Thursday 26 June 2008

So, what's been happening?




...alot has been happening!

For the last couple of days, we've been holding a mandy.com casting session, for all mandy.com actors. I still haven't made a decision on Joseph or Chris's character and time is running out! We plan to shoot on July 7th and 12th, and I still haven't chosen the leads! I do think however, I've found the right guys for the part, its just all about making that final decision. I know I've been very indecisive about it, but I personally believe that casting is the most important part of the filming process. The wrong actors can make or break a film, no matter how good the script is. So I'm taking the time to find those right people.

LOCATIONS:

Several issues arose with the locations I had originally picked to adhere to the script. The first location being the Aldwych tube station. The beginning of The World Beyond the Wall, calls for Joseph, the main character; to come home from work on the tube. To film something on the 'tube' involves alot of phone calls and paper work. Permissions between the official transport of London and the specific tube station you are going to film in are essential. And planning the least busy times are also important. This week, I learned that the station I had planned on shooting in "Aldwych" station, had been shut down due to security reasons. It is because of this, that I am left without an opening location scene. This causes me a lot more work than would have been necessary. For those of you that don't realise, the Aldwych station tube, was a station once on the Piccadilly line, but was shut down due to maintenance problems in 1994. Since then, it has been the ideal place for filming tube scenes, as they allowed a train to enter the station every now and then at the discretion's of the director.
Read more here:
http://underground-history.co.uk/aldwych.php

Long story short, that location is no longer available, leaving me to find alternative routes. I am currently looking for a tube station that has less business than any other during early morning hours. Hopefully I will find what I am looking for. (Or have my main character catch a bus....)

Another location, which is fairly important for this film, is a red Brick Wall. (Hence the title, The World Beyond the WALL). Now originally, what I had imagined, was this wall, would be a red brick one and in a back alley with a dead end. Unfortunately, the city of London is built in blocks. And because of this, there is hardly any such dead ends available outside. So in this case, I had chosen to move the location to interior, (more specifically) a warehouse called Cinnamon Warehouses, which was a beautiful establishment complete with rich red brick walls.
Once again however, weeks later, I was denied this opportunity because of over booking. I am now left to fend for myself. Luckily, I'm open to suggestions, and not so married to my ideals that I postpone the production to find exactly what I envisioned. A wonderful company by the name of SPACE-2 Consulting Ltd. They happened to find me a nice place, that will be demolished at the end of July. An abandoned print room.



This is a photo of some of the rooms. We will see how the recce goes.
Stay tuned for more hair raising updates!