Blowing things up


The film is finally moving again. John and I have been selling our souls working on a TV show in London for Carlton TV. The production company we're working for has allowed us to use their edit facilities for (that magic word again) free. Big thank you to OR Media. We are giving them shares in return for the facilities. Editor Nick Packer comes on board. It's Nick's first feature, though he has worked as an assistant editor with some big names.

He begins to shape the film using Steve's outline. It starts to come together. While he is doing that, the search for money continues.

But we need to shoot one final scene - the car crash. We thought we could get away with it happening off screen, but it has become apparent that we can't. It's going to be one of those scenes that takes all night to shoot for two seconds.

A scrap yard is found willing to let us set fire to a car. They turn out to be stars, finding us a Peugeot 205, chopping the top off it and even giving it a good polish.

A dummy is made out of old clothes and three digi-beta cameras are blagged. With fire extinguishers at the ready Guy and John take responsibility for pouring the petrol onto the car. This has nothing to do with any pyrotechnic fascination at all.

We have absolutely no idea what is going to happen and are probably breaking every health and safety rule in the book. The car is doused and a line of fuel run to a small shed behind which the director and producer crouch. 'Action!'. A match is dropped, the line lights. Then nothing. The line doesn't reach the car. A dodgy moment or two follows as the lads remember the firework code.

But hell this is the movies and time is money. The extinguishers come out and the line is doused. More fuel is poured on and a better line soaked.

A match is dropped and the car ignites instantaneously in a glorious boom. After hundreds of man hours we have our explosion.

We're now looking to have a completed offline version of the film by mid August. If the record companies play ball and we can scrounge a little more cash, we might have a completed movie by end October.

This is going to happen! Keep the faith.