BREATHE

WHAT FOLLOWS IS A SELCTION OF DIARY ENTRIES REGARDING THE PRODUCTION OF PORCELAIN FILM’S ‘BREATHE’

Day 7 – Exterior rooftop/Exterior College

The evening began with a prompt makeup call from makeup artist Jenni Davis. Both the crew and actors needed to move quickly as the first scene was to be captured on film before dark. Arriving on location outside the London College of communication runner Emily Rhodes stepped in on behalf of a missing extra to play Meredith’s friend and the cameras began to roll. Numerous takes followed of Bailey collecting Meredith from college (thanks to oblivious passing cyclists and awkward twilight shadows) but eventually Nick was happy with the footage and it was time to move on.

Next stop was London Victoria, on the roof of a three storey building. Only minimal crew were required on set, as to capture Bailey (Ricci Harnett) overlooking London some wall-scaling and ladder climbing was necessary! A tangled array of pipes and gutters created an urban background for a touching moment of silent contemplation from rogue Bailey.

Emily Rhodes

Day 10 – Exterior South Bank

This was a short night shoot but important for establishing characters Stuart (David Anderson)and Dianes’ (Lon Teija) relationship together. Meeting at the London Eye on a rather cold night, Lon used her best acting skills to look convincingly warm on camera – even in her tiny pink dress! The direction was simple, Dave Anderson and Lon Teija (Stuart and Diane) were to stroll along the South Bank occasionally gazing out over the water.

Although there was an original script, a lot of improvisation with the actor’s dialogue was experimented with as Nick wanted the conversation to be as natural as possible - adding the actors’ own twist to the characters. This worked extremely well, as Dave’s instinctive comedic edge and Lon’s beautiful ‘happy-go-lucky’ attitude came across in their characters and created a compatible onscreen partnership.

Emily Rhodes

Day 11 – Interior of James Bailey’s House

Time was precious during the Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) shoot, as actor Frank Jakeman - father to Meredith (Kayleigh Garnett) and Bailey was only on set for one day. The morning began with scripted physical conflict between father and son, ending with the spillage of scalding oil on Meredith. Tension was high on and off screen as actors and crew strived for interesting camera shots and realistic proxemics in the extremely narrow kitchen. A lot of scalding oil (fake!) and breakfast cereal was used before the completion of this scene!

Frank Jakeman continued channelling his raw emotion as he delivered a powerful monologue. Whilst Frank was made up to resemble a pallid corpse, the cast and crew were handed mugs of tea and slabs of shepherds pie. This was a contradicting final scene in terms of dynamics – as Meredith (Kayleigh), swathed in shadows and quietly crying after finding her father and is interrupted by Bailey bursting through the backdoor, in the midst of a police chase. For perfection, this series of events was filmed many times over for close-ups, wides, sound and wildcards: enough footage to form a high point of drama within the film. Actors Ricci and James Thornton (the policeman) were exhausted after performing a forceful arrest at least seven times!

Emily Rhodes

Day 12 – Interior of Lyn’s Flat

Making a feature film is strange in the way it is filmed in a non-consecutive sequence scenes, determined not by script order but by location. Today was no exception. A real flat in Oval was to be the interior of Lyn’s flat, where scenes spanning two years of the character’s life were captured in one bedroom, in one day with two onscreen boyfriends - Fraser and Bailey. Zara Dawson, playing Lynn remained focused as she underwent wardrobe and personality changes from a gothic to non-gothic look; certainly not a time to be body-shy having to film a sex scene with Ricci Harnett. Ricci brought some light-hearted hilarity to the crew as he psyched himself up for the sex scene: rubbing a strong-scented coconut moisturiser into his chest, gargling with mouth wash and finally finishing up by dousing himself in aftershave! Overall the day passed quickly due to the high standard of work and professionalism from both actors and crew.

Emily Rhodes

Day 13 – Interior Underground/Ext DLR

This evening had been set aside for the linking of scenes, vital for ensuring an audience can grasp easily how a story told by film fits together. These shots would be cut in in-between the main scenes to create a flowing piece of drama. Special passes had been acquired for filming purposes in the underground station. However the station staff were still hesitant to allow the crew to set up anywhere, even just the simple shots of Ricci ascending the escalator. Security was so cautious that only Ricci and Nick were granted further permission to record on the Tube itself, sound recordings were barred completely

After being under this strict surveillance, venturing to a block of council high-rise flats was a relief. Again, little dialogue was needed, just quality direction from Nicholas Winter to Ricci and secondary cameraman Sam Wyndham. Moving shots followed Bailey’s progress along the corridor (with a sweeping view of London), on the steps and running to the next block of buildings.

Day 15 – Exterior Park (big scene)

Yet again, the crew and a large selection of cast found themselves working in a chilly, dark location – this time a run down basketball court in South East London. This was to be a pivotal scene within the film where Ricci drunk out of his mind is at his lowest point, to the extent of breaking into and stealing a car in front of everyone. Much organisation was required beforehand: the sourcing of electricity from the local pub to provide the court with suitable lighting, hiring two cars - fitting them out with extra interior lighting and the careful carrying and positioning of sugar glass.

After a preparation talk from Nick, a few quick rehearsals went underway so people were aware of their positioning. Tom Bennett, Tom Stanley & David Stephenson as Bailey’s friends brought some needed ‘lad antics’ to the serious scene. Before the acting became too practised Nick filmed the first take, adhering to the principal that improvisation is key for a winning performance. His ideal prevailed as real gasps of shock and an atmospheric silence descended on the set - actors genuinely fearful of Bailey’s unpredictable presence. Ricci played his part superbly: portraying Bailey as a hopeless drunk, with enough spontaneous violence to interpret Bailey’s anger as frustration with himself, for what his life has become.

Day 16 – Interior Dan’s Place (Portland Square)

From one extreme to the other – today’s filming was to take place in a very salubrious address in Portland Square, just off of Oxford Street. On arrival, it became apparent that for the usage of the flat, out of courtesy the kitchen had to be cleaned. Runner Emily Rhodes started scrubbing whilst in only the room next door a glamorous, sexy scene was being played out between Lynn’s rich boyfriend Dan and his mistress! The day continued to reveal Dan’s spiteful, controlling reign over Lynn – a total character contrast to Bailey. Whether it was because of the full moon that night or just general tiredness, all were high-spirited. There were endless jokes on set, most memorably the unexpected viewing of Ricci’s own full moon on camera as Zara (in character) opened the front door to it!

The last shots were to be of Zara and Ricci exiting in a lift. Nick shouted ‘cut,’ but the couple did not emerge. The lift was discovered to be jammed! Producer Paul Windmill ran to inform staff just as soundman Callum Deas pulled the lift doors apart with his own bare strength! Paul was left feeling sheepish as the attendant downstairs trialled the lift and found it not only to be functioning perfectly, but with no actors inside it either…

Day 18 – First day at Northmoor

After meeting at the London Eye, a convoy of Breathe cars journeyed towards Dulverton, Somerset. New faces were visible as the four day shoot in Somerset required a lot of minor characters to be present. The phrase, ‘In the middle of nowhere’ really did ring true upon arrival at Northmoor Manor as roads turned to rural tracks and phones lost all signal. The manor, in which we were to live and work in over the next four days – was breath-taking in itself: endless Victorian rooms decorated to perfection opened out onto one another with views of rolling green grounds.

There were many scenes to film that evening as one of the key actors – Tom Bennett - was only available for one night. Preparations began immediately in creating suitable sets. Tom, playing lovable womaniser Marty was on top form as he cuddled up in the kitchen to Francesca Brown, sweet-talked his way into the stables with actress Tessa Mabbitt and finally took his chances over table tennis with actress Nicki Posener - all scripted flirting of course!

Day 19 – Second day at Northmoor

The Northmoor House shoots often didn’t finish until three am. However, the days were easy, there was no reason to be awake before midday so breakfast often became lunch. There were plenty of people to relax and socialise with before dressing in the same clothes as the night before, as all three nights were to be used to secure scenes from the same party, so continuity was important! The scene requiring the most organisation was held in the grand living room, complete with ornate fireplace and adjoining banquet-sized dining room. Willing extras from the local area had been sourced as background party-goers so all was ready for filming. Eight takes later the same scenario involving simple dialogue between Dan and best friend Scott with their girlfriends was still not finished. It seemed Lee Otway was struggling to say the right words for his character or in fact any words at all that weren’t four letters long and offensive! However, the entertainment factor of hearing a well trained actor fluff his lines cannot be denied, as the whole cast and crew were left laughing along with him.

Day 20 – Third day at Northmoor

An extensive selection of main character entrances were to be filmed tonight. Different characters were to congregate in the kitchen, which had previously been set to reflect an early party such as empty off license bags and some unopened alcohol. The party, held by Dan and Scott is cleverly left unclear whose or how exactly the country manor was organised as a venue – it is simply obvious that their life-style of drinking and cheating is routine. Lynn’s growing depression over her failing relationship contrasts heavily with the perfected luxury around her, a near tragedy as her situation leads her to be alone and unconscious in a Victorian bath.

 

Back in the warmth of the Aga kitchen, an awkward scene plays out between Diane and Stuart, as Dan cracks a racist joke only he laughs at. A gaggle of easily impressed ‘gym bunnies’ are led on a tour of the manor. Away from the pressure of high quality shots and interesting angles, Nick spotted a large plastic garden owl perched on top of a kitchen cupboard. Suddenly the male crew members were eager to feature the evil-looking owl in an unassuming shot.

No guesses needed for the culprits who strung up that very same owl outside one of the girls’ windows, ready to scare – the sound wire could only have come from one source.

Day 21 – Fourth day and Pub

This was the first and last day in Dulverton when the Breathe cameras actually saw daylight - excluding the behind-the-scenes camera! A skeleton crew took a trip down to local pub, which had agreed to hire out their premises for filming purposes (before opening hours.) In true backwards style, this last shoot would actually be featured in the film first, before any of the party footage. It was to be the first encounter between Dan, Scott and their two future girlfriends Lynn and Megan (Caroline George) in supposedly an upmarket London pub. The style of the scene portrays Dan and Scotts’ chauvinist attitudes towards women, all out of earshot of the unsuspecting girls only metres away at the bar. The banter between actors Lee and Graham characters became more crudely obscene with each take, illustrating perfectly their ‘rich-kid’ self-obsessed attitudes which as directed turned into gentlemanly politeness on introducing themselves to the girls! Keep your eyes and ears open for the wise words of ‘Spider Scott.’

Day 24 – Liverpool Street

It was saddening to know that today was the last official shoot for the feature film Breathe. As time wore on, more actors wrapped and left – leaving just Zara, Ricci and the crew to travel to Liverpool Station. The day had not been without its highlights. Filming had progressed smoothly, focusing on Lauren’s flat (a mutual friend of Fraser and Baileys) with Sam Wyndham’s cleverly constructed cardboard gobo projected onto the wall creating an early morning light effect. Ewan Alman in the role of Fraser became so frantic with his door-knocking that he put his whole fist through an upper panel! It was only realised afterwards that the door was white-painted glass and not wood.

Afterwards, it was a brief trip to Liverpool station for most of the crew, as again – only limited numbers were entitled to accompany the actors, as the station staff wanted to keep a stern watch over the area they had cordoned off specifically for Breathe. For the rest of the rejected crew, filming was over not just for the day but for the whole of the Breathe shoot, so it was off to the nearest pub to toast the finished work!