After The Storm

You know that feature film I told you about in my last blogpost? We finished shooting it yesterday. The raw footage exists, which is a source of great joy, tinged with sadness that the filming experience is over.

I'm sitting on a sofa in the communal living area which cast and crew have shared for the duration of the shoot. Since we had our wrap party last night (complete with live rock covers band!), the place looks like a bomb hit it.  A booze bomb.  The majority of us have lived together for these weeks, in the middle of nowhere with the weakest internet and phone signals known to man, as well as the most persistently hardcore flies on the planet. It's been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

The shoot has taught me so much about film-making, not least in terms of directing. It's been great to sit at the monitors with director Dan Turner, learning from every single decision he makes. The story has evolved as we filmed, too, so it's been a thrilling challenge to solve issues along the way, ensure that everything makes sense and is the best that it can possibly be.

We've been helped by a brilliantly dedicated crew and a fantastic ensemble cast, all of whom went beyond the call of duty on a regular basis. I'm really going to miss waking up each day on an airbed on the floor of one of our sets, knowing that a full day of shooting lies ahead, with good, professional folk. And the catering.

Of course, the film still has a long road ahead of it. Effects, editing, the grade... that's all to come. For now, I'm going to take a little time to reflect on the whole giddy experience. Oh, and, er, catch up with all the writing and story creation that I should have been doing over the last fortnight...

UPDATE: You can catch up with some of my hashtagged tweets during the shoot here: http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23horrorfilmdiary