This is where you realise you can’t count; there are only two weeks until the first day’s shooting and not 15 days. This is where you try phoning more people to find a sound recordist until some bright spark suggests you put an advert on Shooting People. Okay, they charge a fee to use the list but it’s a good idea.

Filming minus 14 is the day you also think through that (a) you don’t really need a production manager/line producer because you can delegate all that to your assistant director–and you’ve got two assistant directors–and also (b) you don’t need an art director because you’ve already got two. Fiona is resourcing props and wardrobe, Lionel is doing graphics and will be available on set. Problem solved.

So today’s longest phone call is to a guy with a DAT machine who talks for ages and tells you all about microphones and sound and, well he talked. He also talked about all the trains he’s filmed on his clockwork 16mm camera and… woah, back-up. He’s got a clockwork 16mm camera. There’s the fallback position right there.

So you let this chatty person talk about his trains and you remember the soundman you rang last night who is now producing and presenting a series about railways for the Discovery Channel. And you think, Aha! I should put these two in touch with each other. Because they have this train thing going on and this movie thing too. So you give them each other’s phone numbers and they’re happy and you file away in the back of your mind that there is a 16mm camera out there.

Recce and talk to art dept tomorrow. Rehearsal Sunday.

Note #1 to self: remember to write down expectations and responsibilities clearly for 1st AD’s.

Note #2: regardless of all the above, think about the pictures.