process

Shirts, Scheduling (AGAIN!!!) and a Drone

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Last week, I tried—and failed—to schedule the remaining shoot days. We’ve got one day for some street scenes, two days in a friend’s flat and one very quick scene with the truck. Scheduling might sound straightforward, but everyone communicates via different channels. Most people use WhatsApp and email, but I’m also contending with telephone calls, texts and yes, even snail mail. Pick the wrong channel and all you get is silence. I thought I’d sorted the truck scene, had all four actors on board, but alas, the truck wasn’t available. Hey ho.

On a more positive note, I’ve started being more systematic about prepping media. I’ve set up a spreadsheet with columns for audio received, video received, media filed, media synced and so on. Going through it made me realise I’m missing the video from the petrol station shoot, as well as audio for several days. A few panicked calls to the DOP and sound team quickly reassured me—they do have the media; I just need to collect it.

In other good news, a friend spotted an article about Automatic in the local paper, The Argus. Huge thanks to Julie Russell, who’s been doing PR for Automatic and sent a press release to The Argus some time ago.

I also finished the submission for the film on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and was delighted to see the entry go live within a day.

We did manage a very short shoot last week. I’d put out an advert for a flat in a block for a quick scene, and luckily, a friend replied. I scheduled it for Saturday. I also needed to capture one quick shot we’d missed on the original shoot day in my flat. So Saturday found me back in my spare room, repositioning lights, furniture and a couple of shirts to recreate the exact look of the earlier shoot. Stuart and I polished that shot off pretty quickly, then we picked up Alistair and headed over to Newhaven for another short scene, including a drone shot that Alistair handled admirably despite a stiff breeze.

This coming week, I’ll continue prepping media and getting the remaining shoot days scheduled (hopefully!).

Bollocks to Process

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Last week was a very hectic week. Monday saw us kick off with some scenes in a flat in Hove. Two guys talking on Zoom. Simple enough, you’d think. But no! Because the minute computers get involved, all sorts of complications arise. Last time we did a similar scene, we’d learned something that now seems bleeding obvious: if you shoot an over-the-shoulder shot of someone on a Zoom call, the camera operator (and probably the sound guy, director and the AD) will also be visible. This time, the headaches came from a couple of the “digital props” I’d put together, such as images and web pages displayed on laptops. I hadn’t fully thought it through, so there was a fair bit of faffing around while we worked out the logistics.

Once those scenes were wrapped, we walked a mere 15 minutes north to a different flat in another block. Here we filmed a scene that was…..let’s say, quite lively. Part of it took place in the communal hallway, and the flat’s owner was worried that the neighbours might call the police. Thankfully, it all went off without incident, with excellent performances from Keaton and Stewart.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent back at the Hove flat with Keaton, Lamb, Simon and Oliver. These scenes are closer to the end of the film, where tensions rise and tempers flare, with lots of shouting and swearing, and in one particular scene, there were three of our allocated quota of “fucks” in a single sentence. As the script writer, it’s a remarkable feeling to see your vision brought to life by such skilled actors, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

At one point, piano music drifted from a nearby flat. A quick phone call later, and the guy had kindly agreed to refrain from playing, but I felt a bit guilty because our shoot was probably making a shocking racket.

Morgan did an outstanding job as DOP, and we managed to get some strong shots. Alistair on sound was brilliant too, especially as we were trying to make three different flats from one. He was nipping around, constantly checking the audio.

Chatting later, I remarked that we seem to spend much of our time finding ways around problems, and someone said that “Filmmaking is constant problem-solving”. I think they were spot on, particularly for indie filmmakers.

For example, the past week has really shown me the value of a script supervisor for continuity. When we shoot scenes from multiple angles, we have to repeat them several times, and each shot requires numerous takes. This has benefits and drawbacks. The upside: the actors have a chance to settle into the scene and find the best delivery. The downside: they sometimes have to repeat it too many times. Plus, someone has to remember every tiny detail – when she put her cup down, when she took off her coat, when he threw down his headphones, when he picked up his phone, and whether the door was open or closed in the last take. In short, someone has to monitor every bloody move the actors make. Months ago, Angela suggested hiring a script supervisor; I didn’t see the point at the time. Now I can. Luckily, Angela has taken on this role herself, and I’m incredibly grateful, although juggling it alongside wardrobe, casting, and AD duties is quite a load.

Another thing that struck me: after each take, everyone has comments about problems and improvements from their perspective. Sound, lighting, camera, continuity, dialogue. It can get quite fraught as we all try to get our points addressed before the next take. I’m still on a learning curve and a lot of what we do is improvisation, but each time I find myself considering how we can manage issues more efficiently, perhaps with a documented process.

But I just reread what I wrote: “ensure that issues are efficiently managed by a documented process”. I could have added that these processes could be measured against maturity levels, standardised, optimised – I spent too long in corporate life. That is the antithesis of this film!

Bollocks to process!!!!!!

This week, we’re releasing the first of Julie Russell’s interviews with the cast in two parts. Julie is chatting with Stewart, who plays Ray and Gillian, who plays Donna.

Next week, get that schedule pinned down and finalise that truck!

Welcome Martin Portlock As Morgan

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The biggest news from last week is that we’ve cast our new CEO character. I’m delighted to announce that Martin Portlock will be taking on the role of Morgan.

Martin Portlock is a dynamic English actor whose captivating performances have won over audiences worldwide. His breakthrough came in 2022 with his chilling portrayal of ‘The Witch’ on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent. Martin won ‘Best Actor’ at the National Film Awards 2025.

Last week, I also started uploading some of the footage we’ve shot so far. I’m editing in DaVinci Resolve and trying to remember everything I learned from editing my last film a few years back. As I reviewed the footage, I spotted a few issues with the sound and picture quality, but fingers crossed, nothing that can’t be sorted. This made me realise I need to start reviewing the footage much sooner after each shoot.

We had another day filming at our house in Seaford on Friday, which went very well. Most of the time was spent on an outdoor scene with Angela Elise Munnoch and David Burton. The scene carried a substantial emotional weight component, so the actors’ performances were absolutely key. Both Angela and David delivered nuanced and convincing performances.

A takeaway lesson for me was when Angela pointed out that my reply of “Yep” to her question, “Was that alright?” wasn’t particularly helpful. Ah! I tend to be a bit rushed on set, but maybe it’s time I did a bit of work on my interpersonal skills.

We shot a handful of shorter transition scenes before wrapping up with a scene at a local bus stop. It was a productive day, and we finished around 4pm. I was very grateful to have Arun Varghese assist Alistair on sound.

Next week, we’ll be rehearsing for three quite intense shoot days scheduled for the week beginning 18th August. I also need to focus on the schedule again.

Teams and Themes

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Exasperation, thy name is filmmaking!

Another week, another bout of frustration, but looking back, progress was probably made, and I suppose stuff sort of got done – somehow.

Last week, I was panicking about how to film computer screens without getting that frustrating flicker effect, so on Monday, I headed over to our main office location to do some testing. Thankfully, it all went smoothly. No screen flicker, no weird interference, so we might be alright on that front. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, I’ve been liaising with a guy on Fiverr to produce some CGI for the film. It turns out that my original idea for the computer game was a bit overambitious and would be eye-wateringly expensive to create if it had to be done from scratch. After a bit of brainstorming, we landed on a new look for the game sequence, which I think works better and integrates more easily into the main story. I won’t reveal the details yet, partly because I haven’t told the actors and I need to revise the script. So, I’ve now agreed on a Scope of Works and placed the order with Fiverr. It is reputable, isn’t it? … Fiverr? … They’re reliable … aren’t they?

On the tech front, I signed up for a Google AI thing. Fuck knows what it’s actually called. Something or other: Gemini? Veo? The video’s produced are promising but Google’s presentation of it’s AI products seems to be…. hmmm… what’s that word? Crap? Yes, crap. I haven’t got the faintest clue what I’ve signed up for.

One overlooked aspect of new tech is unintended consequences and one unintended consequence of Google entering the AI market is making more work for ChatGPT in explaining how the fuck Google AI works. Seriously! I asked Gemini to explain what all it’s products did and it burbled on about Veo2, Veo3, Flux, Whisk,Flo and, bizarrely, Flo Period & Pregnancy Tracker! Yep, thanks for all that Gemini but I’ll stick to my trusty old-fashioned steam-powered ChatGPT.

Logistics-wise, I’ve been wrangling with how to shoot Zoom/Teams calls. I think I’ve finally cracked it – or at least have the seeds of a plan. By next week, I should definitely have an actual plan.

And speaking of next week: Angela and I will be visiting our ‘house set’ to start dressing it, so we can start scheduling some of the simpler scenes. We’ve also got a tentative green light for a fourth shoot day in July, which should help.

Still no actual filming yet. Our first shoot is planned for 29th June, which is approaching more quickly than I care to think about right now. Naturally, I’ve started panicking about rehearsals. I probably should have sorted those earlier, but – and I can’t stress this enough – I don’t know what I’m doing, so it’s all a learning process.

One of the themes of this film is an deep suspicion of “process”, of the way everything’s become standardised and proceduralised and saturated in corporate bollocks, including Hollywood film-making which is why I think it’s all such shit. But, after this week, I admit: I’ve started to see why people love a good formal process in filmmaking. Doing everything for the first time is “challenging” – and there I am, starting to use this fucking corporate newspeak. Then again, maybe that’s the point. Maybe, if you don’t follow the formula and feel your way, you make something genuinely original and worthwhile, rather than ending up with Star Wars episode fucking 93.

By Friday afternoon, I was thinking that I could relax and unwind a bit. Then it started. DRUMS – along Hove Promenade, no less. The council, in its infinite wisdom, has apparently privatised the promenade for the weekend, and some bloody musical event has already started. A few weeks ago, I received a note through the door from some bureaucratic apparatchik “advising” me of “forthcoming music events” that will be “ongoing” on Hove Lawns with “unavoidable noise disturbance”. However, the unidentified author claimed to be “working closely” with the council to ensure that any “potentially negative consequences are mitigated or avoided”. The Woodstock organisers must be vomiting in their graves.

You see?!!! – Do you get it now?! Even in Brighton, we have been so comprehensively indoctrinated with ‘corporate culture’ that the organisers of fucking music festivals speak like lawyers and are capable of writing pages of A4 in such abstract terms that they say precisely NOTHING!

I bet there’s a film in there somewhere.