We're Going To Put Together A Team

 Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the screening of my short film "Goat Songs" as part of the Belfast Film Festival. I wrote and directed it. I had no intention of directing at all, until the producer advised me I'd better do it as there no money for anyone else. It was a steep learning curve, but I was really lucky to be surrounded by people who were way more experienced than me and really knew what they were doing. 

A year on, and I'm very happy to say that at the end of the month I'm directing a second short I've written. And I shall be even further out of my depth - its set at on a beach, in Northern Ireland, in December. And yes, I am expecting the actors to get in the sea. In auditions they all claimed to be wild swimmers and to love it, but actors will say anything in auditions: they've all got stage fighting certificates, HGV licences and good conversational French. Je ne les crois pas. 

My producers (there's two of them) have put together a truly remarkable team, and on a daily basis I'm chatting to costume and make up, discussing lenses and aspect ratio, the finer points of Irish language pronunciation, locations, light, tides and daylight saving and where the crew can do poos. This is another postal district to my comfort zone. I'm not sure I have the right jabs for washing up on the shingly shores of Discomfort Island.

 And yet...it's SO good. I'm worried, but it's a good worried. I'm massively inexperienced compared to the rest of the crew, but they know that and, importantly, the producers know that and have curated this shoot with that in mind. They'll be realising my vision. They'll help make it work. My obligation is to make that vision realisible, and interesting and beautiful. And make sense. Though you can get away with anything - people's brains will make sense of anything. You're tricking your brain that you're not watching a super-fast flick book for two hours - how's that for good will? That's how cinema works in the first place. It deserves to be rewarded with your best stuff. 

I shall be well prepared. It's a great crew. We'll have great actors, whom I'll coach and make as comfortable and happy as possible. And we'll try to make this fun. It has to be fun, right? That's the point. 

I really can't wait.