Mum and Dad Shoot - Day Seven

I'm going to keep this brief because I'm absolutely fucked. We shot eight and a half pages today - including a big scene towards the end of the film where we had to do vital effects stuff. It got to wrap time and we knew we weren't going to get it all, and so had to ask all the cast and crew if they minded working an extra hour. Even then, we ended up rushing a really vital bit of action - it's always the way - you end up having to speed through something that you know you should spend more time on, and you just have to hope that instinct, the talent of the cast and crew and pure blind luck pull you through. There's a couple of pick-up shots I think we could really do with getting, but we're going to have to see if there's any time later on in the shoot.

It's been a weird day - by lunchtime I felt really elated because we'd already knocked off five pages - but then in the afternoon, because we had more scenes to do - and so, more changes in the overall lighting set-up - time started to get really eaten up. Then there was about an hour when we were stuck in Eyeline Morass (where two shots of people looking at each other that should match up for some reason don't...) and then we decided to go handheld for a scene, which, although frees you up in terms of being able to reframe (and get things in one that might otherwise have required numerous individual set-ups) also means more complicated lighting and blocking.

So, by the end of the day, fuelled by far too much coffee (make a mental note - don't drink coffee) I was feeling really at the end of my ability to concentrate, and had to make some key decisions really fast - one of which involved Perry being stabbed by a fake chisel - which although blunted and retractable, was still obviously going to hurt. He went through two takes with it and didn't complain. I"m just hoping that we haven't scarred him for life. It was the point where I really felt bad - getting 30 people to work another hour at the end of an already long and exhausting day (for which they are not exactly getting handsomely paid), and then making someone get whacked in the back by a blunt instrument to top it off. I really hope that the next couple of days can find some give in them, otherwise I'm worried that people are going to get pissed off, and the good feeling that we've had up till now is going to start dissipating. Maybe things'll seem brighter after a good night's sleep...