Block 2, Episode 4, 7pm City Centre
So we start our first evening shoot, on a stunning Friday evening. With the amount to shoot and the
need to get the series into postproduction, we decided the only way to keep up would be to film
smaller scenes over various evenings in July and August.
The weather was great, busy city centre, perfect for what we need to film. A few set ups, wides followed by close ups and we were done – the joy of a non-dialogue scene! If only we could make a silent web series!! Mind, the shoot wasn’t without it's difficult moments – being asked to stop filming and to move on by security of a local shopping mall was amusing! You could tell it had been a quiet day for the security guards, who fancied doing their best Chuck Norris impression. When we explained what we were doing the guards were much more friendly and chatty. We had the rotten luck of being spotted on camera by the arcade’s Powers That Be. We were filming on a public footpath/street, but packed up and moved on. To be honest, we had finished and were about to film what I call the “one for luck” take. But, know your rights – as a non-profit production we can film on public land – which includes footpaths etc. …Generally you have the right to photograph anywhere that is public property, including public roads, footpaths, rights of way… However, I won’t name and shame the shopping mall and we will carry on regardless! End of Scene.
Saturday was a day off for the cast and crew; however myself and Matt were rummaging through
the pound shops of Cardiff for props: the largest water pistols we could find so we could paint them up to look like ray guns for episode 2. While we found plenty of water pistols, they just weren’t big or impressive enough; we were after something Arnold Schwarzenegger would fire in a sci-fi film rather than a Walther PPK. Finally, we found what we were looking for: guns the size of a small child. Having bought the paint and sprays we needed, that evening I was eight-year-old me again, outside in the garden, making several water pistols look like giant badass alien guns. A few quid and we’ve got ourselves some really good looking props.
The next shoot was to be Sunday 28th June. We were all set to film two large scenes from Episode 3, one being the ending, which takes place in a beautiful part of Cardiff. There was much discussion on where to move the scene after finding out that our first choice, Cardiff Bay, was hosting a large triathlon event that Sunday. So we chose a park near the museum, our second location for that day. We were all set to film the museum, as well as the park, which we had recced and organised exactly what we wanted: beautiful summer scenes, very picturesque. Then... It rained all Sunday morning and early afternoon! This was the first time we had to cancel a day’s filming, not something you do on a whim when you A) Have no budget and B) A number of cast to rearrange a second date to film. This choice actually cost us a cast member – without us knowing, this cancellation made it impossible to rearrange with all three cast involved, forcing us to recast one of the roles. Without wanting to jinx things (fingers and anything and everything crossed), hopefully this is the one-and- only blip while we’re filming.
