Now we were waiting for Richard Wood and Benjamin. Richard had called to say that he was in heavy traffic on the A12 and Benjamin wasn’t due until 4pm, as he was coming straight to the set from arriving back from holiday. The traffic wasn’t that heavy as Richard soon arrived after his phonecall. Richard got straight to work setting up the lights and the camera, while I got the props ready. The first lot of shots are pickups from Scene X. They are shots that I decided the film needed, after watching the edit of the film, just so I could get a point across clearly to the audience. I can’t say what point that is as it would ruin the film for you.


We got these shots quickly and then we set the camera up for the first shot of the prologue. A wide shot of Seth and Lisa entering the flat. While we were setting up this shot, Benjamin arrived. He looked good for someone who had been travelling all day. He quickly said hello to everybody, before he was whisked straight into wardrobe and makeup.


Once he was ready, we were ready to capture this shot. The shot is off their legs as they enter the flat. First thing you see is the lights come on, their coats hit the floor and then you see their legs. Then in the film it cuts to the reverse of them entering the Lisa’s flat. This first shot took a couple of goes to get right. The lights would come on fine. The jacket would fall on the correct spot. But then when they would come into shot, their legs would never look correct. It’s hard to describe what was wrong, but I just knew it was wrong. We had done a few more takes and it was still not working. Richard suggested we let them do it a couple of times without cutting and that hit the nail on the head.


Once we got that shot, we went into the now bedroom to get them coming through the door. This shot was easier to get. Though the actors had to watch out for a picture hanging on the wall, because the first shot they knocked it. It might look good when I watch the rushes later, but for the moment I told them to be careful of it. It really shows you how much an actor has to do in front of a camera. They have to remember stop at this certain point, remember to say their line at a certain place, make it all look natural... and don’t knock that picture!


We got a few more shots done, before we had to finish. We needed to be finished by 7.30pm, so we could go and get some panoramic shots of London at Dusk. We still didn’t have a rooftop location, so I decided to go to Greenwich Park to get the shots of the cityscape. I hadn’t been there before, but from what Elly had told me about it on Monday, I decided it would be a good place to go. A small group of us were going. Richard, Andy, William and myself - I was driving. Benjamin was going to have stay, so we could get a shot of him out on the balcony looking out into the night. Helen was waiting for a phone call about going out that evening, so she was going to keep Ben company while we were out.


When we wrapped, we still have 3 shots to do. We will have to pick them up tomorrow. As Samuel and Liz left, I got on the phone to Axelle Carolyn and told her that her call time had changed. It would now be 11am, instead of the 9am call time everybody else had. That way she wouldn’t have to be waiting around for hours before she was needed. A pet peeve of actors, as I hear.


Once I was finished my phone call with Axelle, the team was ready to go. We jumped into the car and it was up onto the A12. I drove through the Blackwell tunnel and then followed the signs for Greenwich Park. They were clearly marked. A rarity in London. Usually you get so far following signs in London and they suddenly disappeared. Then you drive around hoping and preying that you find the next sign. But for once, it wasn’t the case.


Once we got there, the park was very flat and we couldn’t see the city at all. I saw a sign for the park, pointing to the right. So I followed it, wondering where this view was, and then we came to the top of a hill and there before us was London. You could see the river, the O2 Centre, Docklands, Canary Wharf, everything. The sun was low in the sky. It looked great. It wasn’t a red sky. Red sky would of been really cool, but what with the weather we been having lately it could of been a lot worse. We had to move quickly to capture God’s pallet.


The guys went on ahead to set up the camera, while I parked up the car. I had to make sure the car was within the lines of the parking space. If the slightest bit of the car was outside the box, say like the edge of the tyre, I would get a ticket and I didn’t want to get that.


Once I was satisfied with my parking, I followed the guys up to the top of the hill, where they had set up the camera. The first shot was lined up and we start to shot the city as the sun slowly went down.


We were there for over an hour when we could hear this Tannoy asking people to vacate the park. They were closing at 9.30pm. So we had this struggle of whether to stay or go. It was getting darker and the lights on the buildings were coming on, which is what I wanted, but I didn’t want to be thrown out. We stayed as long as we could. We finally packed up at 9.45pm, when the park ranger in his electric cart turned up and sat there waiting for us to leave. I guess we had to go. As we walked back to the car, with the park ranger watching us leave, I was happy that we got some great shots from that hillside. Thanks Elly for the idea.


We got back to the flat after 10pm. Benjamin was there on his own. Helen had received her phone call and left, but not before Ben could teach her how to play poker. While Richard and Andy set the lights up for the final shots of the day, William and myself starting getting everybody’s orders for dinner. We were ordering from the Indian from across the road. William ordered the food and was told it would take half an hour to cook. Enough time to get these 2 shots done. First shot is Ben stepping out of the balcony and looking out at the city. We got that done in 2 takes. It looks great, especially with the out of focus headlights off in the distance.  Though thank God we weren’t recording sound. All the cars decided to honk their horns. I don’t know if they were honking at something on the road or at us, but boy was it noisy. We then moved inside for the next shot, as Ben walk out onto the balcony. We knocked that off quickly and then dinner arrived.


After dinner, William headed back home, while Richard, Andy, Ben and myself had a game of poker - Texas Hold’em style. Richard and Andy were knocked out of the game quickly, leaving Ben and myself to play on. The game didn’t last long and I won with a straight to the ace. Best hand I’ve ever had. Only a royal flush could of beaten it. And Ben didn’t have that. Once the game was finished, we all went off to bed. Richard and Andy had the air beds to sleep on. I was going to sleep on the bed and Ben took a spot on the floor. It was going to be another long day tomorrow and I hope I get some sleep. I hope it’s not going to be like last time.