Mad Week = Mad, Weak

Just as I had foretold, the past week was mad. Very mad in fact. But I'm not half as exhausted as I feel I should be. If I just force myself to have a reasonably early night tonight then I'll hopefully be fine for the rest of the week!

So, firstly, let's talk Attenborough. That was a truly inspiring masterclass with an incredibly lovely and respectable man. It had crossed my mind that he may not be quite as nice as his characters in Jurassic Park and Miracle on 34th Street - but he was Hammond, Santa, and much, much more! To comment a little more on the structure of the masterclass, it was brilliant that Andy had such a nice chemistry with Attenborough. I've been at an "in-conversation" masterclass with Sharon Osbourne which was being conducted by the ruddy editor of Heat! Of course Sharon was tight-lipped and awkward! This man has no doubt spread all sorts of rumours about her family, and could quote her on anything as an exclusive! Nice to see that Attenborough was clearly comfortable. Also, well done to Andy for not only dismissing that strange-man's pitch, but also turning it into a question that was a little more appropriate!

As if one star wasn't enough, we then had the chance to sit-in on a workshop between actors and DFTV4s, at which James McAvoy was present. James' presence was nice, but he was by no means essential to the class. Whilst it was only covering the basics, it is important to keep in mind that this was only for the benefit of the actors. I hope that the democratic way that they had input into each shot has not made them think that they have the same creative power on an actual film. I don't mean that in a nasty way at all, but I just hope that they don't bounce onto a set and tell the DoP how to shoot them, cause that's what he'll do: shoot them. But I think that James clarified this himself. It was just to let them understand why such decisions are made - not how to make them!

That brings me to the shoot at the weekend, which is really hard to summarise. I was asked by a Young-Person film-making group that I used to attend in Edinburgh to direct their latest script. I had been around for some of the conception, and I agreed on the basis that I was only directing the filming, but am not really the "director" of the entire film. The pre-production and post-production duties are all democratic and theirs to deal with. I've learnt several things from this shoot, however:

• I don't like commuting from Edinburgh every day. (Thank god I moved!)
  
• When working 8 - 12 hour days, I need more nutrition than just crisps, peanuts and jam sandwiches. Also, I need plenty of water.
  
• I don't mind 12 hour days, but not when they have so much to be filmed in them.
• I like shouting "reset". Makes everyone move.
• I don't like working on scenes with loads of people in them - particularly extras. I found it rather stressful, and completely hit a wall when we had quite a few people (friends of the cast) who don't really know how a film set is run... or how to be quiet between takes.
• HDV is pointless if it's not 3CCD.
• You can make a salad dressing out of pumpkin seeds.
  

Whilst this list consists mostly of bad things, I did have fun shooting it. But I've no idea if what we shot was any good. Whilst I won't be around for the repercussions, my name will still be attached in some way, so I have a bit of an investment here.

That's all for now. As a reward for my work over the weekend, I've the latest Doctor Who Magazine to get reading!