Sparks have flown - and toasters too!

So, we're about half way through our shoot and it's gone so incredibly fast I can't quite believe it. The last few days in particular have just flown by, perhaps because we have moved through so many different locations and brought in lots of new faces. We started the week in Deadhead Comics, then spent some time on the Grassmarket, before moving to the lovely Monboddo (thank you to all the people at Point Hotel, Edinburgh who were so helpful), Johnstone Terrace, Lady Lawson St and an amazingly huge flat down at Haymarket. Thanks to Ryan and David Hepburn everyone managed to get from A to B via X, Y and Z without too much trouble, but as you'll see from the picture, we really had to tie our actors down to get the best from them!
One of my many worries on the shoot was health and safety and yesterday I had a whole heap of things to get stressed about, including actors riding a stunt bike you can't sit down on, actor pretending to climb out of a 2nd floor window, actor thumping a plate glass window, director riding a stunt bike you can't sit down on, crew loading and unloading heavy equipment in a confined space, the usual issues with cables for people to trip over etc etc. What I wasn't expecting was that our designer Marianne would do an impromptu audition for the part of Electric Man himself by almost electrocuting herself with a dodgy lamp. White sparks leapt across the room and Marianne leapt several feet in the air. Thankfully all was well: Marianne was unharmed and remarkably composed; the lamp was consigned to the bin and the scene looked even better than we hoped, thanks to some excellent set dressing.
Today we were completely on top of our game - not only were the actors doing a fantastic job, but the crew were on a roll too and the shots just kept coming. We started on a buzz with scenes set in a bathroom, involving many bubbles, a corpse and a toy. I can say no more, except that our extra, Doug, really got the most out of his role and the crew could barely hold in the laughter. Then things got serious and Derek Dick (playing Jimmy) did a great number in evil laughter and full on violence with white goods. Production safety was also on a high as we surrounded Rich Steel (DOP) with padding and stationed Elliot to catch the flying toaster. Dave Barras okayed the shot and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Then it was on to the next move and, despite the Papal visit to Edinburgh, we headed up the road to the Hibs Supporters Club, where we couldn't have been made more welcome (special thanks to Colin and Walter for this, and for their help as impromptu extras). We were joined at the HSC by Grant Thomson, Steve Holligan and Julian Leiper who did a marvellous job of creating just the right kind of ambience for Jimmy's drinking haunt - you'd never recognise the place!