It's remarkable what a bit of preparation can do, as our script and storyboard, both produced back in June, did wonders in helping us get to started on day one of filming. So, (rather amusing) costumes at the ready, a few accent tweaks here and there and it's 'take one' of many! Thanks to the storyboard and script, we knew how to begin and, unlike 'normal' filming, we started at the start! Rather than trying to be clever, we thought best to shoot chronologically, so we knew exactly where we were progress-wise. We're only amatuers at the moment, after all...
Getting into character proved a little tricky (we're only amatuers at the moment, after all...), while talking to the camera and driving the 'Peace Patrol Wagon' was quite enjoyable, with many-an-outtake ready for use in our 'Peace Patrol Bonus Features' video, coming soon (once the editing of the main feature is actually completed). So we had fun with the initial stages, and from what we can tell insofar, it should all merge together as a harmonic entity when the jigsaw is complete! With a few improvisations now and again, the public interfering with our shooting (we don't yet command the respect to get people to piss off, because we're only amat... Ah, you get the idea by now!), the discovery of a creepy but perfect horror movie backdrop in Barry, a (hopefully) amusing car boot (trunk, to the Yanks) scene and some tuna-releasing safe-spot locating; our first day (or few hours) with cameras, microphones and exaggerated accents drew to a close as daylight was of the essence. We swiftly learned a lesson here: 'note to selves: get our arses ready before half bloody 2 tomorrow!'.
And didn't we just! The second and hopefully final day (my frustration at it not being done becoming evident towards the end) didn't feel as fruitful as we would've liked at the time, but on reflection we did quite well. We re-shot the tuna-releasing safe-spot locating scene just in case, successfully avoided 'Speedo Man'*, got Jez an accent, "released the fish", froze our arses off in shorts and sandals on a miserable September afternoon at the sea side, drew a few on-looking spectators in and wore the camera's battery to a 'must... sleep... gaargh!' degree (dramatic death scene, you know what I mean)! Not at all a bad day's work, taking all into consideration.
There's a slight concern, however; we're unsure whether the shots we managed for the releasing scene were all that good, or any good at all. Although we haven't played back the video properly yet, we're unsure whether it looks convincing enough. Considering it's meant to be our 'money shot', I couldn't help but feel despondent that it hadn't panned out as originally hoped. We took various shots though, so providing there are no horror shows, we should have enough to piece together to make it look half decent. With any luck re-shooting won't be a neccessity, and we can finally move on from this project! When it's done, drop us a line and let us know whether it was cringeworthy or not! Public opinion/criticism is key to our future improvement.
As soon as it's up and running on our YouTube channel, you'll be sure to know via Twitter and probably here. For now though, this is a relatively pleased 'Cynical Mike' signing off.
'And I'll see ya next time, turrah!'
*'Speedo Man' (not the guy above) was some bloke who thought it'd be wise to have a swim in the not-exactly-tropical tropical temperatures of the Bristol Channel. He wandered up and down the shoreline, seemingly attempting to find a warm spot, intruding our camera's lens twice, looking grumpy at the sea's apparent lack of heat and buggering off home. Seriously, Speedos, at the end of September, at Barry Island! There's a comedic short film in there somewhere...
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