A Taste of Home

Show Reel

Finished.

So this week was spent filming our Show-reels, another part of this “new thing” my course is trying. Last time our show-reel was focused on our abilities as fighting actors, however, the official purpose of a show reel is to show our acting abilities. And not just abilities in displaying emotion, such a raging wails of horror and sadness and anger and so on, we were actually encouraged to shy away from that. Instead, it’s the subtle details that matter, and first and foremost your ability to listen to your co-actor, not just wait for your cue to talk. 

For this little project, we were once more divided in pairs, and this week we were given each our half-day slots. I worked with Michelle, and our slot was today, Friday afternoon. A camera man, as well as a sound technician was hired in, however, we all had to volunteer (well, “voluntary” kind of) to crew for each other. Two or three people, one on clapper-board, one on continuity, and one to run around doing whatever else needed doing. Needless to say, some did far more work than others. The film director hired in to work with us did not assign us these positions, so we each wrote our names on a list of the different shots (here is where the volunteering-element steps in). And so, some wrote their name often, some just once. Ah well, such is life. 

Two things I will take from this experience: 1, that I definitely want to work with film. There is something special about the atmosphere on set. It’s strict, focused, you must be on your mark, not make a sound outside your line, the director is God. But I love it. 

2. How very difficult it suddenly is just to open the door of a car and step out when there is a camera pointing your way. I got stuck in the wheel. Twice. I have no idea how.

Fight Show-Reel

They're trying a new thing this year,

And we’re not really complaining. Usually, we would be using little short films (with fights in them) in groups, however, due to financial cut-backs, this was changed. This year, we had to make a maximum 1-minute long fight choreography in pairs. A Show-Reel’s purpose is to show off your skills, and since this one was for fighting, we did not need to have a full scene. But we did need to have a setting, though whether we chose one from a play or made one up didn’t matter. Costumes were also required, and since we now are third years, we are finally allowed to use the school’s costume department. (yay!) 

We already went to see our locations earlier on in the term (one being Loughton campus, another part of East15, and the other Epping forest, ten min away from Loughton campus). I had been paired with Pippa, and we had originally planned to film at the campus, but because of things that happened, Nick Hall (head of our course and one of the coolest men alive) decided we should go in the forest instead. 

So, quarter to seven Wednesday morning the 22^nd of October, roughly half the class groggily stumbled into the minibus, and we went to Epping forest. But all I could think of was how very proud my mum would be: in my bag were extra socks, extra gloves, extra scarf, a big lunch, two bottles of water, strawberry yam, and a big batch of waffles I made the night before… (in addition of a box full of chocolate cookies for everyone to share).  

A picture Lucas took during filming. The shirt and corset are my own, but the rest of our costume are from the school. We are fighting with military sabres.

One pair filmed theirs in studio1 in Southend on Thursday, for which I crewed as continuity (we all had to crew for each other, in order to learn basics), and the last three couples filmed at Loughton campus on the Friday. Lucky me had not been chosen to crew this day, so I had a nice long sleep.  

Guns...

Surprisingly heavy, not surprisingly loud (cover your ears if you can). Holding one gives a strange chill, but firing one... well, let's go with surpringly exciting. And very much so.

Animal Farm

The room is boiling hot. How nice that we’ve been assigned the worst ventilated studio in all of Clifftown to spend three weeks in. Walking in the door after the first hour has passed is little different from hitting a wall. A dense, unbreathing wall. 

We’re two weeks into priority. This is our first – near – full length, proper play, which is the school’s way of preparing us for the year to come. In 3^rd year we will be doing little else than creating shows. Sure enough we had priority weeks last term as well working on “shows”. But these were short, not lasting over half an hour, and we were divided in groups. 

The school as hired in a director and her assistant, who are working with us. We are making the script ourselves, based on George Owell’s book, Animal Farm – which really is worth a read. It’s not very long either. 

It’s going to be dark and gritty, all the scenography made from pallets and tattered, big plastic sheets. We’ll be wearing boiling suits combined with masks – though the masks will be worn at one hand, rather than the head. Difficult to picture? Well, in real life it really works.