First Day of filming for 'A Christmas Carol'

On Monday 4th November we started filming 'A Christmas Carol'. 

The night before we received a call sheet showing us what we will be doing and who is involved in the project.

As you can see, my scene was not being filmed that day but I would still be an extra and appear in the street. The first scene we were to film was the first scene in the whole of the movie when the Narrator open
s the movie and sets the scene. When first arriving at the park, I was one of the first to get their makeup done. Because I was not particularly significant in the scenes they did not put much detail into my makeup and done what was needed in order for me  to look good on camera.

After a little while, everyone started to arrive and filming begun at

around Twelve O'clock. Before filming and after I had gotten my makeup done, I changed into my very Victorian style costume. My costume was a very plain grey check dress. The dress was not flattering if I do say so myself but that is what women would wear in that era which I was willing to respect. The dress did not have much shape and it was a reflection of what working class women would find practical. My hair was also slicked back into a small pony tail as that's what was easiest for women to do in Victorian England.
I'd say we were on set for a maximum of about thirty minutes until the film crew moved onto the next scene and were happy with what they had filmed.Obviously as an extra I did not really have to deliver too much of a performance. Tom told us to act natural and socialise in the street, as people would back then. I would say that I was successful in performing as the role of a villager.

 At first Dylan and I were positioned in the entrance of a shop on the street. After doing a quick rehearsal the crew quickly noticed that further on from the shop there were two automatic door signs that could be seen in the shot. We were told by Tom to move and cover these signs which meant that me and Dylan had to stand up and look like man and wife because in the Victorian era a man and woman would not talk to each other unless they were married.

 Throughout the day everyone was very lovely and you could tell that everyone was having a good time rushing around. Like Kelly had warned, there was a lot of time spent waiting around for us actors because not all of us were needed for filming at the same time. During this time we learned our lines and have a little peak at the upcoming call sheets.

However, I do have a slight concern because in-between scenes the actors who were around me started playing up. They were chatting, messing around and not respecting that the film crew still had jobs to do. Personally, I was slightly embarrassed by their behavior as they started dancing and making jokes out of their costumes instead of being focused on what was going on around them.

On the other hand, some of my peers were on top form when acting and off set. I was proud of how their performances went.

 For a final time we were called on set as extras. Dylan and I were sat on a bench for this scene as Sadie and Kate (The Ghost of Christmas Past and Scrooge) performed on the street next to us. By this point it was getting dark out and the filming day was coming to an end which meant that we needed to get this scene filmed as quickly as possible. After around eight takes we finally got the shot and we were all pretty glad to be finished as it was freezing out.

 Overall, the first day of filming was massively successful and it makes me look forward to what's to come in the future of filming for 'A Christmas Carol'.