Monday, November 9, 2009
A SMALL ISLAND
Filming is now completed on the BBC1 television adaptation of the novel of SMALL ISLAND. It stars Naomi Harris as Hortense, David Oyelowo as Gilbert, Ruth Wilson as Queenie, Benedict Cumberbatch as Bernard and Ashley Walters as Michael Roberts. It is scheduled to be broadcast in the UK in two 90-minute episodes in the autumn of 2009.
Small Island is based on a novel by Andrea Levy, Winner of the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction. A Picador Original Trade Paperback.
Hortense Joseph arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her life in her suitcase, her heart broken, her resolve intact. Her husband, Gilbert Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received as a hero, but finds his status as a black man in Britain to be second class. His white landlady, Queenie, raised as a farmer's daughter, befriends Gilbert, and later Hortense, with innocence and courage, until the unexpected arrival of her husband, Bernard, who returns from combat with issues of his own to resolve. Told in these four voices, Small Island is a courageous novel of tender emotion and sparkling wit, of crossings taken and passages lost, of shattering compassion and of reckless optimism in the face of insurmountable barriers---in short, an encapsulation of that most American of experiences: the immigrant's life.
This epic movie was shot on location in Jamaica. The historical township of Spanish Town, near Kingston, was transformed to depict a rural town in Jamaica back in the early 40's.
A massive tent city was erected nearby, on Caymanas Estate, an old sugar cane plantation, complete with individual trailers for the main actors. A 100 x 100 ft. tent was constructed just for the wardrobe, where a crew of about ten people, sewed, ironed and hung costumes on several portable and built in racks. We labeled and tagged every garment after intense fitting and styling sessions, to select the outfits for the actors and extras to wear. Hundreds of extras had to be dressed, in vintage 1940's clothing and it was very hard work and long hours that lasted 2-3 weeks.
Detailed pictures were compiled in a book for reference and continuity. Movies are never shot in sequence, they are shot by each location. These books are our Bible, as every detail, down to the buttons, placement of hats and jewelry have to be photographed with notations and photographed again on set in the event a slight change is made to the outfits while shooting. A log is then made of every intricate detail, scene by scene, shot by shot. Continuity is a very important job on these productions, and is usually done by an expert, someone who is extremely focused and has an eagles eye for detail. A hat falling off or missing jewelry spells catastrophe if not noticed immediately, re shooting a scene due to a wardrobe malfunction is a major disaster as it costs millions of dollars to shoot just 1 minute of footage.
All the wardrobe goes through a process called Distressing. Distressing is the special effects of making new clean clothing look older and worn. The outfits start off clean and spotless, and we rub special 'makeup' into them, creating holes using sandpaper, bleach is used for fading, and grim and sweat are applied to armpits, knees and collars. "ring around the collar" and sweat marks are actually not real. However, this special effect is how the wardrobe begins to shape and transform the characters and helps to make the movie look real.
Finally it is showtime, camera and crew are on location and we are ready to shoot the first scenes.
An old crumbling wooden house , is almost completely rebuilt and transformed, into Hortenses home in Jamaica. The props are placed,checked and logged by the prop master. Ragged rugs, chipped furniture and rusty old vintage cars help to make the set look authentic. A small quaint historical church has a wind and rain machine in place outside ready to shoot the Hurricane scenes. The crew of about 200 people are hustling around, transporting actors from their trailer, serving food in the main tent, unloading equipment, loading the camera, adjusting the lighting, re-adjusting the positions, as wardrobe, hair and makeup transforms each actor into the character they play.
We are all controlled and told what's happening, from the end of a scene to what's up next, by a team in production. They prepare detailed call sheets ( lists) daily with every scene to be shot, including all the crew and actors on board for that day. Walkie Talkies connect us to the production team, and provide updates and a running commentary from the directors chair to the maid cleaning the honey wagons (portable bathrooms, toilets and beds)
It takes an amazing amount of time, teamwork, skill and energy to make 1 second of footage.
Roll camera, sound is speeding....and Action!
The actors are in character, they deliver their lines as they walk into shot.
....and Cut.
Several takes are done from different angles, wide, close ups and turn arounds, as the director whispers this thoughts to the actors and cameraman or the director of photography know as the DOP.
Quiet on set, Lock it up, and..... Action!..shouts the first Assistant Director (1 st AD)
Wardrobe fly in. Makeup does touch ups. Wind machine is cued. Rain is cued. Nothing is real.
Rain stops falling, wind stops blowing.
and...That's a wrap!
Everything is loaded back into massive trucks, the actors return to their trailers, wardrobe is placed back in order, and the buses take us home.
THE FINAL CUT.
Stay tunes for more on Small Island and the premier. Go to: Andrea Levy, UK on Facebook for updates and read her biography.
A private screening was held here in Kingston last month. A riveting and compelling movie.
THE END.
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