I have just about finished clearing up after the shoot at Black Rock - washing T shirts, charging batteries, updating accounts, checking equipment, taking films to be processed, etc etc. We have posted several photos of the event and also a clip and intend to do more very soon. For those people who were unable to join us last Saturday, I thought that I would write a brief account of what happened.
We awoke early to a very dull day. We remained optimistic, though, largely because of the weather forecast. Hah! Just before we were due to go to Black Rock to meet the man with the Jib, the clouds began to unload their contents. There were some of us who worried that people would assume that we had decided to abandon the shoot because of the rain. Ridiculous worry. People began to arrive in ones and twos and then groups and families. Gradually the group of citizens of Brighton and Hove and their opponents Vaf’s Army began to form.
The main part of the shoot was for the two sides to charge each other. The citizens were encouraged to by Rosamund who gave a rousing speech about the other side and their dastardly behaviour. She did an excellent job and really roused that crowd! Vaf’s Army were encouraged by Vaf. His Ninja’s are always ready for a scrap. And, of course, each side roused the other with their bellows and taunts at each other. Later on some of the citizens were bold enough to volunteer to die. This meant lying on the ground for some time!! From a technical point of view, the shoot was an enormous success. It was wonderful that Rob had invested some funds so that we were able to hire the jib. We also had Morgan taking some terrific footage with the second camera - he also did a magnificent job rousing the crowds to higher and higher levels of fury! I think that from the actors and extras it was an enormous success too. Everyone seemed to have a great time.
Not everyone will know about the history of the Black Rock site. There are members of my family who well remember playing on the beach at low tide when Black Rock was one of the boundaries of Brighton. Then in 1934, an Art Deco Lido was built there. Many people from the district will remember summer days spent at the Lido. In 1971, work on the nearby Marina was started. Sadly, in 1978 the Lido was demolished. Brighton is still waiting for something to be done with the area (and worrying about what it will be). But, hey, it made a wonderful site for our shoot. If you look at the back near the graffiti you can still see some tiles from the Lido site.
