PLEASE ZEUS…NO WIND…NO RAIN
Tuesday is the day of my exterior shoot. It’s a pivotal day and will be the link backwards and forwards in this piece. Because of that I am both looking forward to it all coming together and somewhat nervous about factors that are out of my control; the biggest of which is the weather.
I did ask the council if they might supply a little shelter if the worst were to happen… and was told that should be ok. But nothing has been forthcoming and I just don’t have the time or inclination to chase it up any more… experience has taught me that if you need to hassle people on more than five occasions you are probably better off sorting it out yourself.
The sixth formers have been great though and Becki their tutor is totally on board, even though I had to re-arrange at short notice due to my polecam operator Tom having work in London that evening.
There are things to do that you don’t immediately think about. For instance I thought, as I had been working with the council, that filming on land they own would be ok. It was only when someone commented that they;
‘assumed I had all the right permissions’ that I pondered;
‘hmmmm I wonder what those might be?’
I duly found a contact in estates who, first of all had to confirm that they actually owned the land, and then had to circulate various departments for clearance.
At this juncture I should say a big thank you once again to AN, and in particular, the fact that artist public indemnity insurance comes via AIR as part of the annual subscription. I have cover for when I work on commercial jobs, but would not otherwise be covered for on-site ‘art’ related activity. That of course is the first thing an official body wants to know… who gets sued if anything goes wrong!? I was able to wing off my policy and all was fine.
Then there is transport for the dancers. The college doesn’t have a budget so it’s down to me to arrange. Then I need some way of playing music live at the site. I started off with grand ideas of having some form of P.A. system… then a petrol generator to power an amp and play it all off my laptop. In the end I have borrowed my daughters boogie box…it’s a lot less precious.. fair belts out the decibels and runs off batteries. It will probably sound rubbish in the open air… but it only needs to provide reference for the dancers so I’ve decided that the simplest option is the most elegant in this respect. Then there is the football ground next door. They have now very kindly allowed us to gain access to act as a vantage point. Then there is the hire of the steadicam and the camera…at first it looks like it’s not available… finally all is ok.
I just mention all of this to underline the fact that the ’90 percent perspiration, ten percent inspiration’ dictum still holds for these things as far as I’m concerned.
Let serenity descend.
I have briefed Tracy at the Hartlepool Mail. She is as dependable and helpful as usual, and will feature it in the paper with a follow up, plus send a photographer from the Mail on the day. I rely on her in part to disseminate the message to all and sundry – in the hope that some people will come down on Tuesday and talk to our cameras. I might even mention it in the ‘Hartlepool in images’ facebook group (he says with trepidation… see previous post FACEBOOK FIASCO).
I have a tight schedule… nothing can now be allowed to divert mission ‘Rink Revival’… hmm except the damned rain… a gale force wind isn’t gonna help the polecam either. England oh England.
Woke up this morning dreaming of Frank Ifield – he of “I remember yooo…oo” fame. No idea where he came from. I can only assume that I am getting so consumed by the project that random sixties stars are now visiting my twilight world uninvited.
