ON-SET REPORT - October 2005 - continued...
by Dave Clark
ESTABLISHING SHOTS
With the external cafe scene completed, the crew started setting
up again in different vantage points, ready to film a couple
of establishing shots of the shopping precinct and the cafe.
With everyone darting about, Shane came over to me and asked
if I would like to be an extra in the establishing shots that
were coming up next.. Well of course I did, so Shane radioed
the costume department back at unit base, and gave them instructions
to dig out an outfit with a kind of farmer-ish feel to it!.
And to think Phillip thought his chippy garb was dodgy on his
set visit!
Once back at unit base, I was given instructions to the whereabouts
of the costume department.. Even though there were not many
trailers to choose from, I still managed to wander off in the
wrong direction.. On passing one particular trailer, a voice
rang out with a cry of, "Alright Dave?".. Turning
to take a look, I find that the voice had been that of Andrew
Shim.. I told him how I had been sent back to be dressed up
as an extra and he was kind enough to point me in the direction
of the costume department.
Stepping aboard the costume trailer is in some ways like entering
a narrow branch of Oxfam.. All manner of outfits are crammed
in on racks from floor to ceiling.. To an outsider, it looks
as though it would be a nightmare to keep track of everything.
I was welcomed aboard, and the quest for farmer-esque gear was
soon underway.
After trying out a few different items of clothing, I was soon
in the final ensemble of green trousers, purple shirt, blue body-warmer
and big black boots.. That may not sound at all like any kind
of farming look, but when it was all topped off with specs and
a flat cap, the transformation was truly complete.
Shane with me in my farming clobber outiside
the cafe.
Now that I was dressed up like some kind of 'One Man and His
Dog' competitor, I was driven back to the shopping precinct
along with Andrew Ellis who plays the part of Gadget.
I chatted with Andrew about how he managed to get his part in
the film, and also briefly touched upon the audition process
he had to go through.. Andrew was another extremely friendly
chap who was more than happy to chat.. This was particularly
kind of him considering he was talking to a complete stranger
wearing a bizarre farming outfit.
Arriving back on set, everything was nearly ready to get underway.
First Assistant Director, Griffin, instructed me as to what
I should be doing.
I was to start inside the cafe, and on the call of "Action!"
I was to exit the cafe, close the cafe door, and then stroll
along to the end of the shopping precinct.. All very simple..
At least you would think so.. When it actually came to it, I
found that I was starting to pay extra special attention to
the usually automatic action of walking in a straight line!
CAFE INTERIOR
With my 'action' scene out of the way and with the arrival of
more members of the cast on set, Shane began rehearsing a scene
that would be shot inside the cafe.. Stephen Graham and George
Newton had by this time left the set for day, and the gang of
Andrew Shim, Keiran Hardcastle, Andrew Ellis, Jack O'Connell,
Thomas Turgoose and Vicky McClure had arrived.. Vicky McClure
plays the part of Lol, and is another member of the gang at the
heart of the film.. Jo Hartley had also arrived for this particular
scene in the cafe.. She plays the role of Cynthia who is Shaun's
Mum in the film.
Thomas Turgoose with his real Mum, Sharon
(left) and screen Mum, Cynthia (Jo Hartley).
Luckily I was to be a background extra in the
cafe for this scene, so I was allowed to sit in on the rehearsal
runs.. The scene itself features Shaun being brought along to
the café by his Mum who then confronts the gang about
them having shaved off her son's hair the day before.
Just like the earlier scene, the rehearsal runs for this internal
scene also developed new ideas and dialogue.
Shane later talked to me about how he doesn't like to over rehearse
a scene and doesn't like to get a scene to a perfect state before
the cameras roll.. The reasoning behind this being that if a
scene is perfected before the filming begins, then the scene
can have no further room to develop, and can lack the dynamic
quality that is essential to deliver the natural style he is
always aiming for.. (To listen to some
of the rehearsals, download the MP3 file in the TOP LINKS section
at the top of this page).
With the rehearsals over, lunch time was called, and it was
everyone back to unit base for another wide array of offerings
from the catering team.
Arriving back on location after lunch, I had chance to speak
with Location Manager, Richard Knight..
An old jukebox used as set-dressing
in the cafe. |
With 'This Is England' being set in the early eighties,
the project had added a few extra challenges during the
location hunting for the film.. For instance, there were
no satellite dishes in the eighties of course, no uPVC
windows, no speed bumps and also a whole host of other
things to worry about.
In the current location, the use of the cafe had to be
organised with the proprietors and there were also a couple
of unused shop units being used for the film, so Richard
had to liase with the council to organise terms for the
duration of the shoot.
With all manner of small details and red-tape to be covered
in all locations on the shoot, the role of Location Manager
involves a lot more than one might at first think.
|
Richard then gave me a quick tour of the cafe interior which
had been completely changed for the film.
Old style tables and seating had been fitted, an old jukebox
sat in the corner and a number of eighties edition food products
sat on the counter.
Aswell as the obvious changes, there had also been a section
of ceiling boxed-in to disguise the modern lighting fixtures
that usually adorn the cafes ceiling.
Andrew Shim, Andrew Ellis, and Kieran
Hardcastle
Vicky McClure, Joe Gilgun, and Jack O'Connell
After having the tour of the cafe, the cast and crew were all
in position to start the filming of the next scene.. My part
in this scene was to sit in the cafe, by the window, looking
at a mocked-up copy of The Sun newspaper from the eighties,
whilst sipping a cup of tea.
At the beginning of each take, I was also served a sausage roll
by the cafe owner (played by First Assistant Director, Griffin),
but I was prohibited from tucking into it, as they only had
the one, and it had to be used for multiple takes!
After about 4 or 5 takes, the first angle of coverage was complete
and the cameras were moved into position to film the reverse
angles of the dialogue exchange.. This meant that I would no
longer be in shot and I was free to return to unit base to get
changed back into my regular clothes.
Shaun's Mum confronts the gang in the
cafe.
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