So today I headed off to the Pump Museum in Walthamstow, North London. It was a cold day but unless we were on set most of us could take refuge in the warm cafe.
Today I was acting in a spec trailer for a film called Baptism. Based on a novel by Max Kinnings and produced by The Philm Company.
This was day 3 of the shoot and the set was a tube carriage. As the carriage was outside but needed to look like it was in a tunnel, a big black marque had been erected around it. The team could then add lights and smoke to create the effect that this one carriage was a whole train stuck in a tunnel.
I was there to play one of Hugh’s group. The character of Hugh persuades myself and two others that we need to take back the train. As you can see from the photos below, it doesn’t end well.
The four of us were rigged up with a squib each which is basically a blood sack and small explosive which could be triggered by the SFX guy sitting just off camera.
I’ve always wanted to try this although I had heard that they can hurt. We were all given ear plugs as the squibs can be quite loud. After a few rehearsals with no bangs we got ready for the real thing. There were a lot of nerves bubbling. We had to run a few steps, hit marks, react to being shot, fling ourselves back and slide down to the floor. We also only had one take so no messing up! On top of all this, would it hurt?
