What would you do if you won thousands?
ANNA MALMKJAER'S DIARY
1
Character: Katherine. Model and wannabe fashion designer
Rachel have hooked me up with one of her friends who is a stylist. She gave me loads of tips on what my character might choose to wear, so now I have a pretty good idea of what I will wear.
Outfit sorted - borrowing my friend Sadie’s jacket later... And I need a hat...
2
So here I am getting to know my new character, Katherine. Rachel have printed out loads of q&a’s for us, regarding our character and our chosen subjects.
Rachel has brought Ray (a documentary film maker) along to film our improvisations and the whole process of this little project as well.
We are also doing impro to get to know our characters and basically trying to make it mean something....
Rachel divides us into groups and send me and my group down to the green room. Hey, a better chance to get to know my character! I get out my notebook and start thinking about that burning question: Why am I here (at this game show), and what would I spend the money on?
Why am I here:
Money - that prize money. They would sort out so many problems my family has, they would get us back to normal - like we used to be. Before my dad died.
What would I spend the money on:
Education for my brother, a nice house for my mum. My education as well....
After a while, Rachel comes and gets me, and we all do improvisations based on our characters. Laura sits behind the camera and asks me questions about why I am doing the game show.
So we are 6 people
Katherine , wants to use the money to get family back to what it used to be
Alex , doesn’t want the money. I think he’s a guide or runner from the show
Sam , wants to use the money to bring his daughter down from Scotland to live with him
George , wants the money so he can leave his wife for Charley
Charley , is not on the game show but is here to support George
Teresa , wants to move to Australia and live a better life
2
Rachel is full of ideas and we are her guinea pigs, so we jump straight in. Again we improvise and explore our characters. We have 2 minutes alone with the camera improvising alone, saying what our characters think about the other contestants. Those 2 minutes feel like 3 seconds, I am really just getting started before Rachel opens the door and says TIMEOUT. The time just flies by and then we have to call it a day....
3
Well the 2 minutes behind closed doors didn’t really work Rachel says, But hey at least the script is coming together and we are rehearsing the opening getting to know the location. Rachel have done her best to explain the location to us so we know where we are going and standing, as we have little time to figure all that out on our 2 day shoot. Anyway things are getting clear, and my character is really only bonding to 1 character Alex during the film, so I am really only working with Jason (Alex) at the moment.
4
The shoot has moved a week end. Perfect, for me anyway. - At least we have one more week to get things completed. It is all moving really fast and Rachel is trying hard squeeze the whole story and our hopeless characters into a 15 minute short film. So many ideas and so little time. Today Rachel suggested that Katherine and Alex could have a little “moment” and kiss-if that was OK with us. Sure, yes, fine I say. After all, it is pretty much right there in the script anyway, Katherine is definitely into guys who pays attention to her and Alex is the one who came to her when she was crying. She likes Alex, It could be a part of her game plan. Maybe Alex will help her win the money? After all he’s not a contestant on the game show he’s just a guide or something.
5
Uhhhh, there is going to be a choreographed fight on set. Yay, I love stuff like that. Apparently Alex and George will get into an argument and then fight. Well saying that is probably too much, Alex (my hero.....) Is putting George in his place by putting him in headlock and telling him he’s a coward, I am sure this will look good on camera as these things often do, I cannot wait to see the finished result.
6
Got our continuity sheets and was shown how to fill them out. The reason we have these sheets is that sometimes the films are shot out of sequence, and it is a lot easier to edit a film if you know where the next shot in the film is. We are also allocated sections of the film where we will be “top dog” making sure everything runs smoothly and people who needs to be on set is on set
7
Today I am not going to write much. We rehearsed some of the scenes, Teresa and I are getting into a right bitch fight and I have to find really nasty things to say about her - which is hard, because she is such a sweet girl.
8
Rachel wants Alex and Katherine to dance Ceroc at the end of the film, so I have been looking at it on youtube. I have never heard of Ceroc before so I am eager to learn just a little bit, but that is tomorrow and not today. Today we are going through the ending again as it has to be timed and we all need to know where we are going and what we are doing. Shooting schedule is tight...
9
Haha... Ceroc was fun, but really I think I could have done with a few more lessons. I felt like a kid again at dance lessons doing the steps over and over again, thinking that I knew what I was doing and then when we started dancing I forgot again. After 2 hours of people helping us, we finally had it. Now all we have to do is not to forget it again. I will practice in the morning.
10
I have practiced all day and I am ready to face Jason and see how much he remembers. I am sure we will be able to pull this off. There is a bit of waiting around for us today anyway, so whenever we get a chance to practice our few ceroc steps that we know, we do. - By the way - So glad we didn’t shoot last week end. The weather was horrible and really rainy. Everything is locked off and we are ready to go and shoot the film.
Rehearsal day
Roshan is picking me and James up before going to the location. So nice, as it meant I could sleep an hour longer. Brr...
It is 5 am and I am up brewing todays first cup of coffee. Everything is packed and I getting out my big warm boots for when I am waiting around. It was interesting to pick up James, we looked and looked and looked for the BIG woolworths that he was stood in front of but could not find it. In the end we did find it and guess what, it was not very big after all, but we found James and got going. After a few twists and turns we got to the location and spotted our new favorite place for the next 3 days. The petrol station. They did tea, coffee and sandwiches and best of all it was warmer than outside.
Anyway Today went well and pretty easy. It was good to see the location and get a feel for it, after all the rehearsal room was quite a bit smaller than the location is. By 4 pm the light is gone and we are all heading home. 6:30 I have the longest warmest shower in my life and sneak into bed around 8 pm. A new day is looming.
Shooting day 1
Even colder today, there’s frost on the cars. Today I am wearing extra everything. I am going to do my best to keep warm. I know I have to be on from the start today and I spend my time in the car and prepare myself for my first shot. I have to be crying. We arrive on set. Diane ( the producer ) is supposed to be there, but we soon realize that she is not going to show. Show must go on, and we get our hats on and film film film.
The hat I am waring is far too big for me and keeps falling into my eyes. The curse of my head again, it is the smallest head on the planet. Honestly! - Hat goes off and we continue shooting. - We have pretty much shot half of the film, by the time the sun sets on the location. We are all dreaming of a warm bath and a hot meal. And tomorrow, last day. How mad!
Shooting day 2
No crying today just more layers and quick decisions and me fuzzing up my lines. More tea, more coffee. The coffee is really bad, but warm. Our dance is cancelled, time is just not on our side. Plus it is not an essential part of the script. Most of the shots feel rushed, but Rachel has the monitor and knows when she has what she wants, plus there’s that time thing again. It’s after us. The bus turns up and we can now sit inside and enjoy our lunch. It really makes a difference and I feel more energized and relaxed after a bite to eat and some warmth. The rest of the afternoon passes by faster than yesterday and all of a sudden we are at our final shot. We get in line for the walk off and walk. - Wrap! - And now time for a drink...
Editing
Went to the editing room today, the film is really looking good. I might have to record my crying as it is not very load on the film, but my throat is sore and I don’t think I can do it today. - I have have to admit defeat, some nasty flu have gotten the better of me and I am very ill. I didn’t get to see much of the editing process but I got a feel for what goes on there. There are a lot of reasons why some things get cut from a film. Sounds, camera angles, people in the background.
Watch the film (32Mb file)