The Spy Who Wasn't: Production

You would be forgiven for thinking that production on The Spy Who Wasn't resulted in my untimely death, considering the vast canyon of time between the shoot and this post. Well, the bets are off - I am alive.

All in all we had an excellent shoot. I got all the shots I had planned (near enough), the actors were great (surprisingly!), and we kept on schedule (depending on your definition of 'time'). I'll try to break down the three day shoot below - the good and the bad.

Day 01

The first day was the longest, and by far the most stressful. In hindsight perhaps we shouldn't have done the biggest scene first thing on the first day and instead warmed up to it, but then again getting it out of the way was necessary for my sanity. We had an early start, with our first challenge getting all of the equipment into the park safely and securely. My long-suffering production assistant/significant other did an excellent job feeding everyone, and my thanks go out to Caffe In on Hackney Road for opening early to serve us.

The actors, all non-professional, were all slightly surprised and intimidated by the equipment and the crew presence, but after going through their lines (they had actually memorised them!) and setting them to rehearse with each other they seemed to settle in - another weight off my mind.

The main challenge for the first scene was that it had four different players, lots of different angles, setups, and some camera moves. All of this had to be done under a time constraint (4 hours on the permit) and with an open set in a public park. It would have been impossible without willing volunteers to head off the dog walkers before they reached our modest set (on the intersection of three busy paths!). We succeeded in keeping the set mostly clear and didn't cause any fuss, so in terms of crowd control I think we did an excellent job.

Directing the scene, it was very apparent that it would be impossible to complete in the time allotted without a detailed shotlist, so it's a good thing I had spent the previous two weeks creating one for every single scene! Not only did it help me organise my thoughts, it also helped communicate with the DoP. When all was said and done, we even had time to break out the Steady-cam rig for a couple of shots. I was very pleased with the actor's performances, and they only fluffed a couple of takes which is great going for non-pros!

My first mistake of the day was the ordering of the scenes. Because we only needed one of the actors for one more scene, I had chosen to film his last scene next so we could release him early. What we should have done is held on to him while we filmed the third scene of the day, which was actually closer to the first location. In the end we had to move the equipment back and forth too much, and the actor ended up staying until wrap anyway! Lesson learned - always schedule for geographical concerns over cast concerns, because actors take 5 minutes to get ready but equipment takes an hour (and longer to move!).

The last scene was a slo-motion sequence with lots of different angles and moving parts. We got most of what we needed but another lesson was learned - always do complicated scenes like this earlier when everyone is high energy. We went on for too long, forgot shots or rushed them, and as a result had to do pickups on the next shoot day.

Day 02

This was a scorcher of a day, and not only was I forced to play one of my characters due to actor shortage, but I also had to wear a huge winter coat. Absolute nightmare. Another lesson was learned here - unless you're Clint Eastwood, don't act and direct at the same time. It was difficult to maintain an objective eye on the scene being filmed while being in it, and I was grateful for the feedback of the crew to get the scene done. It was also a lesson in deferring your job to a member of the crew when they're in a better place to call the shots, in this case the DoP directing the director who is trying to act.

After pickups around the corner it was back to the apartment block to film another complex scene. This was the final confrontation between protagonist and antagonist, and involved some choreographing and chase scenes. The director's mistake for this scene was his over-exuberance - in my artistic tunnel vision I had forgotten we were filming right next to residences, resulting in a tense confrontation with a resident over my over-zealous shouts of ACTION and CUT. My lesson was learned, and we kept a quiet and efficient set after that, knocking on doors as we went to give fair warning. If I had been a PA on this production, I think I would have already sorted all of this beforehand, but it goes to show that when both directing and producing with no support some things are always going to be forgotten.

We got some really excellent shots in this scene though, and it just goes to show that if you've got a visually interesting location at your disposal you may as well plan around it, especially if you're on a low budget. It also made me realise how much I enjoy directing action and dynamic shots - directing speedy scenes definitely speeds up your creative thought process and improvising!

Day 03

The only day where we were reliant on a private location. A mild panic set in when the shopkeeper was late (at this point I had become so anal over schedules and time constraints that I was not in a forgiving mood), but he finally arrived and I confirmed that we still had our full hour. It was actually quite a thrill to shoot somewhere that was neither my residence or a public space. For the first time the whole production felt legit. The shopkeeper was overall very accommodating and he even cameos in the final film, which I'm very grateful for because he was the crux of that entire scene's visual gag, unbeknownst to him.

Down to a skeleton crew of myself, DoP, and two actors, the most concerning scene of the shoot was finally upon us. Our plan was to get a shot that moved the camera up the centre of a spiral staircase. The camera, a DJI Osmo, would travel in a bucket attached to a rope attached to wooden planks that lay across the huge gap in the central landing of the apartment block... eight floors up. The camera was inconsequential - it was light and relatively inexpensive. The thing that had be baulking were the very heavy planks precariously laid across the huge gap in the landing like the scaffolding of some cowboy builders. The DoP had been planning this for weeks but seeing the setup in person initially worried me so much that I called it off. After some persuading I agreed to let it go ahead, but only if the DoP himself would hold the planks in place. One of the cast actually refused to be involved for liability reasons, which I can totally understand. We completed the shot and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. However, in post it turned out the shot spun too much. Then the DoP realised that we could fake it by taking stills of the staircase and landing and duplicating them in After Effects to give the illusion of the camera pulling up and away from the subject. In a way, it was all for nothing, but then again it was a good test of my mettle. Did I make the right decision, the safe decision? Was I too risk averse or not enough? All I can say is that it was certainly a memorable experience, and just goes to show the benefits of being able to afford closed sets and soundstages for the level of control they bring.

To summarise, lets look at the lessons learned on this specific shoot:

- When filming in public, having assistants to do crowd control is a must

- When you're on a time constraint or on an open set, preparing a detailed shotlist before hand will help you plan out your setups and keep things as efficient as possible

- Schedule location changes to minimise movement and disruption, even if it may be inconvenient for the minority of the cast/crew

- Do not film long or complex scenes at the end of the day - everyone will be tired and mistakes will be made

- Don't direct and act simultaneously if you want to retain tight directorial control

- Be respectful of your surroundings and local residents - if possible get an assistant to maintain communication with any affected parties

- If you have easy access to a great location, write and plan around that location - make the most of it

- Always be asking yourself the question: am I sacrificing safety for art? If yes, consider all your options and compromise - filming should be fun, not dangerous