On location #6

Hi readers. This is going to be fairly short as I am absolutely shattered!

One location today using the Producer's house, who broke the golden rule; never have a film crew in your house!

Another day of lots of shots to do, but unlike last week we had less to do in terms of making the place look like more than one house. First actors on set for this day were a Chinese couple with their interpreter, but unlike all our other volunteer actors this couple were an actual carer and person with dementia. This presented challenges not just in terms of getting the right shot while conveying my wishes through the interpreter, but designing the takes and length of setups around their personal needs, and being sensitive to their situation.

We did well as a team and everything went just as planned, and they were absolutely terrific in helping us get everything we needed. Our final shot with them was at a bus stop, where we had to time the shot around the timetable of the bus service, then they were to get on, and the bus would pull away. My concern was they'd get on and we'd never see them again! But it was all fine and we picked them up again at the next stop.

The rest of our day was split between a kitchen setup, living room scenes, garden sequences and one scene at a local hairdresser.

Lunch was a comedic affair. We all piled across to a small cafe opposite the location, where I think we doubled the owners takings for this week! I've been in situations such as this, working behind a counter, when a sudden rush comes in, but at least I had a loyal team of staff and a good efficient manager.

This poor guy had ten eager members of a film crew on a short lunch break, all wanting toasted paninis, and he was on his own! He did superbly well, but what made me smile was he jogged everywhere in order to get it all done! And with all that going on he superbly managed to remember exactly who had ordered what. I was very impressed.

The afternoon was hard, with some scenes containing five actors at points. We were also aware we were using someone's actual house, and they were very patient with us all day.

In the end we didn't take the final shot until 9pm! The usual suspects get the usual thanks, but a special thanks go to a couple of university film students, who came on board for the day to help us and gain some experience. They learned a lot, I'm sure, and they made our day a lot easier.

So that's the shoot wrapped for this week. Back on set again on Monday in sunny Falkirk.