Bushy Tree and Bushier Beards

Our social calendar is booking up quick now so this was the only weekend Rebecca and I could go out and get our Christmas tree. By all accounts, it's appallingly early - not even December and I'm out buying decorations! We set it all up in the house, wired up the lights, put Xmas music on and hung up all the Doo dads. I will admit, it was a mite difficult to summon much festive cheer this afternoon, especially since I'm still on the bad end of a nasty cold, but the living room does feel cosy and 'Christmas Ready'

In other news, I decided to shave off my beard. A bunch of work colleagues did Movember so I thought I'd loosely join in by growing out my facial fuzz. It was fun while it lasted, by with a sniffly nose and an appetite for soup, it was just getting in the way. Back to smooth cheeks now after a mighty battle to tackle a beard with nothing but a safety razor.

Ciao Cornwall

10 hours sleep. That's all I needed to feel good and healthy enough to tackle our final day in Cornwall. The wind and the rain seemingly followed us everywhere we went and today was no exception, but we got it all in the can in record time - enough time for another dose of my painkillers before hitting the road for a 3 and a half hour drive back. Bleary eyed, but feeling fine, it's so good to finally be back in my own bed with the cat and Rebecca. Now to use the weekend to recover fully.

Asteroid of Phlem

 A tickle in my throat developed into a full of bout of nastiness overnight to the point where I don't actually know how much sleep I got. I was constantly swallowing and agitating whatever infection had taken seat there so I just neverbfelt comfortable enough to sleep. Fast forward to the morning and I coughed up an asteroid of phlem and felt like I was jet-lagged and on death's door. The medic checked me over and we all agreed it would be best to take the day off. But nothing is ever simple as our accomodation kicked us out at 10am and the next place wasn't taking people in til 15:30. Luckily I'm chummy with the Base Runner and they pointed me to a 3-way truck where I could curl up onto a 3/4 length sofa. I feel like I got over the worst of it all but I didn't get much of an opportunity to have a good bit of rest today, so I'm bedding down now and treating myself to double digits of sleep. That'll sort me out for sure.

Strangers to Friends

 After wrapping a day of filming in our little Cornish village it was announced on our crew Whatsapp chat that there would be some goodbye drinks hosted at a nearby pub. What I wasn't expecting was the town mayor to give a speech saying how wonderful the film crew have been over the last week and how we walked in as strangers but left as friends. It is true that we're all going to miss this sleepy town, the pubs and the people were super and tonight we got to raise a glass to them.

Staving Homesickness

As our time in Cornwall draws to a close I decided not to take for granted how easy my commute into work has been most days. We've been wrapping at 4:30 most afternoons and my walk home is 60 seconds. Granted I'm up early doors, but I will never, ever get a better accomodation deal on a gig. In spite of that, I'm ready to be home in Bristol now, so I can enjoy my house, the company of my cat and the companionship of Rebecca. I took as many creature comforts with me as I could but they couldn't quite stave off a few crumbs of homesickness.

Wine and Cheese with the AD's

Another Monday, another callsheet. We were back at it in Cornwall, albeit without the cold and the rain at play today which made a lovely change. In fact, our first shot was almost silhouetted against the sunrise which was a nice treat to see. Talks of a boardgame, cheese and wine night was on the cards at the AD's group house so naturally I made a guest appearance. Twas only a short but sweet evening as it was a school night but it was fun to do a bit more bonding with those guys. Only a few more away days before I'm back in Bristol which I'm gradually feeling increasingly ready for.

Fairy Tale of Cornwall

Thought I'd treat myself to a lil' early morning games session, only to find my housemate and another member of crew totally black-out asleep on my accomodation sofa. In fairness, they cleared off pretty quickly so I got some time to myself but it was still pretty funny. Following that the day was very low-key. Rebecca and I played some Left 4 Dead together despite being nearly 200 miles away from each other which was a real treat. Shortly after my housemate and I got summoned to the pub. What we didn't expect on entry was to come face to face with our number 1 cast member buying beers for all the crew as an Irish fiddle band we're doing incredible covers of up-tempo music. A Guinness was thrust into my hand as Fairy Tale of New York started playing into a PACKED pub who all started wishing each other a merry Christmas. This job man, once you think you've seen it all.

Dashed On the Rocks

After a very, very late one last night I tried to get plenty of sleep in... But storm Bert and my mighty thin net curtains had other plans for me. So I stirred myself awake and slowly figured I should find somewhere for breakfast and coffee. I turned the first corner and bumped into our crew, after that I was on track for a 2 hour lazy brunch at a nearby pub followed by a trip into the nearby shops. Being in the eye of a storm in a costal town, it was hard to resist the urge to head up the coastal path to see the full force of the sea. We found a remote spot off the beaten path to watch the water dash the rocks, hardly seeing anyone else the whole time. That is until we bumped into a member of cast out for a little walk so we got chatting with them for a spell - this last week in our new location has been remarkable in many ways and getting a chance to finally kick back and enjoy where we are had been incredible.

Penguins in Puffer Jackets

 While there was no rain, the cold was still biting today. It tore through our wide shots and was enough to make us huddle together like penguins in puffer jackets all to keep warm. On wrap though, we all piled into nearby pubs, gathering beer blankets to stay warm. It'll be wet and stormy all weekend they say and right now. Getting some sleep for some rest and relaxation sounds mighty good.

Lashing on my Windows

The sound of the lashing rain on my window at 5:30 when my alarm was due really put into perspective exactly how comfy I felt underneath the blanket. Meeting up with crew in that hour before work we all side-eyed each other, 'will the bad weather mean the day will get called off?' is what we're all thinking. Of course, the show must go on and we wisely moved a scene into some shelter to help us cope with the nasty ness. Eventually the weather improved and the day naturally ended, resulting in a crew exodus to the nearby pubs and pizzarias for pints and grub. I got a chance to hang out properly with our AD team after hours and shoot the breeze with them in-between mouthfuls of pizza. I said it a few times now: we got a good little crew on this job.

Callsheet Lottery

The call sheet lottery is a thing where you look at your filming location and judge how far it is away from your home. Often it's a 40 minute drive but recently I've been able to walk to work since it's been in central Bristol - a real win if you'd ask anyone. But today takes the cake. My bed is a 30 second walk away from set, in fact our cottage can be seen in many of the shots we did today. Never again will I be able to boast that and I'm not taking it for granted.

Nor am I abusing my past-life as production in this job to crash a Production dinner out at a very fine restaurant. Wine and fish was consumed as we laughed and I had good chats about the past, and also the future with some old chums.

Quiz Spooner

 More 2nd Unit shenanigans for me, luckily quite a fun one. Turns out, when you have your Block's director present it eliminates a lot of the usual guessing games we have to play. Plus it was just one scene that we had the whole day to shoot so we got a lot of solid coverage, and then just called it a day. I drove down to my next accomodation area, a little Cornish village that the whole crew have basically taken over. In the evening we were basically stumbling over each other as we headed into the only 3 pubs in town. I locked myself into a pub quiz and did shockingly bad at - a disgrace to my parents I am.

Pelted by Rain

At first there was rain. Then there was more rain. And then there was a bit more...

This was entire day, stood outside in the wet as the sideways rain pelted us from all angles. Everyone hit max saturation point at about lunchtime but we kept on smiling. Perhaps the best part was when I got into the minibus at the end of the day and realized I hadn't sat down for 9 hours. The weather is overall looking a bit nasty for the rest of the week, but my optimism tells me we've seen the worst of it. Stay tuned for when I learn I was wrong about that tomorrow.

Cat Vom

Been dreaming of having a nice long Sunday snooze all week, but those hopes were dashed when Rebecca and I were woken up by the sound of a gagging cat. She isn't sick very often so we didn't mind, but at 5am your patience can be stretched somewhat. The cat continued to feel a bit sorry for herself while we met up with Mum, Louis and Rachel for a walk around the Bristol harbor for coffee before showing Mum our favourite hand pulled noodle place which was a hit. I had to pack up the car shortly afterwards because I was due back in Cornwall to pack down my cottage and ready myself for another week of work... The weekends always tick by so quickly.

Totterdown Arts Trail 2024

Mum was visiting in Bristol for our annual trip along the Totterdown Arts Trail. We're talking ceramics, textiles, jewelry and of course, art. While the standard was overall much higher this year across the board, for the first time I didn't find myself buying anything. That's not to say I didn't enjoy seeing the sights and barging into people's front rooms to crib their interior design choices. Always a treat to go around with my family though.

Lord's Prayer

Back on set for one last Friday push. The video team were especially jovial, all hugging at the start of the day and uttering the Lord's prayer - in hindsight that was a good call for them because the afternoon quickly ran off the rails for us. We were all up and down, around and about, getting shots here, there and everywhere while literally all of us were trying to catch up. With a thoroughly cooked brain, I hopped in the car to return home to Bristol. I greeted Rebecca, surprising her with my 2 week beard (she didn't approve) and caught a glimpse of the cat before she dashed outside into the cold. It's good to be home.

Beach Comber

Things started off rather normally, we did a scene that was all indoors with plenty of dialogue - a far cry from our action heavy stuff recently. But then it all went funny once they split off the cameras and we had 3 shooting spots. It all culminated in a footprints in the sand style shot which we didn't have super long to shoot on a rinky-dinkn2nd unit. Plus, we didn't have Art Dept with us so the sand resets fell to me. I turned the charm in and asked a nearby surfboard instructor place if they had any brooms, I then took them and acted as standby props, resetting the beach when we needed it to. All that going above and beyond has seriously tuckered me out though.

iPads Akimbo

For the last couple of days I've been strapped down with a pair of iPads, one on each side of my person. One for for paperwork and one for monitoring, and nine times out of ten my 2nd device was used to substitute a screen for our 3rd camera for my boss. I've only just gotten the hang of shooting on two cameras, but this block has been all about getting triple coverage at any one time which has kept me on my toes.

But I still had enough mental bandwidth to support a games night at our little Cornwall cottage. A few members of my old Production team turned up and I was able to pay back all the good times they've provided with a few board games and laughs. A really successful night overall, though I went perhaps a little overboard with the snacks... More for me I guess!

Shooting Winter Cometh

We were set for clifftop shooting and it was only today that we remembered we were in November. The chills ran through us all as the morning dew seeped through my shoes. It's a sign of things to come as we move deeper into the Winter I suppose. The tiredness is still ever present in my body too, as soon as I'm home from work my whole soul feels exhausted as I start craving sleep. Maybe a few more early nights will help take the edge off.

Green Around the Gills

05:25 - Alarm goes off

06:30 - Eat breakfast (porridge that was by all accounts 'a but waterery'

07:30 - Arrive at set to work

08:35 - Still waiting at the dock because the tide wasn't right for boat filming 

09:20 - At last, set out to sea. (I'm on the slowest boat so it takes a while to rejoin with the others.

10:00 - Arrive on the boat with the other boats. There's no monitors for me and the audio transmitting signal isn't really working.

10:05 - Start feeling nauseous.

10:06 - Relive myself of my breakfast (Goodbye waterery' porridge...)

10:07 - Look up to see the crew on the other boats all staring at the one wretching crew member (that's me!)

10:08 - 'Let's get you back to shore pronto!'

10:55 - The slow boat gets me back... Pronto(?)

11:00 The director, 1st AD and Grip have a good natured jest about how green I turned.

11:01 Died of shame.

11:02 Felt like I'd been initiated into the crew even further, wore sickness with a bit of pride.

Seaside and Sleep

Dragged myself to the nearest supermarket to buy some kind of sustenance after being shunned by the breakfast concierge. It just feels like I spent the whole day hungry and tired, jetlagged after working 6 days then going out clubbing. So I napped, got takeout and stayed in for a good while. I did poke my head out to explore the cliff side our accomodation is based on, had a pleasant walk around the coast which took me back to my Malory Towers days. The sea keeps beckoning to me year after year.

 

Sea and Sweat

Despite sitting on a high-speed boat cruising through the 7:30am mist and spray I actually ended up getting more soggy with my own sweat after heading to the pub... then club with the crew. The Saturday work thankfully came and went - a lil' 2nd unit with me at the Script helm out in the middle of the sea. When I was finished with work though I was so very ready to enjoy what little weekend I had. Rumour was some crew were heading out and next thing I knew I put the wheels in motion for a classic film team night out. What endeared me more was how many of the crew were still offering to buy me drinks just for being an all round good egg. Now that I'm finally earning a little bit more I can start affording to repay those favours and that feels great.

The Last Jacket

At long last, I got to wear out my The Last Bus jacket that was given out as a crew wrap gift. And buddy let me tell ya, I have been sleeping on wearing it because it's damn toasty. Kept me warm all the while I was up on a clifftop and down on a beach today. I daresay I'll wear it out tomorrow as well as I hop onto a Saturday 2nd unit. While I wish I could just enjoy a full weekend, it'll be good experience to get another 2nd unit day under my belt.

Ocean Drilling

Much less boat action today, but that's not to say I didn't hit the high seas. Towards the end of the day I was invited to go on another venture out, but this time I wasn't riding on your Grandad's fishing trawler, I was on some SAS torpedo style thing. I was sat behind the director, drilling through the waves and getting sprayed by salt water whenever we slapped against the sea. The footage was awesome too so all in today was a good 'un. 

After work I drove down to our second accomodation place, a little cottage cluster where most of the crew are staying out at and easily one of the most plush crew rooms I've stayed in. Here's hoping for a fun few days.

Sea Legs

I earned my sea legs in more ways than one today. The reason I was spirited away to set is because we're filming on a boat over the next few days. It turns out, my boss is suspectable to sea sickness so I was asked to step in. I didn't know how I'd be on the ocean in a small tug boat but it turns out I was right as rain. Can't say the same for some of the rest of our crew sadly but there's no shame in being poorly. But being constantly moving up and down, side to side has totally tuckered me out. I'll sleep like a lot, then it'll be back to sea for me.

Fielding Your Questions

Part two of my training course involved giving something back. We headed over to a group of student filmmakers to give a little Ted Talk about our careers and how we got there. I fielded a bunch of questions about being a Script Supervisor which most people (understandably) had a lot of questions about. The enthusiastic ones really got a lot out of us, I got a glimpse at some of the work they're up to and it's leaps and bounds where I was at their age. Children are the future, but they also make you look back and ask 'where has all my passion gone?' Perhaps I should try to rekindle it...

Things I'm never super passionate about is when plans change dramatically. I was due to join the shooting crew in Cornwall on Thursday but a sudden shift meant that I got a phonecall at 14:30 asking if I could packy bags and get down there. So I had to abandon my plans to see the bonfire at Victoria Park and miss out on Rachel's mulled wine and Bake Off night which is a little sad. Hopefully all will be well at work tomorrow, but I'm a little on the back foot.

Affirmations (?)

While the main unit has a travel day up to our next location, I stayed back in Bristol with a couple of the other trainees to do a handful of training courses. Suffice to say, it was a very nice way to ease back into the working week, especially when a complimentary tea table was included. I'll be joining the crew properly on Thursday, and I still have some prep work to do to get my head back into the game, but for now I'll keep it in a low gear before the madness continues properly. 

My courses today were most affirmation lead, asking us to consider our backgrounds, why were got into the industry and what our friends and family think of our jobs. Some decent self-evaluation and psychology basically. As I've gotten older I have to kinda admit that a lot of my passion feels dried up. One exercise asked us to consider why we might find our role spiritually nourishing and, if I was being honest with myself, I couldn't think of an answer. 

That question was also designed to identify any red flags in your career direction...

Sunday Bubble

On my final day off Rebecca and I did a little date afternoon over at Chance Encounters to play some board games that we don't have lying on our shelves. As much as I love hanging out with her at home, it's even better being ourselves while out and about. I'm still mentally preparing myself for being away from home for basically a month. I'm planning what to pack, factoring in how cold it'll be and how much entertainment I should bring to share with others. But at about 16:30 today I sat in the Sunday bubble, that cosy but fragile space that breaches the chasm between weekend and work. I'm still in that bubble now, but the light is starting to piece through its surface. What does November have in store for me?

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

The dawn of my final 48 hours on hiatus made me refocus my time off to-do list, which mostly compromised of games and TV shows I wanted to finish up. We're now very almost done with Rivals (just the last episode to go) plus I clocked in a few additional hours on Alan Wake 2 which I'm admittedly forcing myself through to the end. Despite my obviously busy agenda, Rebecca's movie pick wasn't on my list, but the Lizzie McGuire movie was her choice and in our house, you honour people's nostalgia watches. I never was and never will be the target demographic for Lizzie McGuire but I was low-key charmed by how uncynical and uncomplicated the story was. Plus it was all set in Rome so we got to see all the landmarks that were covered in scaffolding during our visit.

Back 2 Work

The 'Back 2 Work's scaries started to manifest in the pit of my stomach. I generally feel a little on the back foot about the next few weeks because a bunch of information landed a little later than many would have liked. I may have to do a bit of homework to get back up to speed. But before I commit fully to real work I wanted to do a bit more on my next YouTube video. So I set up the old sofa cushion recording booth and got all the voicework in the can. I don't know when I'll be able to dive into a big edit session but it's good to be prepped.