FEEDBACK
Claire Rowbotham-
Actress
When approached to be a part of this project as an actress,
I was thrilled as Pete seemed really keen to have me and this enthusiasm was
what made me sure that I wanted to commit to the film. EYES for me was an
extra-curricular project during my own very busy third year, and if it wasn’t
for his passion and drive for the film I probably would have chosen to not do
the film and concentrate on my own studies. So a note for Pete would be to keep
this attitude up because it really is the difference between people wanting to
be a part of a project in their own time and not.
Saying that, the script was also a huge reason I wanted to
be a part of the film. The script intrigued me hugely and I wanted to find out
more; both about the storyline and the characters. This is great as obviously
if you have the audience hooked and wanting to know more then you are onto a
winner. The script went through quite a few drafts throughout rehearsals, but
this for me was a good thing rather than a bad thing; Pete was brilliant at
watching us in rehearsals and then adapting the script so that both his actors
felt happier and so that his script communicated more clearly what he wanted it
to. It didn’t mess the process up for myself as an actor because changes made
were always beneficial to my character and he didn’t have us learn lines for
the shoot until he was sure that he was happy with the script. The only thing I
would say he could change about the rehearsal process would be to have a
slightly clearer structure for rehearsals. I believe this was Pete’s first time
directing and I feel that he could achieve more for himself and actors, as a
director, if he knew of more exercises that would could participate in to help
make our performances stronger. Pete however, had a naturally lovely way of
telling us what he liked us doing in rehearsals and this was encouraging.
As Pete was so full of ideas, which ultimately is a good
thing as it led to bigger and better things, it could be a little bit confusing
knowing what he wanted. But I believe this was a part of the development
process rather than a hindrance. It was also very interesting to see how his
ideas developed and blossomed. I must point out that in the end, once he
realised what it was he needed portraying, he was very clear in what he needed
for us. To make the process quicker in future I would just say maybe he should
have the idea slightly more developed in his head before getting other people
involved with it.
Throughout the whole experience, Pete kept everyone very
well informed via the facebook group page and he was always very communicative.
He was always easy to get hold of which was brilliant for when I needed
questions and queries answered. Through the facebook page I also got a great
insight into the huge amount of research he was doing; I could tell he was
looking at lots of different elements of the film and because I saw him doing
all of this, I felt more like a part of the production team rather than just an
actress. I am not sure if this was his intention? But I feel like this was a
good thing. Maybe on larger projects he would need to define the boundaries
between production team and cast more, but I felt that for this intimate
production it worked and I learnt a lot more than I would have done if I was
just sent a call sheet and the lines I needed to learn. The only downside to the facebook page is
that as there were so many posts, sometimes I would lose track of the posts
that I actually NEEDED to know about. So maybe a more direct approach to
certain individuals about what was need to make things clearer if it only
concerned them?
Pre-production seemed to be organised well as when we turned
up for the actual shoot, there were no problems with locations or anything and we
could just get on and film. Everyone knew what they were doing and I didn’t
feel as if he ever forgot to do anything important that slowed down the shoot.
I would say next time however, that he get a slightly larger production crew so
that he could concentrate on solely directing.
During actual filming,-on set directions were clear and he knew what he
wanted which was great.
During the whole
process, Pete was very accommodating to my own needs with regards to what
suited me and my studies and this was a necessary trait which he needed to have
for me to be a happy member of his team. So big well done for that.
Pete’s general
approach to everything was very passionate and he was clearly determined to
create the best film he could which was contagious, but I would say he needed
to be careful of his manner at times. Sometimes I was unsure if he was
angry/stressed or just concentrated and determined. Overall I think he could
have made it slightly more obvious if he was feeling positive about what was
happening, but he never spoke to be rudely and so I enjoyed being around him. I
was just unclear with how he felt at times, if he was joking or not, which made
me unsure of how to react. Pete was great to work with though and it would be a
pleasure to work on another film with him again some time soon.
From the entire project I have gained a lot for myself; I
have had a lovely on set experience, I have learnt a huge deal about how
different people work, I learnt a lot about the script development process and
I have obtained fantastic random information from the research facebook page.
Being a part of EYES was a great experience and Pete deserves to do well in the
future.
