48 HOURS FURIOUS FILMMAKING TOGETHER ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WORLD

Erin Locke & Taragh Bissett

We are two sisters living opposite sides of the world and we made a film in 48 hours. Erin lives near Tauranga, New Zealand and I, Taragh, live in London, UK. 

Creative Projects

The project for 2018, “Sweet Gums” a four minute movie starring Erin’s daughter Lucie to enter the 48hours filmmaking competition. Filmmaking was a new experience for both of us. Here's what happened.. 

What the splatstick?

On Friday night at 7pm  competition rules were announced. Each team across NZ was given a randomly-selected genre and three elements to be incorporated in their film. Splatstick, our assigned genre is gore/horror comedy. I admit we were disappointed. We had no experience of watching this niche genre so ideas between us were thin. Erin got to sleep while I spend Friday devouring chunks of youtube splatstick. 

Drawing the story out

We met on Skype after both having slept and still no good story ideas. Then I found some advice online about storytelling - go with what you know. I remembered how Erin’s kids were always wandering into the pantry looking for lollies. We talked and quickly found a beginning, middle and end. 

I immediately started sketching out a storyboard. I know Erin’s house well so it was easy to illustrate the shots even though I was thousands of miles away. 

Erin meanwhile collected props. She also mixed up some fake blood which is something she does in her actual daytime job, but that’s another story. 

We talked through the shots over Skype with me holding up my drawings and sending over scans. I talked to Lucie her daughter so she would understand the first scene. I think this scene works really nicely especially as we added some clues in the opening seconds about the storyline. 

I asked Erin if she still had the toddler trolley I had bought for Lucie years ago when she was just learning to walk. It could be our makeshift camera dolly. Yes, she had it.

Shooting her daughter

Erin started shooting at about 3pm on Saturday afternoon. She used  a digital still camera, the kind that does movies too. We agreed that she should shoot the last scene first, so we had full daylight.  A lot of it was shot out of order to make the best of the light and dark and of course use our time well. 

Erin and Lucie spent about 6 to 7 hours shooting. This included having to wait for adverts on TV due to a husband resisting requests to turn the volume down on an “important” TV broadcast.  Erin needed to appear in some scenes as well being the camera person,  so we used a lot of static shots on a tripod. There was one shot for which we needed an assistant; Lucie’s 9-year-old brother Jamie agreed to pull our “dolly”.  

All shot, Erin headed for bed. 

Cutting it up and cutting it fine

I began hunting down soundtracks and sound effects. I decided I wanted this to be more of a dark comedy with a modern feel. The music choice would help us achieve that. 

On Sunday morning Erin got straight to work, well almost. First she had to learn to use iMovie – she had borrowed a friends computer. I hit on the idea to use some software so I could log in remotely and show her how to do some things and watch and help direct the edit. Erin picked iMovie up very quickly. A few hours later and the edit was almost done. Erin read out lots of numbers from the timeline so I could edit the audio tracks to sync. Now we were running short of time.

We abandoned some planned refinements and sound effects in order to get the titles and credits done in time.

There were 50 minutes left, just enough time to export the movie, and drive it into town. "Sweet Gums" was delivered fifteen minutes before the deadline. 

We were buzzing. We both agreed we felt a huge sense of achievement. We had created a film together in just 48 hours.

More info at https://www.48hours.co.nz/

You can review our film in the comments or at https://reviews.48hours.co.nz/read/2018/bay-of-plenty/01/locke-lively

Sweet Gums, 4 minutes

Here are the two painting I made in New Zealand, each of a beautiful view I encountered on my trip. These of course didn't fly with me to LA, but instead are gifts that I was delighted to leave with Erin and Mike, who both looked after me so well. Special thanks to Steve and of course the lovely thoughtful Dorothy.

View near Te Puna, and building by Lake Taupo

Little three year old Lucie delighted us with two songs. She's fascinated by Willy Wonka at present. I love all the expressions she uses in these two songs.

My worst baby brain moment ever happening this morning... We attend a weekly session called Mainly Music. Each week I bring baking to share so last night I made yummy Chocolate Crispy Cakes and put them in the fridge to set. This morning during my usual rush I grabbed the container out of the fridge and off we set in the car. After some wonderful singing and dancing we raced out to morning tea to ensure we didn't miss out on our yummy baking. I was confronted with an almost bare counter and only the usual church biscuits available. I smiled sweetly at the lovely lady behind the counter and asked where my cakes were and she replied, "You brought chicken?" I then turned to see a plate of our left over cold roast chicken on the kiddie's snack trolley and lots of children feasting on tonight's dinner ingredient.

I'm an hour into a second canvas inspired by a photo I took in Taupo, I have just a few days left here in New Zealand so will find time to finish it. I have just enough paint too. Really loving local Tangi's acrylic paints - Purity.

A week or so back we drove down to Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, on the North Island for the weekend. On a beautiful Saturday morning we took a lakeside walk. I notice a large stone floating in the water and got curious. The other girls told me it was a pumice stone and then I noticed there were lots along the water's edge. Pumice is volcanic rock, a solidified frothy lava formed when it mixes with lava. The lake was very peaceful and I returned later in the day to swim.

I also got the chance to ride a Segway (personal transporter) for the first time. You can hire them in Taupo to ride around the lake or just for a 10 minute ride.

Just two days after we returned we heard of the devestating effects of the Christchurch earthquake on New Zealand's south island and watched a newsreader reporting live, close to tears. A sad day.

Some weeks back Erin and I went to the Cargo Shed, a kind of indoor creative marketplace. We me a lovely lady called Memphis, a creative who paints, sews and makes some beautiful jewellery and sells it all at her market stall. She also runs a local guest house. She's planning to open a creative space/shop at her home. After we met we decided to do drive-by of her house and guest house; cute.
hotels.lastminute.com

After filling ourselves with tasty birthday pancakes we began our girl’s road trip to ‘Candyland’! Who would have thought listening to a Willy Wonka CD was going to be the highlight of our day? We arrive at a candy pink shed-like building complete with a matching pink overall-clad factory worker sucking back on a cigarette in the car park. Hmm… think we should have turned the car around right then but we didn’t want to upset little Looski Pooski. Once inside the building we join a short queue to purchase tickets and hopefully some lunch.

After 15 minutes we are given only two sticker tickets as they have run out and told to choose our food from the menu on the blackboard…. What blackboard? Oh the one we can’t see without leaving the queue. The tall timid ‘elf’ dressed in pink dungarees mumbled something about a limited menu. We settle on 2 Devonshire teas and place our order with the other pink-trousered Elf after joining the queue AGAIN and then take a walk around the many isles of half empty white shelving. Where are all the lollies? asks Looski Pooski… A sign informs us of Santa’s apologies as he is short of Elves… trouble is, it’s already the end of February? I notice a small log cabin in the corner containing a computer desk and a woman painting pink and purple circles on her face.

We decide to take a seat at one of the many plastic jellybean cover tables in anticipation of some delicious scones.  Ten or so minutes pass and my pregnant belly is screaming. The second Elf explains we need to place our order with the tall Elf. 5 minutes pass and the second Elf asks us which tea we would like, we choose Earl Grey from an impressive blackboard selection.  She soon returns to our table to report that they only have English Breakfast! Another 10 minutes and a flustered Elf is trying to figure out how to fit everything on one tray. Thankfully she gives up and delivers our food on two trays mumbling there is no butter… Can we at least have some cream?

Finally we can eat our food but with only 10 minutes to ‘Showtime’. We cut open our very large hot date scones and layer them with a jam like substance and whipped cream-out-of-a-can.  Taragh manages one bite… but I have to persevere with the dry doughy bun, sickly sweet jelly masquerading as jam and slowly disintegrating cream as the baby is kicking me for more fuel.

We rush to finish our tea served in a tiny plunger which held only 1½ cups and reach the ‘castle’ gates just before the 1pm start time. After more minutes of waiting Taragh decides to give Candyland some feedback but is told the manager is unavailable as she is in the show! Soon after the ‘Queen’ opens the gates and welcomes us inside asking us to show our sticker tickets... luckily Looski Pooski’s stickerlessness is undetected and she is allowed to enter. I realize the purple cheeked Queen is the woman from the log cabin and probably the manager. She is mildly entertaining between each crackle of the microphone and explains the ins and outs of a chocolate factory  before we enter a second room which is home to the 80 year old candy making machines. 

We listen to the Queen explain as the fag break factory worker molds the rock candy with his hands (hope he’s washed them). We are then asked to rise from our seats to make our own lollipop. With much excitement we all race to the floor except for me as I hear a rip and I turn to see my trouser pocket is attached to one of several exposed nails that I now realize run the whole length of the 10 metre seating… there was little chance of escape!

Taragh takes a final photo of Looski Pooski and the Queen and we hurry out of the pink shed to the car and the Oompa Loompa song… heaven. We train little Looski Pooski on the return journey so when asked later by Granny what Candyland was like she replies, a little bit crap!

Lucie "reads" An Optimist's Tour of the Future, written by my lovely friend Mark Stevenson, to Mr Happy.

Found this interesting - in terms of development New Zealand is now one of the top three places to live.

New Zealand is the third best country to live in the world, climbing 17 places in the latest United Nations' index aimed at measuring development.

http://www.stuff.co.nz