During the first set of holidays this year I was involved in two very different film shoots. One was the third year project, Bones of Essimer, for which I was brought on to help with costuming and the art department, and I was also on the art team for James Wilkinson's short, Click Clack, Click. The two experiences have been vastly different in some ways and yet similar in others.

One of the similarities that I noticed and loved was that being on the art team can involve doing some seemingly unimportant tasks but really each one was important and appreciated in its own way.

James Wilkinson's shoot began on the Tuesday evening of the first week of the holidays, though I had had some minor involvement in the week prior as well. I arrived on set early to dress shop windows for the scene that we would be shooting that evening. I loved being able to speak to the shop owners who were incredibly excited to be involved in such a new and interesting process. I believed that throughout the night I wouldn't have very much to do but oh how I was wrong. My night was spent cleaning windows and the following night was smoothing out carpet. Menial tasks at first thought but upon watching the rushes with the crew my heart warmed to hear James call out, "What a clean window," and "That carpet looks stunning guys." It felt awesome that such a small thing was appreciated by the director. I felt as if I really was a part of the crew and I loved it. On the third night we were shooting in a restaurant and I really loved working with my HOD, Steven Woller. His view of the world of the film was so complete it was interesting to watch the little touches he began to apply like dirty napkins and water glasses, things that might be over-looked on a more amateur shoot. He inspired me to start thinking about what was needed. I thought about the two wine glasses on the families table and how they would need some left in them but stopped to think about which character would be further through. I listened to James as he directed them and noticed that the man was lost in his phone and so I filled his glass more because I thought that his character wouldn't be as far through his wine as the mother would who was enjoying her dinner and chatting with her daughter. I learnt so much from being on this film about how a set should run, what call sheets need to look like, how to listen for director and 1st AD calls, and I really enjoyed the experience of learning all of these things.

Bones of Essimer has been an incredibly large and extensive process. It is a Games Cinematic made up of both CG animation, as well as live action acting, set in a post-apocalyptic world where the inhabitants have learnt to live with what they can salvage, it follows the story of an ex-slave who has become a slaver, on a journey to save a stranger's baby from the Bone Cult. Being on the art department for this has been incredibly challenging. Although I was originally tasked into costuming, due to my inability to sew, for every day that I was free during the two week holiday I tasked myself to helping with props, sets, costumes, and anything that I had any ability to help in. It has been an amazing bonding experience so far where we have gotten stuck in and used kiwi ingenuity to get ready for our first day of shooting. We roped in other students as well including one who studies fashion, and two from construction. They were amazing to have and I believe they have had an awesome time learning about how film works. One thing I have noticed about this film is that post-apocalyptic look, and student handy work go very well hand in hand. Some of the things we have made would not be very good as useful household furniture but they definitely had the right look for the film. By the thursday night before the shoot on Friday we were in a massive rush to get things done but we got there.

The shoot days so far have run a bit differently to my experience on Click Clack Click. I noticed that due to everyone knowing each other and being well bonded the shoot was a little more casual. Calls for 'quiet on set' weren't listened to every time and people did tend to relax a little more. It didn't bring the shoot down at all because it was well scheduled and everyone respected that it was a job and it had to be done. However, I think that if we had been on a real time pressure it may have caused some issues. I enjoyed being on set, even when things went wrong (as they do in film) everyone stayed positive and on track which I really liked. It made me feel less stressed to see that the people above me weren't worried and had things under control as much as possible. This created a lot of trust. One thing I would have liked to have being on the costuming department and dressing people for the scenes coming up would have been a detailed schedule including a shot list. It would have been a huge help when it came to making sure the right people were ready at the right time without having to ask the 1st AD every few minutes when he had other things to do and to worry about. Other than that I really enjoyed everything about the shoot and cant wait to keep shooting and get the project finished.