and today that dream came true... But at a cost. The weather was pretty bad for most of the morning, leaving most of the crew soggy and shiney like river rats. We threw up tentage and did our best to keep dry, then when the rain died down the wind picked up... and almost picked me up as I clung onto a marque for dear life. The shoddy forecast gave everyone a common enemy though, we were galvanized by a very British July day so spirits were high while hair got damp. We're also aligned again with some normal working hours - I got a few hours of evening to enjoy for a change which was incredibly welcome.

Let's Go X Slate

The crew muscled their way through an odd day by all accounts. We were here, there and everywhere shooting bits, leaving scenes and coming back to scenes. In the midst of the frenzy I got a chance to supervise my first X Slate of the job which is a responsibility I always take with pride. 90% of the time those are just shots of leaves in the wind or cars going past, but it still needs the eyeballs of someone in continuity to monitor. Tomorrow should be a more concrete day though so I'm looking forward to that.

A Morning on the Truck

 The nature of the morning meant I actually had nothing immediate to do so I got to sit in my old favourite place: the Production Truck. I did some practice prep work - doing a hypothetical script breakdown which was actually a great exercise. Once I got back to set the day itself was pretty easy breezy and the crew had a chance to have a little laugh together....

 That's because we all knew tomorrow was going to be a bit of a rough trip up to our location. Wr can commiserate though.