Bye Bye Brabazon

I returned to the studio site where we based Sanditon from. It was a bittersweet reunion, an awful lot of good memories were formed there and they all came flooding back with every step I took. Scenes from our production haunted me, faces returned to the forefront of memory and I half convinced myself that many of the crew were just waiting around the corner somewhere. Instead it was just a vacant old hangar. The sets and promenade build were long gone, only their echoes exist somewhere in space and time. Apparently today will be the last ever day the site is used for filming before it's being converted. I said my goodbyes in silence, driving away knowing it may be the last time I ever stand there.

Underwater Shooting

Drove to London and back to do my first ever underwater filming day. In reality, my day was quite slow paced and easy going which gave me the time to cast my eyes around the studio and admire it's setup. I did forget we were basically filming next to a giant swimming pool so everything was a bit moist and a bit chlorine-y, but the footage we got looked terrific. As my time on this one draws to a close, I realise that I've basically seen the whole show. Every shot, every scene, every location - that makes me a little invaluable, but to me it'll be super interesting to watch back the finished product, to see where the editor places their scapel and stitch together the show. When we go to the underwater bits I will pause and say: that was a pretty cool day.

Post Bday Brekkie

We ran the final few yards of Rebecca's Birthday weekend, the last event was a giant breakfast for everyone who stayed over in Bristol with us. It was a great opportunity to have a little debrief about everything and mull over the highlights. Between mouthfuls of sausage and eggs we laughed about last night, softly nodded our heads while recounting dance moves and spending time with good friends. I already can't believe I've had the last four days off work, it's going to feel alien returning to the rat race. 

Before that though, we had to get in a small gaming session with Mark, Lucy and Dan. I recently picked up big space board game which I was eager to share with someone. The rules teach took a while, and the game itself was longer than The Brutalist, but the thrills and upsets were well work the time sink. Mark very generously lit up his grill for chicken wings and burgers (a final bit of weekend indulgence), perfect fodder for an afternoon of cardboard and card warfare. I'm already excited for the next time I crack open the box.

Rebecca's 30th Party

In spite of having a late one last night, a brisk sleep and a power nap was all I needed before I did it all again tonight. Rebecca's birthday celebrations continued with the main course - the big party. We rented out a nearby venue (and favourite brunch spot of ours) for a full blown shindig. The whole night was basically perfect. Great food, plenty of time for dancing and great company. Several friendship groups collided and mingled together, more importantly everyone had a terrific time. Rebecca made the most of her big party, only now that the dancing has stopped has she realised just how much her legs hurt from dancing. She's a little sad it's all over but no one can argue that she threw an incredible party which rung in her latest decade.

 

 

Michelin Star

Continuing on from Rebecca's birthday weekend, we decided to ring in her new decade in style by dining at a Michelin Star restaurant called Cor. I have never eaten anywhere like it before. I suddenly developed a new appreciation for a scene in The Bear where they begin rebuilding their place - they're not building a restaurant, they're building a church - a venue that places food on a pedestal. Indeed, I have seldom eaten so well. We got the three course lunch menu and it was superb. We also got the tip off that their tiramisu was the bee's knees so we just had to try that too. Their big twist was using fruity pantone instead of sponge fingers, it worked better than I had anticipated.

Once home I made my own tiramisu. A big slab of it, alongside a pile of brownies all ready for Rebecca's party. Moments after licking the spatula clean I was getting ready to go out to enjoy my wrap party (despite the job not quite being over yet.) Gosh what a fun time we all had, plenty of familiar faces popped in, several of which I had a good chat with while queuing for the complimentary booze and food. There was plenty of time for dancing afterwards too which was a joy. So many good people are part of our crew and it was a delight to share the celebration with them. I dare say it was the best wrap party I've been to!

Happy 30th Rebecca

 Gosh. All I did today was eat.

Breakfast was an open top bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon and avocado.

Lunch was an afternoon tea: more sandwiches, scones and a frankly ridiculous amount of cakey bits.

Dinner was a finger buffet with a surprise cake for afters.

Rebecca's Birthday was a day to celebrate excess, in fact her celebration spills out over the next two days as well. While today was the big day itself, it felt like an amuse boushe compared to what's to come. Rebecca's folks came down today so we could all celebrate together, we popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and rung in the big 3-0. I feel like I need to lie down for the next few hours then digest everything before we go again for the fun and games tomorrow, but until then: Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Farewell Rebecca's 20's

Had just about the easiest filming day of my career. Three shots of building establishes... That's it. If the last shot wasn't set at night time we would have been wrapped two hours into our day. Instead we lingered around, had a two hour lunch break and just hung out with eachother for most of the day. Never again will I see a day like this - sometimes this one has been a really weird job.

Back home I wrapped up Rebecca's Birthday present and we opened a bottle of wine to celebrate the last day of her 20's. They slipped by into the expanse of everything, stretching off into infinitely and tomorrow. She's indifferent about the decade ending, but I remember being torn but too exhausted from work to mentally process the whole ordeal. I just hope Rebecca has a good extended birthday weekend, we have lots of fun things planned so no doubt she will.

Farewell Drone Team

I stationed myself back in Oxford with the drone team for what would likely be the final time on this job. Those guys were always a little safe space for me as I tried to find my footing in the script superving world, I could go in with them, do a day and be considered a peer, rather than just an assistant. We'd seem it all together, the lashing rain, cars going up and down stretches of road, people walking across mountain, sunsets and sunrises. They likely did some of their best work with us today, some gorgeous stuff over the city which looked awesome. I'm back in Bristol now though ready for one more quick day tomorrow before I'm off for the rest of the week. Already looking forward to catching up on some sleep properly.

Handover Shenanigans

I'm not on the main unit for most of this week, nor will I be around for Thursday and Friday, so I the duration of my workday (and spare time) was spent doing handover bits. Lots of niggly reference material was accumulated, lots of details were fired out and timings documents were scrutinized, all so I can park my work for a few extra days. The work day itself was quite brief but I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up as I tried to do my normal duties as well. Someone remarked that I looked tired... How does one respond to that really? I just smiled.

Sock Shooting Day 2

 Woke up with my shortlist playing over and over again in my mind. Stirring porridge, shot list, brushing teeth, shot list, getting dressed, shot list. Rebecca stepped behind the camera once again to be my 1st Assistant Camera and we got some good stuff in this morning. She had to dash off to meet a friend halfway through the day so I flew solo for a bit picking up any bits that didn't require too much action. I got some great macro shots of Smarties and Party Rings (my dissertation on food porn is once again showing it's influence), plus I even did some sound recording of those snacks going into bowls which is objectively a great, great noise.

 

The day's filming was latterly a bit rushed because we started loosing the daylight. Worse still, a prop clock I purchased decided to dramatically end it's life by falling from the wall mid-take, leaving behind shattered dreams and glass. Effectively I'm missing a couple of very easy shots before I can complete, but there's ample material to begin the edit process while we grab the rest at a later date. 

 

I'm truly knackered now though, Rebecca and I both independently stated that it doesn't feel like we've had a weekend. Doubly so for me as I did a travel day up to London after dinner tonight. Just hope all the sweat and toil is worthwhile.

Sock Shooting Day 1

I felt incredibly supported by my immediate family throughout the day. Mum and Dad drove down to Bristol to help me prep for my short film, in particular Mum who helped do some arts and crafts to bring my main character (a sock puppet) to life. We all got a broth bowl and noodles at Pho for lunch which gave me the energy I needed to dive into making the damn film. Boy oh boy, did I forget how much filmmaking is a labour of love. When I wasn't troubleshooting with the camera, or fudging the lighting, I was internally stressing about making every shot as good as it could be. Bless Rebecca who got a crash course and a diploma in guerilla filmmaking all in a couple of hours. We shot long into the evening, undergoing the highs and lows of achieving a shot. Whenever I was demoralised and started losing the faith she picked me back up again so we could get that perfect take. 

I'm truly blessed to be around such loving and patient people who are willing to share their time all so I can make a silly sock puppet movie.

Forbidden Knowledge, Part 2(?)

I wrapped up my farewell gift to my boss early this morning, ready to pass it onto them as a way of saying thanks for them taking me under their wing for our third block. She taught me so much about the job over the last few months and I'm so very grateful to have spent some time alongside her and supporting her. The working day itself finished three hours ahead of time so we were all laughing, it gave me a little more prep time on my short film which I'll bre cracking in with tomorrow.

What wasn't on my bingo sheet for this year was another person stepped forward to express an interest in Script Supervising and start shadowing us: one of the stand ins for our main cast members! I was only too happy to continue spreading the love, but it all just came as a pleasant surprise - no doubt we'll see them again by our monitors, learning the tricks of the trade.