not as glamorous as you thought

I spent all day yesterday on the production sets for three different British television dramas. I was extremely surprised by the lack of glamour that was present. Huge warehouses that looked run-down and shady from the outside housed huge sets surrounded by every type of lighting device you can imagine. My boss and I sat and watched as the director had the characters shoot the opening credits against a blue screen- then watched as the digital graphic coordinator created a title behind them within a matter of minutes. Ten people with clipboards stood around a small TVs which showed play-back from each camera. After each shoot, all ten of them would give their opinion on which angle was best (which was usually none of them...) and then they would scribble notes down on their boards and the process would continue. Members of the production crew entertained my numerous questions and acted unbothered by my avid picture taking.
The actors changed clothes in a corner of the warehouse that was allocated as "wardrobe space." This wardrobe space consisted of a few hanging clothing rods and mismatched suitcases filled with shoes and accessories. A large table occupied the other corner of the warehouse which was filled with personal size bags of chips, cookies, a few apples and a kettle to make tea (because we are in England, after all). Not quite the catered feast I anticipated film sets would have. This just goes to show that Hollywood is not quite as glamorous as we all would have hoped.


Last night my program hosted a dinner boat cruise down the Thames River. I got to see all of the famous London landmarks (Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abby, Tate Modern...) lit up at night and it was sort of like my trip had come full circle. I spent my first morning in London visiting all of these hot-spots. Tomorrow starts my last weekend in the United Kingdom. All day I've been having small panic attacks as I write the first of August on loan agreements and script requests at work. How could I possibly be approaching the end of my summer in London? Didn't I just get here?