If you’ve ever done any filmmaking at any level, especially in the UK, you’ll know that a sad chunk of it ends up in the bin. There are many reasons for this – technical difficulties, the restraints of time and money, logistical difficulties, inexperience, waning enthusiasm, adverse weather and sometimes just plain ol’ bad luck. Whatever the reason, it’s a sad fact of filming life that I’ve seen and experienced, but – as I’ve found out over the years – nine times out of ten, it gets done in the end.
So what’s the recipe? Is there one secret ingredient that I can boil it down to…? I’ll try to answer that here, but first, here’s a little background.
My friend KC Thiruvelcham once described us as “sets addicts” – meaning we love being on film sets and contributing in any way that we can, even if that’s not in our preferred roles. I finally got back on set for the first time since filming on Beyond Fury wrapped one very cold and wet November night in 2018 for Tony Mardon’s upcoming film “The Witches of the Sands”, and absolutely brilliant it was too. Obviously Covid-19 has had a severe impact on filming across the world, but particularly in the UK, where the pandemic has been hideously mishandled by our idiotic enrich-your-mates-and-fuck-the-plebs government, but I’m pleased to say that Tony and our location, the Playhouse Theatre in Whitstable, had put in place a robust system involving Test & Trace, rapid antigen test reports before, during and after the shoot, temperature checks, mask-wearing and ventilation throughout. It was a system that puts other organisations that I won’t name to shame.
Anyway, the incredibly ambitious shooting schedule went very well, with three crews filming simultaneously at one stage. In between happily gophering around for the main unit I managed to fire off a load of behind-the-scenes photos, make friends with some great new guys, briefly catch up with Beyond Fury alumna and modern-day scream queen Dani Thompson, as well as get some shots of 80s eye-popper Linzi Drew. She’s from Bristol, y’know.
I’ll leave off the context by saying that while it was great to get back on set again, I realised that the thing I’ve missed most was that sense of everyone pulling together. With so many people working simultaneously in a restricted environment, I’ve seen shoots collapse into infighting, but that just didn’t happen – and there wasn’t even a sniff of it happening. I’ve wondered about this; was it luck that got us through? Professionalism? Sheer bloody-mindedness, perhaps…?
The answer is that it was a combination of all three – in measured doses. A little drop of luck, a big piece of professionalism, and a hefty glob of goodwill. That’s the secret recipe to getting a film made.
So congratulations to everyone involved, and roll on next Saturday. Here come The Witches of the Sands. Pass me the cookbook.
Copyright © 2021 Chris Nelthorpe/Gasworks Films Ltd