Same routine for the morning, tho’ this time we made sure we had some porridge before going off. We grabbed the first bus that came along, which was actually going in the right direction… tho’ as soon as we got on, it promptly turned around + headed off the long way round.
Our work today was all basically one long scene. The first shot was of us assembling for a big parade, + it was shot from behind us, so naturally it was shot from the rear (tho’ somehow I managed to be included quite close to camera, a sort of honorary Kiwi.) Then the continuation shot was filmed from the front, so the whole company was switched around – I suppose no-one would be likely to notice that the people they’d just seen running to the back were now at the front. As is said before, we were just wall-paper, + who studies the wall-paper? They switched back + forth several times, + every time people put themselves or were put into a different formation, with the exception, I think, of the very front + very back rows. It was interesting when we were being filmed from behind, because then all the cameras, all the vans, all the lights were behind us, + so out of our sight, so all one saw was what one would actually have seen in a real POW camp. And particularly when one was ringed by menacing-looking Japanese guards, it was a shade worrying. We were at work on the same sequence of shots all day, with various long breaks while they took close-ups etc. In fact, the film is being shot considerably more in sequence than I would have thought.
Finished a bit earlier today – home for dinner, + then we went to visit Jean + John, who had crossed our tracks once again, having arrived in Sofani a couple of days ago. Jean was very good in first ferrying us across, + then, when Heather arrived on the pontoon looking for us, fetching her as well. We all had a very pleasant evening (well, I enjoyed myself.) John + Jean are excellent company, + it also turned out to be John’s birthday, so that gave us the excuse to indulge in a couple of glasses of rum. We were finally delivered home at about 11.
Have we seen the film. Yes, though several years later. And no, I can’t spot either of us, despite me trying at the time to identify surrounding features which might be useful in locating me. And actually it ruined the film, for we spent the whole time scrutinising the background. As did Val’s brother, with equal lack of success. Maybe if we had a good stopo/start machine…
Good to see John and Jean again – one of the pluses of travelling a pretty much fixed route.
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