Sequelitis
The Place: Reeltime Pictures' central London studios.
The Time: From 7.30 am.
Five or so months on from the recording of MindGame, Reeltime Pictures' drama starring Sophie Aldred, Miles Richardson and Toby Aspin, we're at it all over again. MindGame was so well received that Keith Barnfather decided to continue the story and to find out what happened to the three characters after they 'beamed out' at the end of the previous tape.
This idea of continuing the story had actually been on the cards since MindGame was in development, and the idea behind Trilogy was simply to concentrate on the three characters and to find out some more about them, and about how they fared after banding together to defeat the alien menace in MindGame.
Their stories would be told through three individual pieces, written by three different authors. To keep the costs down, the three pieces would be as straightforward as possible, but Keith was never the less determined that the production values would match those of the previous drama.
This first recording day would see two of the three pieces being completed: those for the Draconian, again played by Miles Richardson, and of the Human, with Sophie Aldred returning to reprise her role. Recording for the third piece, featuring the Sontaran, this time being played by John Wadmore rather than Toby Aspin, was to take place the following evening on location near Tunbridge Wells.
We had all learned a lot from recording MindGame, and Trilogy was as a result a far more relaxed and straightforward affair. We only had 30 minutes to record over the course of the day, and with it being at Reeltime's own studio, there was far less tension. In addition the amount to be achieved and the relative complexity of it had been scaled down so that hopefully none of the last-minute cutting that plagued MindGame would be necessary.
Miles was up first, and was performing his own script which reveals that the Draconian is in jail, facing charges which become clear as the piece progresses. This is a marvellously witty and sensitively acted piece, and Miles was, frankly, brilliant. He had actually travelled in for the day from Paris where he was working on an episode of the TV series Highlander (playing the guest villain) and left us after he finished to return, first class, to Paris on Eurostar.
The recording went smoothly, and I don't recall there being any major problems. Perhaps the biggest one was when the main camera could not be got into the correct position high up against one of the walls to record some sequences, supposedly the view from the cell's security camera. To get around this, a small digital camera (one of two being used to record background material for the 'making of' documentary which will accompany the final drama on the tape) was used instead.
I managed to make a fleeting appearance as the shadow of a Draconian on the wall of the cell as Miles is returned there after his trial, but the rest of the time was spent making endless cups of tea for the cast and crew, helping shift the sets around, looking after Miles and Sophie's scripts and drinks, and running down to the local shop for everything from milk and chocolate bars to black ladies tights (60 denier) and dental floss (not mint) - don't ask!
Sophie arrived at about 1.30 and watched the final scenes with Miles being recorded before she was off into make-up to be transformed into the scarred and battle-weary 'human female'.
Then there was a break in recording as the cell set was dismantled and removed and scenic designer Tony Clark made the finishing touches to his impressive space-shuttle cockpit and got the whole thing set-up in the studio as cameraman and lighting director Robin Lee rearranged all the lights, cameras and dolly tracks. At around 5.30pm recording started on the second segment.
Sophie had her character well under control. With only one set - the shuttle cockpit - Sophie was strapped in a pilot's chair and the action was driven along by her superb acting and the demanding script (written by Roger Stevens, who had previously written I Was A Doctor Who Monster, and written and directed Lust In Space for Reeltime).
Sophie managed to wring the most tension out of her predicament, and her character experiences a complete set of emotions as she realises the predicament that she is in. A strongly emotional piece, this highlighted just how good an actress Sophie is.
Although this segment was straightforward to record in as much as there was no actual movement of the character around the set (as with Miles), there were still the logistic problems of handling a smoke machine, careful lighting to see only as much as Keith wanted to reveal, as well as simulating footage recorded by an in-flight video recorder (one of the small digital cameras) and cut-aways to allow for editing.
Recording wrapped at around 8.45 in the evening, with everyone tired, and yet pleased at what had been achieved.
The footage which was to make up the two fifteen minute segments looked superb, and the acting had been first rate by both Miles and Sophie. Once the Sontaran segment is in the can, then starts the process of editing it all together, arranging music, sound effects and special visual effects (plans are afoot to electronically supply the rest of Sophie's fighter ship, as well as numerous other subtle effects to enhance the overall look and feel of the drama) and also preparing the documentary which is to accompany it on release as an 'extra'.
Miles Richardson samples some prison food
Director and producer Keith Barnfather on set with Miles.
Sophie Aldred as an ace space pilot
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ARE COPYRIGHT DAVID J HOWE AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PERMISSION.