The Spy Who Wasn't: Pre-Production 02

Budget. The mere mention of that word and I'm glancing feverishly at my bank card as the shakes kick in. The commitment to self-fund this film in its entirety seemed reasonable enough when you come up with a number in your head and think 'yes this is a number I can afford'. It's a different beast when you realise that number is wrong.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been compiling a list of crew and location costs that did not add up to the number that I had in my head. It was double, if not triple that number. Oh dear. As I went from soundie to soundie I was met with not only large numbers but also requests for boom operators and kit. This was not what I had in mind. At this rate I was going to blow the whole budget on sound - I may as well be making a podcast.

A few shaky days followed as I considered the idea of halting production and applying for funding. As mentioned previously, funding would be an unlikely avenue - this is hardly a subversive or 'important' film that we are making. As I was about to pull the cord, a hero stepped in. We now have an amazing soundie who not only has excellent experience, but will also help us for expenses and a pukka lunch. Just goes to show it's all about who you know. The large number has suddenly gotten slightly smaller.

The number then got larger again as I realised that we may have to stay at our £100/hour location longer than planned. Wow, what a financial rollercoaster. I calm myself by looking at it like this - this first film must be made at some point, either sooner or later. It's going to hit me hard regardless, so better to get it over with sooner. My wallet cries in the corner.

Another unforeseen obstacle has been the script. The more the script was scrutinised by third parties, the more I lost faith in it. After some excellent discussions with our DoP on how we approach the visuals, I also came away with some excellent new ideas but also potential problems with the script. In the last week I have come up with three new versions of the original script, and each time I write a new one I announce that I've cracked it, only to be met with more plotholes and inconsistencies pointed out by third parties, all perfectly valid. I've certainly learnt some lessons.

1) if the original script was what made you want to make the film in the first place, you should probably make that film

2) if criticisms are legitimate and objective, then listen to them and make appropriate changes. If they're subjective, listen to them, but only act on them if you 100% agree. Don't let it shake your confidence in the script.

3) if third parties give you new and exciting ideas for the script, run with it, but don't take it so far as to make a different film.

In more recent news, I took one of the actors and my girlfriend to the park to help block the opening scene. It threw up some issues. It threw up some opportunities. Either way, I'm glad it was done. The opening is going to be a complex beast. If we can nail that, I think we can nail the whole film.

#thespywhowasnt #preproduction #production