On the banks of a picturesque river in the blazing sunshine. This is ideal weather for the last sequence which is to be shot on a floating set, 2 miles down stream.
Before we go near the water I have to get back in the trunk/boot of the car. Ben the art director ties my hands together and covers my mouth in gaffa tape. I know people who would pay good money to see this happen. I'm in the boot for an hour. It's hot but I enjoy it all the same. It feels like we're doing a scene from 'Goodfellas'.
The floating set is built on top of pontoons. Pontoons are floating rectangular blocks and can be attatched together to make them bigger. The set is enclosed in plastic sheeting. It is a living room.
The walls of the room are canvas painted green and the floor is covered in red carpet. There is a trap door in the middle of the floor which we come out of. When inside you wouldn't know you were on a river. Ben and the art department have been here for days building it.
The idea John had was that at a certain point in the video, near the end, we would pull away from the camera and float off into the setting sun.
The weather is perfect. Before we do any filming we have to get wet which involves a hose and freezing cold water. One of the boatmen is from St Andrews. He is impresssed with my special underwear. John has us do the final shot 5 times. This is the floating away bit.
By this time we are all totally freezing. The set keeps floating the wrong way. At the back of the set out of view there is a wee motor engine that one of the boatmen is using to guide us out and back.
This last shot takes the longest time to get. John was looking worried when we all got back onto the boat but we were too tired to throw him in. He won't be so lucky the next time. "Hardwick. Your time is gonna come."
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