Shoot Day 1 In the beginning...

First days of shoots are always a bit nerve-racking, a bit slow (everyone is trying
to figure out and second guess everyone else, the actor's are usually a bit nervous
etc.) - but we got through the schedule just as we started to lose the light.
However, encouragingly there were some excellent signs emerging from Day 1.  Firstly,
the crew got on really well, established a lovely rapport with each other and the
actors - all good stuff.  Secondly we had our first 'magic take'.  This is a take
where something quite special, dare I say, magical happens.  Today, it was Stacey
Edwards's voice over work in the morning - she plays the part of a young girl who
commits suicide.  What she's reading, and what all of the 'dying voices' in the film
contain, are the words of actual suicide victims or people close to death.  The
'magic take' is characterised by an incredible silence on the set - it's literally
hear a pin drop time.  So Stacey's reading in the morning created this wonderful
intensity and makes you really listen carefully to the words.
Then it was outside to shoot the scene where Rebecca, the maligned and dangerous
angel shall we say (played by Jordanna Moran), 'hears' the young girls words and
follows her.  Apart from getting shat on by a flock of starlings(!), the scene worked
well.  Then it was down to the roadside to shoot the final section.
Again, visually and casting wise it's nice to see your plans reach fruition - in
this case it's Jordanna's eyes in dark shadow making her look menacing - you can't
see her eyes (our 3-stop ND filter helps this!).
Finally, when it's time to wrap, I suddenly have an idea to shoot a little sequence
in a nearby small forest - I wanted to have a visual idea of the preditory nature
of Rebecca's character, so we see her following Stacey's character.  Worked a treat.