Rain, Plague & Exams: A Production Journal from the COVID-19 Outbreak

The following is my production journal from my university project to produce a short film with a formalised process. We faced many obstacles from last minute actor dropouts to pandemic disease.

Tuesday 18th February 2020 - Meeting

Met at 12:00 in 1966.

We met as a film group to discuss ideas going forward and our roles in the final film. We worked out who would do what as follows:

Sound Operator - Katie Henwood

Producer - Humnah Abdullah

Script Supervisor - Susie Holm

Camera Operator - Arseni Loika

Director/Writer - Anthony Pollard

We agreed that while these are our job titles, we will take on responsibilities outside of our role like co-ordinating lighting or set design. Plus, we as a team will work together on the script and other directing responsibilities, but it is agreed I will be primarily responsible for the writing and directing of the project.

We also went through each of our schedules to find what full days we can commit to shooting and we plan to have ideas to pitch or develop for the story of our film for next week’s meeting.

Tuesday 25th February 2020 - Meeting

Met at 10:00 in 1966.

We met as a film group to decide what we were going to film. The primary focus of our meeting was to agree on a story that we could then develop into a script.

Humnah pitched an idea, so did Arseni and Katie. I pitched a romance story but as soon as I said it, I felt too protective of it and asked that we let it go and not do it. I chose to do that not because anyone was ruining the idea or I didn’t want us to do it, it just felt like an idea I should pursue in my own time outside of the course. And I would rather us do an idea we built together rather than my idea mashed together with other people’s.

Eventually, we stumbled on this idea of a guy lying about knowing sign language. Because of Arseni’s involvement with St. John’s Ambulance, we were aware that we had access to realistic props that could make the film feel more real. We all started to laugh as we talked about this seemingly noble ambulance worker being a petty liar and being caught in a lie on the scene of a medical emergency. We decided this story should be our film.

I offered to write a treatment. Once that would be approved by the group, I can go on to write a script that will be ready by our next meeting on Tuesday.

Tuesday 3rd March 2020 - Meeting

Met at 10:00 in 1966.

I finished the treatment, developed it into the final script and the group liked it. We felt comfortable going forward with production. We did a script breakdown and noted everything needed to complete the film. Humnah had already begun work on equipment bookings so she confirmed some of those things with us. She also began working on location booking.

Katie mentioned a good location near her flat which happens to be near where the rest of us live. We agreed to check it out once the meeting was over.

I booked out one of the Sony a7 cameras we would use for our film shoot but for a recce/rehearsal shoot we planned to do on Saturday 7th. I also booked a few prime lenses out because I wanted to be certain of the ones we would use for each shot to save time. I booked a 24mm, 50mm and 70mm lens.

We also began working on casting the film. Because it’s difficult scheduling with actors who are also full-time students, we agreed to all work together on liaising with different actors for different roles.

Saturday 7th March 2020 – Rehearsal Shoot

Met at 10:00 in 1966.

We met and caught each other up on how casting was going as well as what we planned to do that day. Casting was turbulent for me; I was having trouble finding an actress who was available to play Megan Fisher on both days we had planned to film. Humnah offered to take over that for me thankfully.

Arseni took us to the First Aid locker and showed us some equipment and costume we could use in the film. We talked about ways we could reveal the title of the film as a practical effect within the film. Arseni suggested putting the film’s title as a label on one of the first aid bags. We also decided what costume Megan and Toby would wear, and how they’re distinguished differently through that costume.

We then went to the Junction where we planned to film the bar scenes.

We checked out what plug sockets were available to us; how easy it would be to get equipment there and how much room we would take up. We determined we could feed the cast and crew with food from the Junction and began testing shots.

We experimented with different ways to frame the scenes in the bar and compose them. We experimented and attempted to find which shots were the most engaging/entertaining/relevant to the story. After a quick lunch break, we moved onto our next location near Katie’s flat.

We attempted to figure out the logistics of shooting the exterior scenes of our film.

We realised we’d struggle shooting from one side of the location as it shows houses with parked cars. If anyone from those houses had a problem with us shooting and disrupted our shoot we’d have no real way to rectify the issue and if any of the cars moved in between setting up shots, the continuity of our film would be in jeopardy.

So, we recreated the same blocking but with the camera facing the opposite direction. Which aided our film’s colour scheme of pink and green. Arseni and I discussed throughout the day how we want the shot to look and feel. And when we were working on our exterior location we didn’t know how to shoot it. Once I started shooting these images and showing the crew how the scene played out in my head, everything started to click.

Arseni took over the camera and started deciding the lens we would use, the framing and camera placement for each shot. The rest of us were on hand to help him block where the actors would be. We as a group were also constantly talking about how to set up these shots and how to improve them to make them more engaging.

We also communicated as a group together about the risk of planning an exterior shoot with no budget. Each of us was aware that if it rained, if building work happened to be going on, if anything happened to disturb the exterior shoot we would have to work out a solution. We then arranged back up exterior locations at areas nearby. But we were gambling on it not raining, and fortunately the forecast looked good.

Once we were done figuring out the shots, we went into Katie’s flat and worked on the paperwork.

Katie storyboarded the final one-shot scene at the end of the film. And I storyboarded the rest. Arseni drafted the floor plans and did some experimental edits with the match cut tests we filmed earlier. Susie prepared the shot list, Katie detailed which shots occurred at what point in the script and Humnah worked on the strip board. I tried to storyboard at pace because Susie and Katie relied on my storyboards. At a certain point, our workflow was as follows:

I would finish one page of a storyboard (four shots) and hand the storyboard to Susie.

Susie would detail the shots onto the shot list and hand the storyboard to Katie. Katie would detail the shots on the script and ensure we didn’t miss anything.

And whilst I circulated storyboards, Humnah and Arseni would occasionally check with me on the stripboards and the floor plans.

I would like to note that this was a long day that ran from about 10:00 to 19:30.

We got a lot of work done on this day and it was primarily because everyone did such great work as and when it was asked of them. At the end of the day, I was thankful to have the people I do in my film group.

Thursday 12th March 2020 – First Day of Shooting

Call time was at 09:00.

Before I get into how the day went, a few days before shooting, one of our lead actors playing Linda told us she was unavailable to shoot Thursday. So, Katie offered to step in and learnt the lines and sign language almost overnight because she’s brilliant. And Susie offered to take over sound operation because she is also brilliant. Humnah then took over Script Supervisor responsibilities because like Susie and Katie, she is brilliant.

Another thing that occurred a few days before the shoot, was we were unsure which picture profile to shoot in. We used PP8 for our rehearsal shoot, but the image was so washed out and none of us were confident colour graders. So, I did test shots with each picture profile option. We chose PP3 in the end.

On Thursday 12th March, we met at our scheduled location for the day of shooting and there was major construction work happening next door which made it impossible to record sound. So, we moved our equipment to our back up location which was a local park nearby. We arrived, scouted the best place to film in the park and then it began to rain. While I was considering waiting out the rain, the rain became fast falling hail.

We took all our equipment to Arseni and Susie’s flat nearby and told our actors to meet us there (their call time was 10:00) while we figured out a solution to our problems.

At this point, I was sat on a sofa looking at the script carefully trying to figure out how to shoot everything indoors and how to adapt the story for this without making a lesser film. And everyone was kind of staring at me, occasionally suggesting an idea of how to handle this. I froze for a good minute there as I couldn’t think at all and I just stared at the script with a cloudy mind.

I had a feeling that if everything went well in preparation that meant something had to go wrong on the day and as director of the project, it would be my responsibility to handle it to the best of my ability before it’d be anyone else’s. And in that minute where I froze, I thought about all of that and decided I wasn’t hurt, injured or dead – so it isn’t a bad day at all. Just a problem to solve.

I changed two lines of the script to say Linda knew the unconscious man as a Jehovah’s Witness and we moved the location to mine and Humnah’s flat which was nearby. We chose to shoot there over Arseni and Susie’s because our lounge was bigger and had less flatmates to be considerate of.

We moved our entire operation there and set up. Actors, lights, camera, sound and crew. We probably spent an hour designing our lighting set up for a scene that was meant to be shot in the light of the sun. At this point, I was trying not to lament the time we lost and vowing to myself that I would never write a scene in an exterior location ever again.

Fortunately, we managed to set up and begin shooting. When we completed our rehearsal shoot, we were planning on shooting chronologically to help the actors know their place in the scene but because of this last-minute change we couldn’t do that. So, I called for shots that were the easiest to do in the least amount of time, shots that required the camera and lights to move very little if at all.

Which meant we didn’t shoot in chronological order and this was my first real experience attempting that and it was terrifying because I had no time for coverage or pick-ups and I was deeply nervous that in the edit we’d be missing a shot. But I am of the opinion if you’re directing on set, you can’t show real anxiety or nervousness or it bleeds into your crew, your actors and your film. So, I kept quiet and trusted my storyboard, but it felt like a leap of faith.

We shot as much as we could and I’m proud of what we did shoot in the time we did. I am fortunate to have the cast and crew that I do. It wouldn’t have been possible without them.

Saturday 14th March 2020 – Second Day of Shooting (CANCELLED)

Met at 12:00 at mine and Humnah’s flat.

Before I get into how this day went, I should cover what happened before. So, after our first day of shooting, I was working with the film group to reschedule the day of shooting for both locations to film what we couldn’t on Thursday. Which was never in our plan and would make our day longer, faster paced and tougher, but it was possible.

We were working on this change when an e-mail came from the university on Friday about an end to face-to-face teaching at the university due to the coronavirus pandemic. Then another e-mail came from the Theatre department requesting an end to all group work in and out of class time. Then an e-mail came from the Film department stating we were not timetabled to come into university, but group work may continue.

My group and I were unsure about whether to continue with the film shoot based off these e-mails. I have always tried to prioritise the wellbeing of the people I work with over the project I’m making because I have worked with directors who didn’t. And so, I wanted to cancel the shoot. But I wanted to know our grades wouldn’t be affected by this choice.

I liaised with our module tutor Niki, and I’m extremely thankful she kept me in the loop and communicated with my film group late into Friday night. But it got to midnight and I was aware people were expecting to film in 10 hours and I felt a stronger responsibility to cancel the shoot, so I did.

The actors were told to stay home, and our film group agreed we’d still meet (at a later time) and see if we can devise a ‘low stakes’ film considering coronavirus conditions. We were waiting for the Film department to get back to us because we were unsure if our assessment would change like Theatre assessments did or remain the same. And one of our actors kindly offered to help us if we did shoot a back-up film.

What’s a ‘low stakes’ film? It was a going to be a film using all the equipment we had booked out anyway, with one actor in one (interior) location in one take for a five-minute story. We felt confident enough pursuing a one take film as Niki told us after seeing one of seminar task films, The Ghost Detector, which was shot in one take, that we could attempt such a thing for our final film.

We talked for a few hours about what to do with Mixed Signals in the future, about coronavirus, if we should make a back-up film, then we talked about ideas for what that film could be. I jotted down a couple of five beat stories and picked my favourite of them. I then pitched it to my group, moving around my flat, describing the camera moves to my group as I went.

I remember after I was done reading the beats off my notebook and finishing the pitch, I slammed the book shut and said “there! A five beat, five-minute short film in one location with one actor in one take.”

The film idea was titled ‘Dead Flowers’ and it was about a guy coming home drunk in a suit, stumbling around his flat. He gets a call from a friend who tells him off for interrupting a wedding. The guy gets a knock at his door, he answers it and the bride is at his door. I would like to note that while the story sounds simple, I felt it would be shot in a compelling artistically ambiguous way.

The group liked it, then developed it. Katie developed the pitch and pitched an improved version of the film back to me. We asked her to take us around the flat and pitch the story and the blocking. Arseni filmed it on his phone for reference and it looked good.

We agreed to make this our back-up film and I offered to write a script that weekend ready for shooting on Monday or Tuesday.

Monday 23rd March 2020

I finished editing a rough cut of our initial film Mixed Signals on this day.

I finished the script for Dead Flowers, and the group liked it and our actor was happy to film but the university Film department had communicated that they wanted an end to all group projects and for all film equipment to be returned.

Therefore, we cancelled our low stakes back-up film. Our assessment guidelines changed, and I went about frantically editing together a rough cut in the library.

My goal was to produce an unfinished version of our film that evidences what it would’ve looked like and what it would’ve felt like. I spent the weekend redrawing the storyboards for the shots that weren’t filmed. When the storyboards were first completed we didn’t have casting completely done yet and they were never intended to be representative of the detail of the characters. Just guides for framing and composition.

I felt if they were used in this film edit, you wouldn’t be able to follow the film as the characters would suddenly change appearance in the storyboard. So, I redrew them, shot them and edited. I don’t have access to editing software at home, so I worked in the library which was not ideal given the social distancing rules.

I wanted to complete an edit with greater care for sound editing and with feedback from my group before further work, but I felt a time pressure. I had a feeling that the university or the library would close by Tuesday. My hope was to complete an edit first and foremost as well as an accompanying edit of some of our rehearsal shoot footage to evidence some of our goals for our film.

And as of this evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tough measures to ensure we all stay in our homes. I feel fortunate to have mystically predicted this deadline but unfortunate to have this unfinished film.

Reflecting on this production journal, I can’t say I feel deflated by coronavirus cancelling my film. I feel more deflated by the first day of shooting being so difficult than I do coronavirus. Coronavirus was out of anyone’s control and cancelled major film production shoots as well as mine.

The most significant things I’ve learned from this experience is if you have a great crew and a great cast, you can achieve a lot even when things are difficult.

I also learned that personally, I believe a director’s ability can only be measured so much by their ability to prepare for a film shoot. I believe a greater measure of one’s ability to direct is how one deals with problems as they come.

I felt that I could spend as much time as I like preparing and it would help me but there will always be something to deal with that you wouldn’t expect. Like coronavirus. And there are only so many hurdles I can caper nimbly over before I must declare a film unfinished, and thus Mixed Signals and Dead Flowers are unfinished films.

My hope is that Mixed Signals and Dead Flowers go on to be finished films.

POST-SCRIPT

Mixed Signals was eventually completed thanks to the marvellous production crew who made it happen once it was possible to shoot safely. I did not work as the director on the production but Arseni did. The rest of the crew fulfilled their role otherwise and I worked solely as an Editor on Mixed Signals once it was shot. And I'm grateful it was completed. Perhaps one day Dead Flowers will be too.