Production Diary Day 7; July 3rd, Bute Park, Cardiff 2pm
The filming that very nearly never happened (almost). Yesterday, director and associate producer, Craig Handley kindly offered his services as a possessed human, doing his best vicious, snarling, all- round messed up look. During one scene – running down an alleyway – Craig did such a good job that he managed to pull a muscle in his leg, stopping him from walking/driving/generally doing anything. So, that left us without a director and half the kit stuck with Craig in Merthyr.
Thankfully, our cast and crew came to the rescue. Hannah Celyn Griffiths and Linda Bailey were both up for filming, as was Luke Walters with his Blackmagic camera. The weather, for once, was also on our side: near cloudless skies and a sweaty eighteen degrees. So, off we headed to Bute Park, filming a short, but important scene involving Jen and Liam’s mum, Jackie.
Actors are a strange, fascinating bunch. You can get your thesps together, who – and this is if you’re lucky – have barely spoken before, yet the minute you yell “Action!” it’s like you’ve got two mates who have known each other for ages, and say whatever the hell they like. This is precisely what happened with Hannah and Linda, making this scene every bit as funny and lovely as it was meant to be. The downside is that you have Hannah and Linda sharing rude jokes and stories (in no way suitable to go on this website!), making any sense of professionalism a non-starter. Thankfully, there were no children nearby. Utter filth! Luke is a gem, a find, that perfect chips and curry sauce you’ve been searching for down Cardiff’s Chippy Alley (Caroline Street) at three-in- the-morning. You tell him what you want and he does it, usually better than what you thought up in your head. All-in- all, this is going to be a nicely acted, (plus that weather and Luke’s camera), gorgeous-looking scene.