Signing Off - filming done!

Indeed, remember that short script I wrote a while back called Signing Off, the one that was a prequel to another script I wrote called The End?

Well, I finally filmed it today with Sean "the zombie from Trapped who took a throat-load of fake blood" Connell.

Also, it was in fact my first return to the woods - where Trapped and my NIGHTMARE were both filmed - since the summer of 2005.

After navigating through a field full of cows (and cow shite), we found ourselves in familiar territory and then headed off to get back to the main area where both of those two other films were shot (in the summers of 2004 and 2005). Since then, it's a lot more overgrown, and the pathway towards a small reservoir (which led to the area where Knox got his throat 'slashed' by Emma's nut case murderer, in my NIGHTMARE), has seemingly been eroded by rain and time into a slippery slope that I didn't fancy traversing.

But never fear, there was plenty of space to shoot the bulk of the film (a few shots were gathered on the outskirts of the wooded area afterwards). The idea again was to shoot something fairly simple in structure, and indeed the majority of the filming came down to Sean's central performance as Mason Wood, Medical Orderly at the West Midlands Refugee Camp #3.

During the filming, being that we were in a wooded area where few seem to tread, and it's summer and generally damp in the air (we fortunately shot before rain which came a couple of hours after finishing, although I missed it as I was too busy editing for the Sex Education DVD at the time) - there were midges and flies everywhere.

I was damn near covered in them, particularly midges, and being fair skinned they absolutely love attacking me - not sure why fair skin is better than the skin of someone with, say, black hair ... but, whatever.

Anyway, after getting back from filming I glanced at my hand and arm, and discovered an absolute myriad of red blotches - bites - from those bastard flying ... bastards. I've counted damn near 40 of them ... fortunately they're not itching ... but I did manage to accidentally flick my fingers through a thistle and got stung (which hasn't happened to me in donkey's years).

Then my hay fever started acting up a bit, but otherwise it all went well.

Sean did a bloody good job, not only of memorising my script well, but of packing his performance with various emotions and moments of drama. I'll certainly look forward for editing it together.

Not sure of the length yet, quite possibly 10 minutes. It'll be in 2.35:1 (just like VHS: Long Play a couple of months back), and I'll of course be dribbling Magic Bullet all over it like the glutton I am for it's sexy colouring abilities.