Booked Out

This week has been a mixture of a different number of things going on with the film. Myself and Sam have been meeting a number of different people about the heads of department positions. I won't name names but generally all of the meetings have gone well and each different candidate will bring a different energy and focus to the film. Within an hour or so we are trying to picture working with these people and how they will all fit together.

I really like meeting all of the people and talking about the film. It makes it feel more real and alive. Everyone has there own take on the story and how it should be approached but I think it would be fair to say that nearly everyone we have met so far have agreed on the essential ingredients that will make up the film.

Personally when I haven't been working or meeting people I have been focused on trying to define the overall look and feel of the film. I have started the ball in motion on a number of fronts. Firstly I have started the job of breaking down each scene into shots and then trying to use my incredible drawing skills to storyboard that image. I plan to do this for the full film but ideally we want to get an experienced artist on board to produce proper versions of these.

As well as defining what I want for each scene I have also started to think more in detail about the styling of each character within the film. I have the idea of the character in my head but I feel like I need to get some images from the internet, books, etc so that I can translate my thoughts to the other crew members when they come on board.

I found one site really useful which is called The Sartorialist. It is basically a blog run by a photographer who takes pictures of real people that he sees on the street and who he believes has good style. There is a real mixture of people on there but I like it because it feels real and you can get a sense of the peoples characters by what they are wearing.

There isn't any one picture that I believe is ideal for my characters but lots of little parts of the pictures inspire me to find what they would wear. Hopefully the list of images that I have pulled together will enable me to get this across to the crew when they come on board.

I have also got an idea for the opening credits in my head but I will keep that to myself for the moment while it settles!

Myself and Sam have been busy this last week meeting a host of different candidates for the DoP and 1st A.D. roles on Booked Out. I really want to tell you all about each of them but that isn't really fair to those concerned and we still have some more to see so I will keep my excitement in check until we have made a decision.

The one thing that I have really enjoyed is speaking to the different individuals about the project. It really makes it feel alive and real. In some ways I feel like I have been nurturing this baby for the past 9 months and now the whole world is interested in finding out more about it. Ok... maybe the whole world is a slight exaggeration!

I have also been attending an acting course over the last week and a half and will be for the next two and a half weeks. My aim for going along was to try and get a deeper understanding of the acting profession so that I can help the actors find the characters on their own terms.

It has been really good so far. The only thing is that it is 4 nights a week and with me working full time as well means that I feel that I don't have enough time to look into all of the other things that I want to look into. I have taken lots of little notes that are specific to Booked Out but I just need a little time to consolidate my thoughts after attending the full course.

I will write up my experiences and thoughts on how to apply what I have learned to the film after the course finishes.

I feel that I really want to write a blog but that we are on the brink of having something interesting to say rather than being able to say it now.

We are still continuing to meet various people about coming on board the Booked Out ship as crew members but aren't at the stage of being able to confirm anyone just yet. You will be the first to know when we have new people on board.

Sam has been busy updating our investment guide and trying to get his head around the various tax relief schemes available within the UK. We also are dreaming up ways to be able to get others more involved with helping making the film a reality. Again, we are just shy of being able to publish all of this stuff so watch this space #2.

I have been researching actors for the remaining roles within the film and in particular the role of Jacob. Guess this is where a casting director would come in really handy. I have a few favourites that I have always known but need to have a list so we can ensure we get the right man for the job. It's going to be a few weeks before we have any substantial news in this area but we are progressing it and hopefully I will be able to meet some of the actors on my shortlist in order for them to read and audition for the part. Exciting stuff!

Alongside all of this I have still been attending my acting course and have decided that I would like to try and do a scene at the course. Where am I going to find times to read the lines, will I physically vomit all over the stage, etc, etc. Should be interesting one way or the other. The plan for this week coming up is to choose a scene, learn lines and mentally prepare and then the week after will hopefully be my acting debut. There is a raffle type system to get to do a scene though so I need to hope that my name gets pulled out the hat!

First crew member is now on board! We have recruited Jordan Cushing as the films Director of Photography. Jordan is a skilled and experienced DoP and I am really excited to be working with him.

We have been scouring for suitable candidates over the past few weeks and after I met Jordan I knew that we had met the right candidate. It was a hard decision as some of the other candidates were really talented but I just had a feeling that Jordan was the right man for the job. I will try and explain why...

Jordan behind the camera

Sam had previous met up with Jordan and had been raving about him ever since but I had to wait to meet him. So by the time we could both find time to meet I was quite excited and optimistic although I probably go into all meetings like that. We were scheduled to meet for an hour and three hours later we were being ushered out of the cafe as the owner tried to close up.

If I was to pick one reason why I went for Jordan over all others I think it was because he engaged with me on what I want to do. He listened to what I was looking for, thought about it and then tried to get to the core of what I am trying to do. He also suggested I watch Mystery train which I subsequently did and blogged about.

I am really looking forward to creating a beautiful canvas for myself and Jordan to work on and I am sure that he is going to bring a wealth or experience and talent to the film.

I am too excited to type at the moment... so apologies if this diary entry is a gushing of emotion! Just got an email from Sam a few seconds ago to let me know that Sylvia Syms is now attached to play Mrs Nicholls in Booked Out! Woo hoo!

Sylvia

I don't really know what to say. If you could see me now I think it would say it all. Chesire Cat comes to mind! Sylvia is an actress of the highest calibre and has a long and fascinating career. She has worked in Film, Theatre, TV, Radio, Directed... you name it she has done it and in my opinion she is a phenomenally talented actress.

Sylvia recently starred in the Queen alongside Helen Mirren and has appeared in TV on Eastenders and Casualty among a host of other shows. I am really looking forward to what Sylvia can bring to the character of Mrs Nicholls. To be honest it feels slightly scary to be working with such a talented individual but it is also really exhilarating.

I will write more about this once I have calmed down... For now... welcome on board Sylvia, we all can't wait to work with you!

They are all coming thick and fast at the minute. Today we confirmed the involvement of Andrew McEwan as the films 1st Assistant Director. Andrew has a great track record and has amassed a great deal of experience as he has worked his way up to a 1st A.D.

I met Andrew last Sunday and we had a really good chat in the Curzon cinema in Soho. Andrew really knew his stuff and I got a sense that he would be the right person to have standing by my side and ensuring that everything was running like clock work. I believe that the film set should be a professional place but also a place that is exciting and fun and I got the feeling that Andrew was coming from the same direction.

Andrew has previously worked with our DoP Jordan Cushing and I can feel a nice dynamic building with the cast and crew that we have got on board so far. There will be more to come over the next few weeks as the production begins to expand out of my brain and into the universe!

I finished the last of my acting classes this week and want to write up what I have gleamed from being on the course. I attended it from the point of view or being a writer/director so my observations have more of a leaning in that direction. Hope this is useful to any other budding directors out there.

Actors vs Crew

I think a lot of crew probably think that actors are pampered and a lot of actors probably think that the crew don't respect their craft. I think it was quite apparent to me that the two areas are quite unique and need to be treated differently on set to achieve the best results.

Watching people act in scenes and doing some improvisation work at the class it reinforced the fact that to produce a believable acting performance then the actor needs to be fully prepared and able to go to lots of emotional and hard places within themselves.

Compare this to a crew member who has to be in a certain space to be able to produce their best work. I think both are quite different but the ultimate goal as a director is to ensure that both groups of people have the optimal conditions to work at their creative peak.

Fight...

Not really anything to do specifically with acting but more with being able to pursue and realise your goals that you will have to fight and work hard to get there and to be prepared with the knowledge that you will fail lots of times in the way but that way you will learn and the overall result will be worth it.

Personally I tried to tie this to my crusade to make this film and everyday to wake up thinking about it and making it happen. If I stop for one second then it feels like it might not happen. I wrote down in my notepad "Fight like your life depends on it!". I also drew a picture of Totoro from the Studio Ghibli film as I think he embodies this spirit!

Build The Characters

It is crazy to think that an actor will be able to make the character come to life straight away. They have to work out how to get to the character themselves and as a director I need to lead them along the path to get there. I see it as adding more and more layers on top of each other until you have the desired result. I do think there is also a possibility of adding too many layers so that the overall jist of the character is lost in the midst of their complexities.

Environment

This builds on all of the above points really but I am fascinated and intrigued after being on the course to think of how I can create the right environment with the actors in order to allow them to be able to find the characters and to perform as they want to on the film set. My initial thoughts are around how I structure and work with them during rehearsals, how their dressing rooms are on set (if we can afford to have any!), how the crew interacts with them. I have some ideas in this area but want to keep them to myself but will share later once I have been doing them as I want things to be fresh for my actors!