In 2004, new director Anton French set out on an ambitious project to shoot a short film on location in the heart of the Sussex countryside. In this film diary written by Richard Simms (who worked on the film as a production assistant), we follow the fortunes of the cast and crew as they set out to make 'Picnic at High Rocks'.
When it's so widely known how difficult filmmaking can be, it's a wonder why people want to make them in the first place. Why bother? Perhaps it's the money, the prestige, the glamour. But when it comes to short film, none of these reasons can apply: the chance of making money - remote; of losing it - almost certain; of cinema release - not in the age of the multiplex; of glamour - it's more like masochism.
In the last week of August this year Curious Films, set out to make, Picnic at High Rocks . A black comedy-cum-murder mystery revolving around the relationship between its protagonist, Amber and two male friends, Jonathon and Alex, centred around their meeting for a picnic.
It was to be filmed on location in Ashdown Forrest , East Sussex and High Rocks, Kent and like many of the thousands of short films made this year, this is small budget; self-financed; cast and crewed by volunteers; and what it lacks in budget it makes up for in imagination. Moreover, it was no less ill-fated than any other film, in fact it was more, a run of bad luck worthy of a comedy of errors.
However, whilst prominent tales of filmmaking woe are listened to intently with a certain amount of schadenfreuder; it being difficult to emphasise with a pre-Madonna in a tantrum, a ruthless movie mogul see his set washed away; when it happens to a group of people, here for free because they've read the script and wanted to see it on screen, when they've seen the locations - opened for the first time to film crews - and how beautiful they are; and then it starts raining - you have to wonder whether, when it comes to supporting short film, it's as difficult to catch a break from the gods as it is secure funding for such a project
Day 1
12 0'clock. Cast and crew meet in Forrest Row, for pre-shoot meeting. "I've been checking the long range forecast for this week for months now, and it said warm sunshine: right up until five o'clock this morning'' says Anton French Picnic's writer and director. He laughs and it's encouraging coming from a man, whose name and occupation - Anton French - film director - may summon up the image of a stout Frenchman in a beret, clutching a copy of Being and Nothingness who will no doubt at some point yell, "Regard! Ma Vision!'' He is not, and his laughter sets the tone. This is gallows humour at its best and it's needed amongst a group of effective strangers who eye the sky and each other nervously, wondering if it would be a good time to mention that the news this morning said it looks set to be the wettest August on record.
However, today is for preliminaries - read throughs, choosing specific locations, setting up of camp and equipment. So rain shouldn't effect play too much. That is until the van gets bogged down in mud and scaffolding boards and the entire cast and crew summoned to push - glamour this certainly isn't.
Day 2
The morning is spent in preparation again, and after lunch actors are rehearsed, sets dressed, track and crane rigged and ready:
"Sound" - "Rolling"
"Camera'' - "Rolling''
[Rain - falling]
Soon into the first shot, it appears this will indeed be the most English of picnics, eagerly anticipated and rained off, but unfortunately this isn't in the script. Furthermore, the rain is intermittent, which makes it all the more frustrating; to-ing and fro-ing between set and shelter, shots set up only to be broken down again and abandoned for cover. The team drinks their body weight in tea and look pessimistically skywards.
By the end of the day some scenes are complete. It has been hard work but that, at least, is something. Or not: A viewing of the rushes revealing what any filmmaker dreads: corrupted tape, making most of the today's work worthless and all that is left to say is that tomorrow is another day.
Day 3
All arrive early. With the first day spent preparing, and the second wasted, time is now of the essence. On the plus side the weather is better, but there's another hindrance and it too comes from the skies: Ashdown Forrest, it appears, is on some days directly under the Gatwick flight path and today is one of them. Scenes have to be shot in the intermissions between roaring engines. It's nail biting, and the tension made worse by the constant paranoia of dodgy film stock. Despite being far from perfect two scenes are completed.
Day 4
It is dry, even bright, preferable when filming under a heavy forest canopy. The plane noise seems better, arguably because all know by now the plane flight timings as well as air traffic controllers. However, it seems that if there was any better proof of the axiom 'A pessimist never disappointed' this film is it: There are advantages and disadvantages to filming in this part of the Ashdown Forrest, on the one side it is largely closed to the public, on the other, it is Britain's largest scout camp and today is sports day. Needless to say, cries of "Oi!, Timmy your cheating!'' Do not suit the mood of a murder mystery. On several occasions, a couple of Baden-Powell's finest invite make up girls and female runners to "go up the nature trail'' - real ecological edification, or a horny scout euphemism, we will never know.
By late afternoon, it is time for the much anticipated kill scene and special effects man Stefan is busy mixing blood. The fact that the two actors Jethro and Lee are already on borrowed time and have to leave by this evening means all scenes involving them need to be completed and light is failing.
.A cry goes up for mud. It is usually would be funny in its surrealism to see fifteen adults scrabbling about in the dirt, not to mention ironic considering the rain of the past few days; but all are panic-stricken, mud being necessary for the make up of the final scene. Finally it is found, and amid swearing; the running to recharge batteries as they run out at the eleventh hour, the yells as more scouts build rafts right next to the set; all that must be done finally is.
Day 5
It rains again, this time a complete wash out and nothing can be done but postpone. The camp is packed up and all return to their various parts of Kent and Sussex knowing it will be problematic, trying to find a couple of days before Autumn draws in whilst working around everyone's prior commitments for the coming weeks.
Day 6
It's two weeks later when the cast and crew reconvene, less the Jethro and Lee whose work is now done. Two days have been found, in early September when the weather 'looks to be good,' though this time it's said with more hesitation for fear of counting chickens. All who have worked on this film have since developed an involuntary twitch of looking upwards; if the British are obsessed by the weather, then British filmmakers are haunted by it.
Considering the aforementioned scheduling problems it is surprising how many people have managed to make it. More importantly, all are pleased to be here, clearly happy to see one another after a fortnight in normality when August's filming seemed surreal in retrospect.
Today's filming is far less static than the previous week with locations dotted around the forest for the shorter scenes that will eventually be interspersed amongst those of the picnic narrative. Behind the Camera, this means a lot of fast paced imaginative thinking whilst working out the practicalities of whether it is possible. In front of it, the role of Amber becomes physically demanding, with Tina having to continually traipse through the forest, often having to pretend to fall over, which is not as easy as it sounds. For the runners, under the direction of there fearless leader Shaun, it means moving equipment up hills, through heavy vegetation and across ravines, akin to a corporate team building exercise. It's an exhausting day for all involved but as long as it stays dry and the scouts are back at school all are happy.
Day 7
The location shifts to High Rocks, Tunbridge Wells. Here there are not so many scenes to be done, but those that must are more complex with lighting having to be rigged and some shots involving claustrophobic filming in the rock crevasses. The latter providing much amusment for those watching from above, at least: WD40 as much a use to the malfunctioning generator as it is to lubricate certain members of the camera crew wedged between the rocks.
However, the generator, temperamental and sounding like a Sherman tank, is the final hitch of many, and despite the fact that some compromises have been made, Picnic at High Rocks is ready for the lengthy process of post production.
If it is extraordinary that people not only make films but also sacrifice their time and money in order to make them, then what is stranger still is that the tales of on set frustration and disappointment become more anecdotal than cautionary tale. The same is true in this case: no regrets, just stories that now seem funny because the luck was so bad. Perhaps it is all the more satisfying because it was so difficult. What's more, with no obvious motive - money, prestige, glamour - there's something all the more pure in it. Creating something for its own sake, and enjoying it, however, difficult.
You can contact Anton French at Curious Films on 01227 462 982 or e-mail anton@curiousfilms.co.uk for further information about the company and its services
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