Making Movies
My involvement came about when Keith Barnfather, Reeltime's head honcho and an old friend, was visiting my wife and I one evening, enjoying a nice meal and bottle of wine or three. As is usually the case under these circumstances, talk turns to the lack of Doctor Who on television, and what there is to take its place.
'You know what I'd like to see,' says Keith with a wistful look in his eye. 'A simple character driven drama, featuring a couple of old Doctor Who monsters and nothing else.'
'Sort of like Enemy Mine,' I chip in, 'Only with no budget.'
'Exactly.'
The next hour or so was spend discussing ideas for such a project. How it might work, which monsters could legitimately be used, and so on. Keith left with all this bubbling away in his brain.
It must have only been a week or so later when the telephone rang.
'David, it's on.'
'What's on?'
'The drama. Terrance is writing it, and we've got Sophie, as well as the rights from the copyright owners to use the Sontarans and the Draconians!'
Stunned silence from me.
'And I want you to have a look through the script with me - there isn't much time, though.'
When is there ever?
After the excitement died down, I could take stock of what this new production was all about. The casting was, I felt, somewhat predictable and yet strong. Sophie Aldred, who played Ace in the TV series, would play a female human mercenary, Miles Richardson, who had appeared as a UNIT officer in Reeltime's Downtime was playing a Draconian, and Toby Aspin, who had played a Sontaran in Dreamwatch Media's Shakedown, would also play a Sontaran here. The masks were being created by Stephen Mansfield, who had worked on Doctor Who helping to create, amongst other things, the Destroyer in Battlefield and the melting of Kane's head in Dragonfire, and the sets and make-up were also being handled by industry professionals.
The script was by Terrance Dicks, and the brief was to tell a story with these three characters, in a cell, not knowing why.
The script duly arrived about a week before recording, and considering the limitations of the brief, it fulfilled all the requirements. Keith and I worked through it over a Sunday afternoon, polishing and refining, and then Terrance was briefed on those changes Keith would like to see. One minor reworking later and it was ready for the read-through and the studio. Recording took place on Thursday 30 July at an electronic studio in North London - the same studio that Lust in Space and Auton had been recorded in, and this was the day that I had to be up at the crack of dawn to ferry Keith and Miles up there.
I cannot honestly say that the day went without a hitch, as time was always against us. To try and record around 50 minutes of usable action in one day is an almost impossible task, and in the end, a succession of problems, including lighting adjustments, the difficulties of shooting with three cameras simultaneously, and some logistical issues with the relatively complex action sequences meant that by lunchtime we were already way behind schedule. It was time for some emergency work on the script. Thankfully, Terrance had been able to attend the recording, and with his help, the script was pulled apart and then re-jigged to remove material from the main 'cell' setting to a secondary 'control room' setting. This 'control room' set would ultimately be re-mounted in Reeltime Pictures' own studio - far too small and cramped to have been used for the main 'cell' set - the following week.
My day seemed to consist mainly of sorting out other people's problems - after all that was why I was there - and chasing up tea, coffee and biscuits for the cast and crew. I also ended up wrangling water for the cast as it gets hellishly hot inside the costumes.
Perhaps the biggest thrill was seeing a Draconian and a Sontaran on set together for the first time. The masks and costumes looked pretty good, and the acting was first rate given the speed at which things were being committed to tape.
Sophie also turned in a cracking performance as the human female - who remains unnamed throughout the story - managing to capture terror, frustration and calm superiority in equal measures.
Because there was only one set, Keith had opted to record everything in sequence, thus allowing the actors to develop their performances as the day - and plot - progressed.
As time passed, we steadily grew more and more tired. Recording really takes it out of you, and as the adrenalin flows, so you tend to forget to eat and drink and so become dehydrated and hungry, not noticing until the next day when the aching limbs and headache testify to a hard day's work hopefully well done.
As of writing, aside from watching most of MindGame being recorded, I have also seen the rough edit of the material in the 'cell'. Still to be added are the scenes set in the 'control room', as well as electronic CGI effects, music, sound effects and titles. However, my honest take on the production as it stands at the moment is of quiet satisfaction.
Terrance came up with a script that delivered everything that was demanded of it. It's perhaps not a masterpiece of video drama, that would be asking a lot of any production - especially one with a budget as minute as this one had, not to mention the vastly reduced preparation time and limited studio time - but it is a well-told and elegantly simple tale of three disparate characters plucked out of time and space and dumped together. Their task: find out why.
It was, as I mentioned, especially pleasing to see a Sontaran and a Draconian going through their paces together, with Sophie's human adding the right amount of sparky irreverence to the mix. Many years ago, Marvel Comics ran a comic strip story in which several Doctor Who monsters - I seem to recall a Draconian and an Ice Warrior amongst them - teamed up to fight together against a common foe. The strip worked as it played on the difference in attititude and character between the races, and MindGame manages to do something similar. Even before we had finished recording for the day, some of those present were muttering about a sequel ...!
MindGame should be available to buy in UK highstreet shops in September/October this year, as well as being available from all the usual specialist outlets, and direct from Reeltime Pictures themselves (though I understand it's only available in PAL format). Interested parties can contact Reeltime at PO Box 7920, LONDON, SE1 0ZD. Please enclose a stamped, self addressed envelope if you're in the UK, or a couple of International Reply Coupons if you're not.
Sophie Aldred as the human female.
Director and producer Keith Barnfather on set with Toby Aspin (Sontaran), Miles Richardson (Draconian) and Sophie Aldred (human).
The three stars of Terrance Dicks' MindGame. Miles Richardson as the Draconian, Sophie Aldred as the human and Toby Aspin as the Sontaran.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ARE COPYRIGHT DAVID J HOWE AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PERMISSION.