'Quondam' shot for the two consecutive days of the 8th and 9th of November in 2003. Here are the set diaries written by Director Andrew Davidson on those days, as well as the two days leading up to the shoot and the day of additional photography in January 2004.

Thursday/Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Re-shoot

Thursday 6th & Friday 7th November 2003

I've decided to combine the Thursday and Friday into one set diary so that you get double the fun in one sitting!

The first thing that happened on Thursday was that I met with Kevin Brett. We talked through the newest draft of the script and about the logistics of shooting in the hospital location and where certain actions would take place. During the story board process I had decided to change the location of one of the last actions to take place from a small room into a much larger one. Kevin and I looked over the boards that I had drawn at that time and generally made sure we were both happy with what will be happening at the weekend.

After that I continued to work on the remaining story boards. Unlike Autumn Heart, I did not board every piece of action and camera move that happened, I kept to the essence of a shot so that there was more room for experimentation on the set. I also contacted an actress that we had been recommended who has an acting son to play the last two remaining characters yet uncast. Finally - after leaving a message with the actress - Darren McAree arrived and he and I set about some rehearsing.

Darren and I didn't really 'rehearse' per-se for Autumn Heart, we would read the script through every week or so, but we wouldn't specifically block out shots and work through them. We had two low-key rehearsals before shooting with 'Lara' but they were more dialogue intensive than action.

For Quondam I feel that much more of the story needs to be told by Darren's actions and movements that we should spend some time talking through the character and developing that as movement. It was a very worthwhile period of time and I think that for both Darren and I seeing the character come to life more then than he maybe had before was very exciting and made us both yearn for Saturday to come even more. In the evening we went to a pub quiz and lost, then lost again (loosing 10 free beers!).

Friday (today) has been one of the strangest/busiest days of the production so far for me. I eventually woke up about 10:30 and met briefly with Kevin at 12:15. I had a mission today, that mission: prop shopping. I came back with a bed sheet, a knife, breastlift tape, invisible thread, a picture frame and videos. A strange haul I think you'll agree. The breastlift tape is a shopping story that I will never tell! I also arranged a meeting with Helen Norman (the actress from Thursday) for earlier tonight. However, I had another job first.

It was to be a simple errand, probably lasting no more than an hour and a quarter, to collect the necessary film equipment that we would be requiring: a jib (small crane) and a dolly & track. Well, there was unfortunately an accident on the M6 and traffic was backed up between junctions 16 and 19. We got on at 15 and needed to get off at 19! What would usually take half and hour took us near two hours. The place (Visual Impact) closes at 5:30 and we set out at 4! On the motorway between junctions 16 and 17 I phoned ahead to let them know that I was coming and that there were traffic jams. Duncan from Visual Impact stayed back late so that we could still pick up the equipment! Hoorah for kindness! Though something got messed up somewhere along the line and our rather funky dolly & track had not been confirmed to the bookers and had been lent out that day, so we got a much less sophisticated piece of equipment. I'm not complaining, you work with what you've got.

I was then whisked back to Stoke so that I could meet with Kevin and Helen at 7pm. Helen was extremely nice and both Kevin and I felt that she and her son would be great for the film and are looking forward to working with them on Sunday. We talked through the film, explaining the narrative, the themes and how her character fit in to the story and the part she played in the story of Jack. Helen seemed enthused about the project and took a copy of the script away with her to read. We'll speak to her tomorrow and make the final arrangements for Sunday.

I should REALLY go to bed now. It's only 11pm, but we've got a VERY early call tomorrow morning. Darren and I are being collected at 5:30am by our good friend and On-Set Medic Mark Allen where he shall drive us away to start filming on what looks to be a very long and exciting day.