Production Diary - Rochelle

Rochelle - Fer De Lance

I should let you into a little secret. It’s a small one though so don’t go clearing out important memories or pin numbers to hold it within your brain space.
This video was made on nothing. And by that I don’t mean it was made on thin air and candy floss. I mean it was made for very little money. I’ve been lucky enough to work on some pretty high budget work. In music videos and adverts where budgets are so big that money gets thrown in the air and people dance on king sized beds naked, rubbing themselves in dollar bills.

As a result, all of the people who worked on this video, did so for nothing. Nothing at all. NOTHING

Everyone either forgoed their fee or worked at a reduced rate equivalent to giving away their time for free. Every single person.
That should say something for the sixty odd people that are on the credits for the video . All the dancers that rehearsed for hours for it.
The crew that traveled for it.
The production team that has been working on it for months.
For Phil Wood, our brilliant camera operator who drove up from London for the shoot.
For Sarah Hartley, who sewed all of the girl’s costumes for the drones.
For Rob Gardner, the incredible Director of Photography who put off another (well paid) job to work on our low budget shoot.
For Sophie Dowd who worked tirelessly over the weekend as our 2nd AD despite her Monday to Friday, all hours job on Emmerdale; and for everyone else who if I could mention, I would.
Working on nothing, means that you have to work for everything. Every last bit of kit is measured for what it is worth, and every minute is well spent. For that, I am in Jamie Donoughue’s debt. Although I’m lucky enough to call him a colleague, I was blessed to have him work on the shoot as my producer. It is often the role that goes without the most credit, and you deserve the most for your work Jamie. It’s hard to be told to get everything for nothing, but you did an incredible job, especially when most producers do a ’great’ job of getting nothing for everything.

The two days of the shoot we’re probably the best shooting days of my life. More than anything because the crew we had we’re a joy and privilege to work with. The dancers we’re awesome, and a constant supply of energy and enthusiasm, frolicking, licking, friendliness and fun. And the band brilliant both as performers and supportive friends. It was brilliant for me, to see our little idea come to life, see the whole crew perform with such professionalism, the band drill their performances with such energy, that at times I had to pinch myself. It’s what happens when you’re doing your dream job.

For the weekend, where we had to get so much done on such a little time scale, Aurora Fearnley held my head in her hands for the majority of the time. She’s a brilliant first AD (the person who tells you what you have to do, and how quickly) and a fine friend. Her skills as an Assistant Director are only bettered as her work as an editor, and in the ensuing three week aftermath of the shoot, her experienced skills surpass her young age. She is responsible for so much of the finished film, from the cuts to the colour, the pace to the grade, in that, it is your work too Aurora.

Although this video carries my name as the director within these credits, it has been the hard work of Joe Costello, the co-director and SFX creator that has transformed the idea of the video into the video’s ideals. Without him, my brain would have been blown apart many times over, and I thank him for keeping it intact.

During January, I honestly didn’t know if the video was ever going to get made. Over the month Rochelle lost a member, changed record labels, and looked likely to blow out so big on the world that it fully justified them placing the video in someone else’s more trustworthy (or experienced hands). Throughout it all though, I had Joe ringing me and supplying our bodies with caffeine, thrusting the video in front of us regardless of what was going on around us. And it worked. Without him, this would have been a different project.
You’re a talented man Joe, and I thank you for it.

The band too were just fantastic, and considering it was their first time on camera, they did an amazing job. Lydia in particular something incredible in coming in and overcoming some pretty nervous nerves to do so much within the video.