As sleepless nights go, last night was up there with my most prolific.  Tossing, turning, pacing, almost nodding off then suddenly panicking about everything and nothing at once…but mostly asking those classic questions that always seem to rear their ugly heads whenever a challenging project comes along.  Am I up to this?  Are they happy with me?  How do I put my stamp on this?  Is this even about my stamp?  What should I ask?  Am I going to look stupid if I ask this?  If I don’t refer to DV tapes as ‘stock’ does that give me away as a country bumpkin amateur??

I don’t know if self-doubt or lapses in confidence ever disappear but hopefully they become easier to deal with.  On my way out the door this morning I was running on empty and if it wasn’t for a spectacular pep talk from Central Stn Project Manager, Suzy, I’m pretty sure I would’ve collapsed/vomited/exploded somewhere between Sauchiehall St and the CenSta office.

In terms of my activities today – I arrived at the office, met Genny, checked the gear, met Dasha, talked through our backgrounds and plans for the project, jumped in a taxi, met up with the band, packed the van, headed south, started shooting…

Today was about settling in – working with the band, tinkering with the equipment, bouncing ideas around, keeping in touch with the producers and gathering as much momentum and information as we could.

It’s pretty tough to try and dissect the most important parts of today and pinpoint how things are beginning to come together but all I know is there was a great atmosphere in the van.  Whether it was Shantha’s impromptu knitting sessions, Rudi’s acrobatics when Andy broke a little too hard, Dasha’s golden camera or Will’s double ham and cheese sandwich – if there’s plenty to entertain us in an 8 seater van, there’s bound to be plenty more to come in one of the most artistically vibrant and culturally alive cities in the world.

Time for sleep.