Diary

Any animators out there?

Location Soho Cafe | Mood Enthusiastic | Date 21 September 2007
My current role in life is meeting animators and attempting to persuade them to work on our film. There's plenty of them and they all love the sound of the project, think it's very worthwhile, would love to get their work onto the big screen and creatively it's very exciting but then as soon as I mention our meager survival wages, they start mumbling about how they're booked on a slimfast / catfood / plastic crap commercial and will have to get back to me.  

A new (old) character emerges

Location Franny's house | Mood Tired but hopeful | Date 14 September 2007
After a day to recover from the Curzon screening we re-grouped and looked through the feedback forms. One clear problem was the tone of the drama scenes with the kids in the future. Even though what the kids were saying and feeling - hatred and anger at our generation - was entirely understandable, it didn't a great movie make.

Animation is easy

Location SF office | Mood Very very excited | Date 6 August 2007
Met new Animation Director, Martyn, this afternoon, to talk through some of the visual ideas. Thought it'd be at least a week before he could show us anything but he emailed through his first style tests at midnight. And they're brilliant. So cinematic. We are all very excited and can suddenly imagine how the whole future element is going to look. Maybe this animation lark won't be as hard as everyone has been making out...   - THIS IS A LIZZIE DIARY -  

Casting future kid actors

Location Soho of course | Mood Bemused | Date 10 August 2007
Why would anyone want to be an actor? Franny and I kept repeating this question after our first ever casting session. It's insane. You have to pretend to be some strange character, everyone is looking at you while you do it, and then they judge you on things totally out of your control (eg. hair too curly for animators). Just like a job interview - but for your looks, voice & personality. Awful! We're trying to cast two actors to play the main parts in our futuristic scenario - one girl (Eve) and one boy (Aidan).

130 conflicting opinions

Location Noodle bar in Soho | Mood Physically & emotionally shattered | Date 8 September 2007
Ten weeks solid editing and we've got a new rough cut, a new title - "The Age of Stupid" - a new soundtrack, loads of new crew members and an empty bank account. So seems high time to hold another - should be the last - funding event. Gives us a chance to watch the latest version on the big screen and try to persuade a few more people to part with their cash. Lovely Rob from the Curzon Soho offered us his cinema for free at 10am any Saturday morning.

We apologise for the break in diary service

Location India | Mood Deeply traumatised by events in Nigeria | Date 10 January 2007
Hello anyone who might be reading this. Sorry I haven't had a moment to get the diary entries from August to December up here.

Five years ago today

Location Edit room in the office, 11.45pm | Mood Frazzled satisfaction | Date 26 June 2007
It's exactly five years to the day - possibly to the hour - that we thought of the idea for the film, so strikes me as a delightfully auspicious moment to go public about our little project.

500 million people on the case?

Location 1.10am, hire car on the M1, Lizzie driving | Mood Despair | Date 11 June 2007
The last ever day filming Crude didn't start too well for poor Lizzie as the hire car she picked up yesterday developed a flat tyre and she spent half the night organising tow trucks. Then had to get up at 5.30am to pick me and new soundman Ben up to drive to Bedford for the result of Piers's three-year battle to get planning permission for his latest windfarm.

A coherent script emerges

Location Kitchen table at the office | Mood Perky | Date 6 June 2007
After three very long days and nights bashing together all the ideas into a coherent script, we stocked up on pastries and got everyone into the same room for a read-through. Mark was very convincing as the geeky teenage know-it-all but Emily wasn't so keen on her slightly wimpy teenage girl (maybe should swop those roles over. can't have the girl being feeble).

Spices then gold now oil next water

Location In a tent in a field in Hay | Mood Christmas morning before the parents wake up | Date 27 May 2007
Rain, Cameras, Action.... Photograph: Charlotte Rushton