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Pre-Production
Crewing
In order to crew up my film and achieve my goal of bringing higher production value to my film, I need people who are working to their strengths. Adam Bastin is a competent director and passionate, he is someone I've worked very well in the past. Knowing I am working to my strengths, I need the director to work to his strengths. Directors work best when they are less stressed can focus on their vision. I can focus on logistics and make the director's wishes happen.
Next, I needed a great reliable cinematographer who is very technical but also listens to what the director wants. I've experienced very selfish camera operators who think they know best and can make a set very sour. I met George Charkviani at screenology, I noticed he was a very keen camera operator. I booked the first year one camera assessment and he was the second, we both passed. Just from talking to him about cinematography, I know he is probably the most advanced camera operator in year one. He's owned and used the Sony A6000 and A6300 for years. George is a great listener and problem solver so he was perfect for the role!
After sharing the project with peers, Jess offered to help with transport, funding and resources. Jess has an old family friend who is the manager at Bedminster British Heart Foundation, this gave us the opportunity to see all the donations in warehouse and get discount.
I'm very in touch with using online production websites such as StarNow, which I have been using since I was 14. So I found Cahootify very comfortable but it seems to lack diversity like StarNow. Which is expected as StarNow is a huge online platform with international attention. In November I listed my makeup opportunity on StarNow, I had a dozen applicants within a week. I decided on Emma Jones because of her experience, examples of work and locality. I did make a mistake however. When production dates were finally decided I didn't contact Emma until after Christmas to confim the dates with her. on source two very experienced makeup artists which were more than happy to offer their brilliant skills.
Preparations Goal
S: Prepare and Organise production.
M: I will find the cast, crew, secure location, source set dressing/props and resolve logistical issues.
A: I will find cast/crew, secure locations, schedule dates, book equipment, source resources, etc.
R: Using Cahootify and StarNow.
T: All preparations will be finished by January 2019.
Casting
In my experience of using Cahootify, I think it is a great place for local aspiring crew and talent. The first person I cast was Mike Harley, he applied for the role of Harold through Cahootify. Brandon had worked with him previously he knew Mike was a very experienced theatrical actor I immediately invited him to a meeting.
Casting Sean we had many applications but most either didn't match the age or were less experienced, Adam Stafford-Smith stood out and he has such a great screen presence. Casting Kim was harder, we only got 3 applications, all but one not local to Bristol, Amina lived in Bristol and she had two years of an acting degree experience, I thought she was very good for the role and invited her to a meeting.
Scheduling
Originally I had hoped to be able to schedule production in December. Unfortunately, Adam is quite a busy person, he had a full-time job, acting commitments and lived in London. Mike was a veteran actor and although he had more spare time, he still had theatre commitments. I tried to find 2 days where all parties involved had the time to shoot. I ended up with Tuesday 5th February and Wednesday 7th February.
Looking back on negotiating dates perhaps, I could have achieved an earlier date in January, but I felt that I should just make it easier on myself as I was in Spain from 27th December to the 6th of January.
I made the call sheets, in early January, because I wanted to know exactly when we could get in the space and set everything up. Fiona finally gave me and exact time of 4 pm and I then scheduled the setup and makeup according ready to be shooting at 5pm/6pm.
Location(s)
The script was not specific about the design of the building which was intended, but it must be appropriate for Harold. I needed an apartment that was opposite a junction and appropriate for our story considerations before picking a location. A recce is a great way to compare candidates against the needs of the production, but I did not make any for my choosing, I would have if my choice didn't quite become so obvious. The most convenient location was my flat. but it didn't tick many boxes. It did have a junction opposite but the road is busy. The aesthetic also was not quite appropriate for an old man.
One day at Screenology I was in room fifteen and thought could it be a possible location? I and Brandon visited the room and we noted, that it was opposite a junction. St Vincents dates back to the 1840s and is quite grand so it was a great place to film. The architecture was not perfect, it was too grand however it would add a lot to the production value and it was very convenient as it was our film school the gear booked would not need to be transported.
I decided to use St Vincent's as our location, room 15 even had two chairs which made matters easier. Having the two matching wingback chairs could suggest to the audience the empty chair was where his wife sat. Room 14 would also be useful as the study which is described in the script.
I emailed Tilly to inquire on how I could use this space, and could I use it at night. Tilly replied explaining that students have used the space out of hours before but there was a charge to have a member of staff supervise and lock up the site. She also the right person to contact about organising a booking would be Fiona.
I emailed Fiona asking to use rooms 14 and 15 out of hours, I also spoke to her in person about the project dates and times. She said that after 5 pm the rooms would definitely be available, but the rooms could be free at an earlier time I just wouldn't know until closer to the date.
Art Resources
There were lots of props and set pieces described in the screenplay which I broke down into a list. The item we secured was the record player, Adam found a 1950s gramophone in Weston-super-Mare which was perfect for the era and it was only £25. We didn't have a budget but we didn't mind funding the project ourselves. Also on the list, I managed to find 4 rings in the design of a wedding ring online which was only £6, it's was great that we had multiple identical rings as the ring falls down a drain. I ordered an old 1990s television from an eBay seller, luckily I didn't have to pay for postage as the seller's daughter attended Bristol University and they were going to visit her in Bristol. I met the seller and she was kind enough to drive me back from our meeting place in ASDA car back. With the TV sourced I found the urn, walking stick and photo frames online too, and ordered those to my flat.
Jess contacted Clair, her close friend who is the manager of the heart foundation in Bedminster, Bristol. She asked if we could have a look round, and we decided on a date. While I was in the furniture store I bought an old television cabinet, but we also got access to the unvalued stock which we could have a discount on. We found a brilliant sun roll top secretary desk that was in keeping with our colour scheme and era. I also noticed an old wind-up clock in the corner of the warehouse which was perfect for our clock we got that too. After purchasing the furniture we left it in the safe hands of Clair for pick up on the filming day.
Me and Adam made a shotlist!