Act Two director, Lerato Islam, shares a half term update.
This week, we hand over the blog to Act Two director, Lerato Islam, to find out how preparation is going for the company’s movie, Common Knowledge…
“It’s half-term week, and the cast of Act Two is enjoying a well-deserved break.
Halfway through our filming schedule, I think the group can really appreciate better now how hard it is to make a blockbuster movie. We’ve had it all: missing actors, rain so bad we couldn’t even get the camera out to film anything, long waits between upcoming scenes…
But, in spite of the challenges, the young people have kept their spirits up, and carried on working hard.
Last weekend was a particular highlight for me in the filming process. With a small group of six actors, we arrived at Southside House, a spectacular (and very quirky!) manor lodged at the end of Wimbledon common. It was an intensive shoot: we had three hours to nail down six scenes, with one of our main actors having to absent himself for an hour mid-filming to take an exam (shout out to all the parents doing the taxi services!)
We want our film to be bold, and filming a two minute scene takes 30 to 45 minutes in order to try different takes and angles. So you can imagine the time crunch.
But the young people worked tirelessly, and I must say I am very pleased with much of the footage we were able to capture.
And it’s not over yet. Over the next couple of weeks, the young actors will be filming in a different location every week: Wimbledon common, a graveyard, a makeshift laundry at the back of a school, and more…
There is still a lot of work to be done, but I’m sure the passion and dedication of the young people will see them through this project. I can’t wait to see them on the big screen!”
Southside House vintage sale
We loved filming at Southside House – and our friends and supporters there are preparing for a special event on 5 June.
We’ll be at this debut vintage sale in the Southside House courtyard – and we hope to see some of our WCTT extended family there too.
