The Joys Of Guerrilla Filmmaking – Bureaucracy Kills 3 Months Prep
Text This a bit of BTS (behind the scenes) footage from our recent bit of attempted filming 10 yards into Epping Forest. Just a few minutes later Epping Forest Rangers turned up and booted us off. Our only crime was that we weren’t invisible enough, we’ve filmed there loads of times before but this was a quick establishing scene before going in deeper where they don’t bother to go because it involves getting out of their cars. Shame. The joys of guerilla filming! We actually said that we were doing a student documentary and there were only seven of us so what’s the problem eh? I mean Epping Forest was given to the common people by Queen Victoria (thanks Vicky!) We did look into the cost of getting a licence and what with all the extras and all it was about £700 a day! They said things like they had to have one of their people with us because it may be we’d cause an accident or we might sue (so if I’m in the forest walking my dog and I have an accident I’d sue right?). Bureaucracy gone mad! We’ll be back with max of a four man crew as we’ve done in the past – watch this space!
There is a happy footnote to this though, kicked down but still not beaten we repaired to the local Wetherspoons, the Kings Ford in Chingford (apparently that’s what it means KingsFord ChingFord gettit?) and from there we rang up a little old lady in the local area, Barbara who was prepared to let us film in her back garden.
No way we could film Oblivion there but we wrote a quick script and filmed it the next day and that’s what the POSITIVE MAN (elsewhere on this site is!).
She mentioned how she used to have a sandwich bar in Crouch End and used to let drama students from the nearby Mountview Theatre school rehearse above the shop.
Unfortunately the sort of anal bureaucracy of the nanny state is rife now but it was nice to hear of how Britain used to be.