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The Story behind What did you do in the war Grandad?

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Admin under 30 Day Blogging Challenge, film, filmmaking, independent film, RAF, Video, WW2

The Story behind how I made What did you do in the war Grandad?

F/S James E Linehan

F/S James E Linehan

I’ve been researching what happened to my uncle and his crew during WW2 for over seven years. They were shot down on 8 April 1942 and have no known grave. Chatting with my neighbour who works in the film industry as an SFX artist, the idea began to develop that wanted to make a short film about what happened to them. I began to get involved on small independent film shoots, helping out as a production assistant, runner or stills photographer, to gain some experience of how things worked during a shoot.

The crew of Wellington x3757

The crew of Wellington x3757

But what about the script?

Alfred Hitchcock said “To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script and the script.” It is THE most important aspect of a film. If it’s not right, the film won’t be right. I spoke to several script writers about my ideas, but realised that by the time I’d told them everything I wanted to use in the script, I might as well have done it myself.

So I did. Despite never haven written a script before.

My initial plan

My initial plan was to write a 15 minute short, but I found as the story wrote itself, the run time expanded to 45 minutes. Not having done any creative writing since my school days, I was extremely nervous about the results.

My first review

I emailed it to a friend of mine who is an author and sat nervously waiting at my computer for her response. Half an hour later she messaged me back saying she was sitting reading it with tears streaming down her face and that it was beautiful. I was stunned with such a reaction and it gave me the confidence to think that perhaps that I’d produced something worthwhile.

Kevin & Sarah Arrow - What did you do in the war Grandad?

Kevin & Sarah Arrow – What did you do in the war Grandad?

Professional reviews

I then sent the script to a script consultant for their input.  They had offered several options for me to explore and suggestions to help improve the drama and tension. I gradually implemented their ideas. They suggested that I make the story into a feature film, rather than a short. A daunting suggestion to say the least.

Expanding my story

I spent hours on the tube, at lunchtimes and whilst watching TV tapping away on Final Draft for ipad, moving scenes around, adding in more characters, expanding scenes and putting new words in the mouths of my characters. Gradually the story began to take form.

What did you do in the war Grandad? Shooting the flashback scenes at The Golden Pot in Lasham

What did you do in the war Grandad?
Shooting the flashback scenes at The Golden Pot in Lasham

What could I do about the ending?

But I was still stuck for an ending. The crew died and never came back home. I haven’t yet found the plane yet. How was I going to end something we already knew the ending to?

I received my uncle’s Bomber Command Clasp and an idea began to form for the ending. As I wrote, I got a pain in my heart and a lump in my throat. The tears began to fall. I realised that I was on to something. Finally I had found a viable ending to the largest piece of creative writing I’ve done to date. I had written a screenplay! What an accomplishment.

The second professional review

I sent the second draft to the script review company and they came back with more suggestions to improve the script. It’s pretty daunting as the script is now over 120 pages. I invested in Final Draft full version to help me manage the scene order, the characters and so on.

What did I do next?

What did you do in the war Grandad? Shooting the flashback scenes at The Golden Pot in Lasham

What did you do in the war Grandad?
Shooting the flashback scenes at The Golden Pot in Lasham

I saw an advert for a competition for 3 minute short films and thought maybe my neighbour and I could enter it. I sent him the details and he loved the idea, so I began to think about what I could write this time. Using what I already know about the WW2 RAF, I based the idea around a WW2 RAF veteran who is visited by his grandaughter. She finds his medals and he tells her about what he did in the war.

Building a team

Time was paramount as the deadline for the competition was coming up, so I had to source cast members, medals and period photos as props, and locations fast. Actor friends recommended someone for my ‘Grandad’ and he very kindly agreed to help me. Sarah Arrow of SarkeMedia suggested her daughter Jasmine for the role of Lucy, the grandaughter.

Arriving - What did you do in the war Grandad?

Mum and Lucy arriving – What did you do in the war Grandad?

The first audition

Jasmine created a video audition of my script and it was great seeing my words come to life as Lucy. And lastly for Lucy’s mother I asked another actor friend if she was interested and she was, so I had my cast. I bought the medals on ebay and my Bomber Command friends sent copies of their relatives photos and letters for me to use as props.

Disaster strikes

Then the dreaded lurgy struck. I was laid up for over a week and had to cancel my first ever film shoot. I was devastated as we missed the competition deadline. Trying to look at things on a positive note, I then realised that we were no longer restricted by the 3 minute run time and could now make the short a little longer.

The RAF Re-enactors

What did you do in the war Grandad? Shooting the flashback scenes at The Golden Pot in Lasham

What did you do in the war Grandad?
Shooting the flashback scenes at The Golden Pot in Lasham

Part of the film (called What did you do in the war Granddad?) is a flashback scene of the veteran during his war days. We used WW2 RAF re-enactors so they had all the necessary kit. We filmed in a pub near Lasham called The Golden Pot. The owners were lovely and let us film in the gardens, the skittle alley and inside. The re-enactors are from Ops 39-45 and regularly re-enact RAF and WW2 characters. They were wonderful, so patient and offered knowledge and suggestions. We had a great day, despite the cold.

Filming

Our next scene was Grandad looking through his photos and medals. We filmed it in a friend’s house. Trying to film in the hallway as Grandad opened the front door proved the most challenging scene, and I had to stand on the stairs behind the director, holding the boom mic over his head, so that we could actually get the shot and decent sound.

Lucy looking at Grandad's photos - What did you do in the war Grandad?

Lucy looking at Grandad’s photos – What did you do in the war Grandad?

RAF Hendon

Having gained permission, we then shot at RAF Hendon, in north London. We spent a great day shooting around the Lancaster, the Lysander and the Sunderland WW2 planes. The most challenging section of filming was inside the Sunderland for several reasons. It’s not the easiest of planes to get into, you have to bend to get through the door, which proved a little difficult for ‘Grandad’. Then the gangway was so narrow that the actors could barely get past the director with the camera, whilst also looking natural.

Meeting the Lancaster - What did you do in the war Grandad?

Meeting the Lancaster – What did you do in the war Grandad?

The Bomber Command Memorial

Our final scene was to be at the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park. This proved exceedingly difficult to organise, with the date being pushed back due to various reasons, particularly the cold and wet weather. As the producer I am responsible for peoples’ safety whilst filming. The Memorial is an open structure with no cover, no facilities and no easy access to warmth. I couldn’t have the cast, particularly ‘Grandad’ standing around in that space for hours in the cold.

The Final Scene

Visiting the Sunderland - What did you do in the war Grandad?

Visiting the Sunderland – What did you do in the war Grandad?

Eventually the weather finally played nice, and we booked 8 April as our final day of shooting. Suddenly it occurred to me. It was the 74th anniversary of the day that my uncle and his crew had been killed. How poignant!

We shot lots of scenes around the Memorial, making sure we didn’t interfere with visitors. As part of the story we laid flowers at the feet of the statue. We left them there after filming, as a fitting tribute.

Editing

Working with the director I put together a draft cut and then edited until it worked well. Unfortunately, the sound from RAF Hendon wouldn’t sync properly, whatever I tried. I was stuck. I didn’t know what to do. The director suggested just using music. It turned out to be a good choice, the emotion of the edit went up several notches, through that simple change.

Checking a take - What did you do in the war Grandad?

Checking a take – What did you do in the war Grandad?

Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is a way of masking/cutting out objects in a film clip and is used to hide/replace unwanted elements in an image. I spent ages rotoscoping out modern posters and paintings in the film, replacing them with war time propaganda posts and notices to make the film more authentic.

The Premiere

Premiere of What did you do in the war Grandad?

Premiere of What did you do in the war Grandad?

We held the premiere of What did you do in the war Grandad? at Thames Valley University and it was attended by a local journalist, who very kindly wrote a piece in the local newspaper for us.

Competitions

Independent film makers often enter their films on competitions, to help raise their profiles. I entered our film in lots of competitions. Very excitingly we were long listed for the Winchester Short Film Festival, but unfortunately didn’t get through to the short list. Even more excitingly, we were accepted into a film festival in Santa Monica in 2016.

For some one who knew very little about filmmaking eight years, had no experience of script writing, but just a dream and an idea, I’m very proud of what I was able to achieve, with the help of friends and colleagues.

If you’re thinking of making your first short film, check out my blog post Making short films on a budget for tips.

For help with scriptwriting, promos and filmmaking call me on 0775 341 3005 or email info @ icnoiccreative.co.uk.

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5 thoughts on “The Story behind What did you do in the war Grandad?”

  1. Nicci Fletcher says:

    This is brilliant – on four counts:

    #1 what a beautiful tribute to your grandfather and his colleagues. A lovely way to remember them all.

    #2 personal social history is something that I am very interested in and encourage people to turn their family histories into books to save for posterity.

    #3 – my grandad has an amazing story and we have, quite literally reams of Super 8 film that he shot in the 1940s. Plus he spied on behalf of the British Government post WW2!

    #4 – I’m hoping that a new initiative I am going to launch on 1st August is going to involve independent film makers.

    I am so pleased I found your blog as I think we need to talk 🙂

    1. Admin says:

      Thanks for your lovely comment Nicci. It was actually my uncle who was shot down in WW2, not my grandad. I just made the film about a Grandad 🙂 I too love history and love programs like Who do you think you are and Long Lost Family. I would love to see those films your Grandad made, sounds very exicting. The initiative sounds intriguing. Yes let’s talk 🙂

  2. Nicci Fletcher says:

    Sorry – brain not in gear this morning: my grandfather, your uncle. History is so important and finding a way of making history relevant today is vital if we are not going to lose all the stories in our recent history. The problem with digital cameras and the Internet is that people think they will be there for ever. Unfortunately it is more complicated that than. I’ve actually spoken twice at WDYTYA? Live as part of their talks about preserving family history. Great experience. The BBC program is required viewing in our household. Busy until the middle of next week, so if we can arrange to talk after then it would be great. Will contact you privately to take that part of this discussion off your website 🙂

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