Describe your average day making How Hard is Waving? in lockdown.
JAMES
Many of the scenes were shot in my kitchen so I would try to get up as early as possible, beating my children there, before the appalling spectacle of a Greaves family breakfast commenced. The light at 8am seemed the most manageable as flaring and glaring was a permanent issue. (As my Director Of Photography friend commented, somewhat unhelpfully, 'Don't have a white kitchen'.) Whatever shot I would line up had to have all signs of 'other people' and children removed; Ryan is supposed to be alone after all. So the fridge was stripped of the kids' artworks, family photos removed etc. But even then, some stuff accidentally snuck in to the finished scene. There's a game for everyone, 'Spot The Errors'. Generally the shots would be finished early but if the fiasco of breakfast did interrupt, I would shout at everyone until they left and finish by mid morning. I did a lot of shouting over the month's filming.
ALAN
Two hours rearranging part of the house and dressing the set with as much appropriate stuff as can be found in the house. Two hours setting up the equipment, faffing with lighting and framing the shot so as not to show too much of the house. Two hours drinking coffee and inventing some content to film. 30 minutes filming and 90 minutes transferring, watching, checking, naming, uploading movie files…probably had a (2 hour) nap in there somewhere! That’s a day isn’t it?
What did you learn from making How Hard is Waving?
JAMES
I learned that I much prefer working in a rehearsal room with other people! The filming process was, inherently, difficult, filming on one's own and hoping that the shot would somehow match up with what the others were doing. In the absence of a proper rehearsal, rightly or wrongly, I would shout my inner monologue from under the mask in an attempt to let Rachael and Dan know what I was doing, why and where I was in the overall arc of the scene. I still don't know if that was helpful or just plain irritating to them. Having said all that, it has been fascinating to see the masks on screen and how they work in that medium. Next time we film, I hope we're together and we can start telling more rounded and nuanced stories. I also learned that I never want to wave at a camera again.
ALAN
Don’t get involved in a filming project without a full crew! It’s very hard and frustrating being your own director, your own costume and set designer/dresser and your own camera and lighting operator/designer. Especially with domestic tech…ipad on a tripod!
Which was the hardest episode to make, and why?
JAMES
The hardest scene was probably the one where everyone has set up their own disco at home to have a dance 'together'. It took two days. Filmed, on my part, in one very long take at about midnight on the second day, it would then be edited down by Dan, again with me screaming my inner monologue from under the mask. Getting the lighting right was a nightmare. Not only did it have to look like it might be the evening, not necessarily night, but I needed to set up sparkling Christmas lights etc. I had also decided, some would say foolishly, to decorate the room as if Ryan had made an effort, albeit a rubbish one.
Lights flared the shot, batteries ran out, camera had to be replaced, wiring connections broke, operating a plug with my foot turned out to be trickier than anticipated, stuff fell off the walls, barring my family from the living room for forty eight hours was hideous... but eventually after two days of messing about with curtains, reading lights, circle lights, mini spots and moving disco lights, I had two or three massive gin and tonics and shot the scene. (My audibly vocalised 'inner monologue' is littered with four letter words and some freshly invented expletives. For the DVD extras perhaps). And it still didn't look great. *Sigh*.
ALAN
Probably for me, the sequences with Fingers in his campervan. It was cramped, very hot and stuffy with limited camera position options, tricky lighting conditions and a set that moved when I did! If I had to pick one, then Day 13 the match trick exchange with Ryan was memorable. A very warm sunny day, stifling in the van and complicated by several layers of costume, goggles and a face mask…over a mask covering my face…and rubber gloves! It took quite a few attempts…very sweaty!
Which was your favourite episode, and why?
JAMES
I liked doing the more physical and visual 'gag' ones. Falling off the back of the sofa, getting locked out on my balcony, losing the biscuit and spreading Nutella on my hand, silly stuff like that. They all had a level of enjoyment. But if you pinned me to the floor and I had to choose... I really liked the scene where Ryan performs the trick for Gran, knocking the egg from the empty toilet roll in to the glass of water. There's nothing clever in it, the trick just works. It's very satisfying and my pleasure in the scene at having done it is genuine.
ALAN
Clapping for NHS workers. All the characters were involved in the episode and ensconced in their individual situations but all had the same, single, simple objective so the episode delivered a clear, cohesive, interesting and amusing narrative…that’s what I thought anyway.
What made it worth it?
JAMES
The money. And probably having 'something to do' in the early and difficult days of lockdown.
ALAN
It was nice to be involved in a pertinent project albeit put together without the luxury of adequate R & D or proper rehearsal/devising time, that tapped into actual events, situations and people’s experiences as they were evolving during the pandemic. For me, having something creative to do for a while was uplifting and re-energising. Every day had been a Sunday until we started HHIW!...I was very, very bored!
Thanks to Alan and James! If you'd like to watch How Hard is Waving? you can see all 20 episodes on the BBC iPlayer