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Directing
Star Wars Episode II - The Empire Strikes Backyard Directing a film at the best of times is very hard. Directing a small film production can be a complete nightmare! Traditionally, one would assume that a director is responsible for the on screen motion of cameras and actors. He will shape the picture to the vision that he has in his mind. However directing a Backyard Productions picture is a lot more involving. A BYP director must not only direct, but also supervise as the floor manager, lighting director, sound manager and even actor! We simply do not have enough crew to divide these responsibilities. SW2 was so complicated that 2 assistant directors were needed for the more involving scenes. Mark and Edwin took it in turns to direct shots when I was needed to act. (Darth Maul, Emperor or Yoda) It was here that the true value of a storyboard was really appreciated. In theory, the storyboard would allow anyone to pick up where I had left off, and continue to direct the picture. However, the introduction of assistant directors brought about its own set of problems. As the writer of SW2, I found it extremely difficult to just sit in the Emperor's Chair and let someone else make "my movie". Frequently I would ask the assistant director what he was doing and what his angle was. This almost always brought on minor conflicts as I was clearly stepping on their toes. However, despite the frank and sometimes loud conversations that ensued, the resultant shots were always nothing less than perfect. The first filming day arrived and everyone assembled ready to make movie magic. Having directed two previous pictures. I was already aware of some of the hurdles we would inevitably encounter. An excellent example is the first day of filming, where everything proceeds very slowly. The first day of filming is the day when all our expectations are finally realised. All the preparation is finally about to pay its dues. Cast and crew have high expectations. As the cameras begin to roll, the takes are shot, re-shot and re-shot. Sometimes up to 12 takes are made for what should have been a simple shot. The reason is simple, we were nervous, nervous about not getting it right, nervous about wasting the time, money and energy already put into this enormous project. It was this reason that I allocated a longer time to film the first scene. However we still ran out of time and had to continue to shoot the next day. Filming entirely on set had produced other new problems. The intense heat caused by the set lighting made the costumes very uncomfortable to wear. The cast frequently complained of their discomfort. When "Cut" was called, they would flee off set, to the cool areas of the canteen within seconds. This inevitably held up filming as they would then have to be recalled onset, put on the masks and takes up positions. Tempers were frayed and it was my responsibility to ensure that order was kept. What a day! By the second day, we were in full flow and the filming times were reduced. The cast were becoming more comfortable with their costumes and lines. I assigned spare crew to assist cast with removing helmets between shots. One of the costumes (the Liverpudlian Bounty Hunter) was particularly uncomfortable. Since the actor's face was always covered, we eased the problem by using 3 different people to play the part. John Pinder had taken the lead in commanding the cameras and lighting, allowing me to concentrate more on direction (and acting!). In fact, to say that John took the lead is an understatement. During the film week, John's experience in professional film production was utilised to the fullest. I only had to tell him where the actors would be and what angle I wanted and John would do the rest. His knowledge of lighting and sound transformed the production enormously. Lighting was a topic that none of us had a substantial understanding of. Only since John joined the team did we see what a difference effective lighting makes! John would think of and resolve lighting problems even before they became a problem. With sometimes only a team of one (himself!) he would arrange and rearrange the lighting, the cameras, the microphone, sometimes the actors, without the least bit of fuss. When Edwin and I were yelling at each other about a particular shot, John would continue to work quietly and prepare the cameras ready for when the bickering had finished. John brought about a more professional environment to the production both on and off the screen - something of which Backyard Productions is truly grateful. The filming was scheduled such that the scenes would be shot collectively rather than the order of the final production. This enabled us to film all relevant shots on one set before moving on to the next. The first set used was the Emperor's Throne Room. This was by far the largest (and most expensive!) set. The lightsabre duels would be shot here as well as the song finale. We allocated three days to film the appropriate scenes, the last of which would be entirely devoted to the duel between Darth Maul and Anakin. This scene presented a number of problems predominantly that I played both the Emperor and Maul. Due to the enormous number of other post production tasks required, the idea of blue screening one of the characters was abandoned in favour of using a double to play the Emperor. This did not present a major problem as the Emperor's face was mostly concealed by his hood. John Moore was the lucky guy who played this most important of roles. The make up for Darth Maul was expertly applied by Andy from Behind the Mask. It took nearly 2 hours to apply the horns and make-up. The icing on the cake were the contact lenses. Once complete there was no doubt - Darth Maul had arrived! Whilst a story had been drawn for the film, we did not include the lightsabre duel itself. Apart from our small choreographed fight, we had little experience in formal fight routines. Our previous ventures amounted to the massacre scene and finale in Batman Returns Forever. It was agreed that we would "improvise" as we went. This approach is not as unprofessional as it might seem. Action scenes generally involve a lot of shot cuts, between which Mark and I could pause and reflect on what we had just done and what was to follow. Continuity would not present a dramatic problem as the shots included close ups, general shots, and the Emperor looking on. The fighting was tiring and relentless. The heat of the studio lights and exhausting routines required my make up to receive continuos touch ups. Between shots, I would have to sit with my head stuck outside of a window in an effort to cool down. During the fight shots, we played loud Star Wars music to help motivate us and make the fighting look more authentic. The music was then subsequently removed during post production. The fights were filmed by 3 cameras simultaneously; a general shot, a close up on Maul, and a close up on Anakin. The footage used in the final edit was then selected during post production. The next group of scenes to be filmed were on the transport ship set. Here we would face new challenges of filming the "Force" gags and capturing real explosions. From the success of filming with three cameras on the throne room set, we continued this technique for the transport ship. The difference now was that whilst the fight scene did not require the sound from the set floor, the transport ship scenes did. We appointed one camera to act as the sound recorder and attached the mic boom accordingly. The 2 other cameras continued to record "natural" sound from their built in mics. For me, these scenes were easier to complete as I was no longer on screen. Furthermore, the set was considerably smaller, required less cast, and therefore easier to manage. Edwin and Mark could devote their efforts to acting rather than deal with directing and appeasing me. The first scene included the training of Anakin in the ways of the Force. Obi Wan instructs Anakin who is lifting a tray. It was important that Edwin, Mark and Phill who operated the tray were working in harmony with the script and actions to generate right comical effect. The trio worked together with minimal direction needed, and the result was perfect. One particular gag, Anakin's head smash, required additional assistance. The shot required both Edwin and Mark to move in perfect unison. Mark and Edwin were sitting side by side, and so could not see each other's body movements. The challenge was met by Edwin taking the lead in body movement, which was then mimicked by myself off shot but in Mark's view. He then mimicked the movements on screen. After a few rehearsals and just 2 takes, the desired effect was successfully achieved. Moving from the transport ship lounge to the cockpit we were faced with more challenges. This set was the smallest of all and had no room for any cameras. However we required 4 camera angles to comply with the storyboard. We also had to blow up one of the consoles after which would no longer be of any use in the film. We decided to shoot the scene twice form a variety of angles. Continuity was the buzz word of the day. Once all shots prior to the explosion had been recorded, we made preparations for the exploding console. This was perhaps the most nerving part of the film week. We had never worked with pyrotechnics before. (Except for those French bangers strapped to Edwin's chest in Geriatric Park!), and we were very apprehensive. The explosions would detonate within a very close proximity to Phill and more importantly the cameras. Additionally, there would be 2 explosions that would need to be detonated in response to Phill's fall to the floor. We had already tested the explosions and knew that if we got the take wrong, it could take up to an hour for the smoke to diffuse sufficiently before we could re-shoot. Preparation for the shot had already taken 2 hours and we were running out of time. With the cameras set up and the fire extinguishers on hand, we were almost ready. The cues were to fire the first explosion on Edwin's line "oblivion" and the second where Phill landed on the console to his left. For added effect we also needed to use a smoke machine and someone to flicker the cockpit lights. In view of the timing of the explosions and the effort in setting it all up, everyone agreed it might be better if I fired the explosions - that way I could only shout at myself if it all went wrong! We were ready. The cameras began rolling. Action! Mark, Edwin, and Phill began rocking in the cockpit and the lines were delivered. Edwin began his line "if we don't get out of this tractor beam soon, we'll be blasted into…" BOOM! "… oblivion!" Phil fell down BOOM! Phill was on the floor, Mark correctly moved into the cockpit seat and waited. I called "Cut!" There was no need to tell everyone that I was happy with the shot as the applause had already erupted. Phill was fine and the cameras were still rolling. We'd got it right! A one take wonder! With both the throne room and transport ship scenes complete we were well on our way to completing the schedule on time. The next day would be devoted to building the Jedi Council set ready for filming the day after. The set was ready and we arrived for our last day of filming. The Jedi Council scenes required extensive preparation. Behind the Mask had to prepare cast member for the scenes; Gin Gan Goolie (Kevin) and Yoda (me!). It took nearly 4 hours to complete both Jedi Masters and it was now well into the afternoon. We also had the previous problem of needing to use an assistant director. This problem was increased further as Mark and Edwin were both acting, I was chair bound (again!) and we barely had a film crew. Around 3pm, 6 hours after we arrived to film, we finally began to shoot. It was clear that people were tired. We knew that it was the last day of a long week of filming, and we wanted to get it finished. Just as it was at the beginning of the week, the pressure was on and tensions were high. For what should have been a relatively simple scene to complete, it certainly wasn't. Kevin's beard was slowly coming away. Phill was invited to cameo as Dr Nagasaki Hiroshima but was seldom in shot. I was suffering major blood loss to the legs due to being cramped inside my chair. John only had one assistant at anyone time to help move 3 cameras and the microphone. Sandra was repeatedly being called off set to sort out baby Luke. Poor Mark was having to direct a crew who would much rather be doing something else. Yet in true Backyard Productions style none of us let the frustration spoil the scene, and once again we achieved an excellent and extremely funny scene. At last, we had finished. We had completed the schedule on time. With just a couple of short scenes to film over weekend in February, the film was as good as complete. We had also filmed good deal of the "Making of Star Wars - Episode II" starring George Lucas and his team. All in all, the film week was an entire success. We had learned many new techniques in particular the value of lighting. Despite the constant flow of pressure flowing from all angles, we had ultimately remained professional in our approach and maintained the aim of producing what we all set out to achieve; the best damn amateur Star Wars movie ever!
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