YR2 – WORK EXPERIENCE – ACROSS THE POND PART THREE

The third day got off to a better start than the day before…we didn’t have to rectify any mistakes made by the sound and camera people. I was in a much better mood than the days before, as they only needed me, the stills photographer, to be there a short while. The day’s locations were in a Weston chip shop, so we were going to get fed, and the Blakehay theatre, so we were going to be warm. The day was shaping up well.










We met in the Six Ways Chippy around mid day. it was good filming inside, though it was a bit cramped and i couldn't take many good photos. Though i couldn't complain, the cast and crew were bought a meal of their choice...i went with LARGE cod and chips, it hit the spot. we didn't spend long in there, which was a surprise seeing how the last couple of days had gone. But we only needed a couple of shots of the character ordering some food, then we were off.

The next location was in the Blakehay theatre. It was fun setting everything up inside. i enjoyed wandering around the old theatre and taking snaps. It was great place to film. Someone from the theatre production was helping out with the stage lights. There was a cool little Romeo and Juliet style balcony that was going to be used. Unfortunately, the lightning was just a little too dark for me to take pictures without using the auto flash. As it turned out, i didn't end up taking many pictures whilst filming was going on. As usual, things were taking forever to get up and going. The actors were rehearsing, people were sorting out the lights, the camera man was trying to frame his shots. The biggest hold up was to do with the script. The directors had a problem with the language the characters were using. You could tell the writer wasn't English, and he obviously didn't do his research on how English people speak. The directors liked the kind of language i used, so asked me to take a look at the script. In the end i had to go through most of the English characters lines and change them to how i would say it. At this time, we could sense the tension between the directors and the script writer, they were having a lot of disagreements. unfortunately i couldn't stay too long after i was assigned the new job of script editor, i had a train to catch.


Although i did have some fun working for this production group, i was kind of disapointed in the way each day was treated. I was hoping for a lot more to do, and for a bit more professionality from the crew. I dont think i learnt anything from working on this project. I do know that i dont really have any desire to persue a career in film. I did find working with the Americans more enjoyable than i thought i would. As with all Americans, they were very polite and fun to spend time with. They showed us students with as much repect as they did with the more important members of the crew. The director/producer/actor, Javier, was especially friendly and a great laugh. He's a good lad!