This Is Fine *sips tea* (Blog 6)

 

I refuse to give up. But things have been thrown into disarray a bit. The biggest update of all is that Lindsay has had to pull out of the film altogether. She did offer a list of reasons as to why she wouldn’t find it manageable, all of which are totally fair and understandable and I do not begrudge her for it, and she did also offer a few ways to work around her own circumstances to try and still lend some assistance, but they weren’t feasible to either our schedules or her personal and working routines. So, I’m now a little under a week away from the original shoot date and have no cinematographer. Finding a replacement is going to be difficult, let alone finding a replacement of the same calibre as Lindsay.

I was hoping to meet with Lindsay a couple weeks ago to go over the shoot and the storyboard, and discuss shooting possibilities, but this kept getting delayed due to her unavailability. This will be a meeting I will need to have immediately with whoever takes up the role now, as I feel it will be of paramount importance in shaping or reshaping the shot list and shooting schedules. Cinematography is an area in film that I’m weaker in, so having this conversation at least week in advance of the shoot will allow me time to figure out the feasibility of what I want.

This happened on Monday. I waited until today, till my meeting with Geraint, to discuss options and think about what would be best. The consensus we reached was that the shoot would obviously need to be delayed, but that it may be best to not commit to a particular week just yet, but aim to fit it in before the end of October. I discussed my options for a replacement with Geraint, and arrived at three possibilities; Ryan Proudlove, who is on my course, Andy Pritchard, who shot Ryan’s dissertation film, and Sam Jones, who was on Ryan’s shoot and who I had worked with on another shoot where he served as cinematographer. Discussing these with Geraint, we came to the conclusion that avoiding asking Ryan would be best, since he would be focusing on his own dissertation film. Andy is an employed professional but does do freelance work, which is how Ryan got him for his film, so could be up for it but will likely be busy with his own work. We decided it would be best to ask Sam. His experience would be greatly appreciated on set, and I would be able to provide food, accommodation, and payment for his services, but if he is unavailable, Andy would be a suitable back up. At the start of the pre-production process, Geraint also mentioned another name, Paul Andrew, who lives in Caernarfon who may be interested, as an alternative to Lindsay. If I get nowhere with Sam or Andy, I’ll ask Geraint to contact him in case he is willing and able.

I’ve also spoken with Matt, who’s shooting his film on six days across two weeks from 4^th-18^th, with mine originally taking place in the middle of this, and we’ve discussed the possibility of changing things around so that if I do delay my film, he would bring some of his shoot days forward so our shoots are more distinct, and we can help each other more clearly. But my biggest concern is that I’m growing ever aware of the possibility of a second lockdown, and what this could mean for the shoot if government restrictions change and limit the number of people who meet outside together. If I end up delaying to the end of October and lockdown kicks in then, that would be such bad luck. Currently I’m operating at close to a worst-case scenario, and it feels like it.

Oh yeah and I’m still waiting word back on the pier. And the field. And JP Hall.

Wooooo.

Estimated shoot dates – October 2020