Time for your close up...

So today is a big day. We are shooting the photos we want to use as publicity for "Clowning Around" to entice investors and also show people the tone and visual nature of the film.

The idea of this came about from an image actress Kiki Kendrick sent me from her website (left). It just seemed like a more visual and interesting way to show the project with the actors as the characters they play, and rather than as I usually do, making the stills and poster an after thought after the film is shot, to use it partly for us to test out costumes and makeup, partly to raise funding and partly for the cast and crew to start working with each other so that there would be more understanding when it came to shooting the film.

The reason its such a big day is that the initial idea for this film was in 2004, the first script I wrote for it was in 2007, the first auditions in 2009 and now we are finally getting something past all the discussion and feels like we will be ready to start the campaign after this.

What we are trying to get out of the shoot are a number of things. Firstly, we want artwork we can use for our poster. Secondly, individual profile shots of the four actors. We then want 3 individual videos to work as teaser/promo material for the campaign, making of videos for makeup and the overall shoot plus some action custard pie shots (you have to with clowns don't you!) to really sell the film. I also have to do a presentation vid for IndieGoGo, so need to get my thoughts right for that as well.

So, a lot to do. The call-sheets have gone out and am in the middle of replying to a flury of "Yes, we got it" texts from cast and crew, our gaffer was secured at approximately 11pm last night and Leilani and Bianca have picked up all remaining props, I just need to remember the props and make-up I have to bring, meet Kirsty at 12.30 to pickup the wigs, head to Sainsburys to get some food for crew and then head to Katerinas to pick up costume and go to the studio for 4pm...

Wish us luck :-)

Studio Space!

Tower Bridge Studios is a beautiful photographic facility in Wapping, not far from Tower Bridge, with five photographic and video studios with a free car park and just outside the London congestion charging zone.

The studios are purpose built with different characteristics such as photographic coves and frosted daylight windows and make up areas. All the studios are furnished with designer lounge furniture, lunch tables, a stocked fridge and tea and coffee facilities and free wi-fi! With a choice of fabulous shooting locations such as St. Katharine's Dock, Tower Bridge and the quiet cobbled streets of Wapping, Tower Bridge Studios is an ideal production base for photography and film shoots.

And they've been kind enough to give us access to a studio space for our Clowning Around photo shoot in a few weeks time, so we can get some great imagery to show the calibre of project we will create with the film. It's so good of them and very supportive to us at this pre-fundraising time of the project when we really don't have any budget for space. It's an incredibly nice gesture and one that we fully appreciate, not only for it's usefulness but because people who don't know us are interested in the project and are prepared to back it with their help.

Walking along the Thames taking in the morning sun and taking a few of my own photos afterwards I was thinking of the famous Tennessee Williams line from Streetcar Named Desire about depending on the kindness of strangers. Which actually can sometimes be a doubly rewarding thing to do.

I'm very much looking forward to our production meeting next week where a lot of the remaining details for the photo shoot costume, make up and colour pallette will be finalised so that departments heads can get the ball rolling on preparations. It's such a nice process seeing the characters take shape. I'm very much looking forward to standing in one of those fab studios and seeing our clowns and their companions come to life.

Taking and Giving

So this week I feel like I've been running to catch up with projects and promises. I've finished some writing of a short script I promised a 72yr old in California who wants to make his first film. I've gone another step on my short film 'Butterflies' to get the voice recording done and to work with the producer on improving the location space for the rest of the shooting we need to do. I've been dropping back borrowed equipment from my previous shoot. I've got a script to write for another project and the film group has had a lot of things taking up my mental resources. Plus I've of course been looking at what needs to be done for Clowning Around and trying to get more organised.

I still feel a little bit of a step behind and buried in emails about Clowning Around. I want to check on this or that bit of information or put the reserch I'm doing in some semblance of order and it's taking me ages to find the email it was in or the doc I typed the search stuff down on. A content management system is very much needed for my own sanity at least.

I looked over the budget last night with fresh eyes to try and give myself an overview of where the money goes and what we need to achieve and where in that I personally feel I can be of most use in securing any of those things.

I've been feeling like I've been writing emails and getting nowhere, so I changed tack a little on the type of wording I've been using to be mildly more direct about what we need, and I fired off some emails to photographic studios to see if I can get us a proper space for taking the stills. It's really important to getting the help we need to make this film, that we can give people a visual idea of the calibre of the project and when asking for help I personally feel (and I know Damien does too) that I want to have something to give to people so that we're not just hustling for cash and help but providing something valuable to the people who support us in return for the help they can give and showing them the kind of people they are getting involved with (because we do hope people will get involved and take interest in the work we're doing and what we share about it. And when I say valuable I'm not talking t-shirts and swag, but something that may benefit their work as much as it does ours as well as something honest and fun to engage people to really collaborate in this work and learn through it along with us. It's a tough call because before we've raised funds we don't have money to hire resources like a photographic studio to show what we want to create.

The slight change of email wording may have helped, or maybe I just caught the right person at the right time with one of the emails (the first I sent as it happens, as the space inspired me to email immediately) but anyway, this morning I had a reply first thing from a fantastic photographic studio who, having looked at what we've been doing, may be able to assist us. I'm going to go down this week have a chat in person and see the space and hopefully they will be able to help us out and we can share the process of the shoot there and how we will use the imagery and why it's so important to us to have great pictures & the benefit that help gives us as filmmakers.

Damien is off in France working horrendous hours in his day/night job, but has sent emails about what we're planning to achieve and pointed out, quite rightly that together we need to start ticking things off the growing list of stuff to be sorted out so I'm looking at what jobs I can do and what I can leave to other producers so we don't double up on work. I truly admire his ability to lay things out clearly. My head is a puddle of mud right now with a lot of plans and random fluff in it, but I'm slowly getting a little more organised and I think I'm learning how to be a better producer. Which is just one of the reasons I chose to get involved with this project in the first place.

Trying to smile. Feeling a bit tired. Elated that someone replied to an email. More anon. *:o)