What if it doesn't HAVE to be stressful?

[Above: a few snapshots from pre-production on Ren: The Girl With The Mark series 2]

    The spring weather may not be as warm as predicted, but my seasonal workload has exploded as it seems to this time every year. I've been juggling lots of (lovely) client edits, with work for an exciting new client coming up soon; I've also been managing my business alongside all the ongoing renovations and challenges my fixer-upper house throws at me, as well as currently being a little unwell.

   Yesterday was my birthday, and hard as it is to relax right now, I was able to take a few hours out of the office (thanks to the support of my wonderful partner, Edward). In film terms, I am now the same age as Marge Simpson - which is an odd thought to process - but 10 years off Seymour from Ghost World.

   But the biggest thing going on in my life right now is Series 2 of Ren: The Girl with the Mark. The team actually started shooting this week (you can follow their progress predominantly on Patreon, and also via Instagram stories), but my episode starts shooting at the end of May. There's a lot for me to organise - physically, logistically, and mentally - before that happens.

  As is often the case these days, this blog post isn't the one I originally intended on writing this month. I wasn't sure I'd have time to share anything at all. But as I expect this will be my last post until June at the earliest, I wanted to do a quick check in, to tell you all where I'm at, as well as keeping my SEO levels happy in the process!

   Pre-production is an intense time, but an exciting one too. At the start of March, I traveled down to London for my first in-person auditions in years, where so many amazing applicants came and shared their skills with us (everyone was so brilliant, it made casting for Ren a tricky but rewarding process!). This was followed by numerous production meetings, which I relished, particularly the initial design meeting where my fabulous HODs showed me sketches and fabric samples, making me feel like I was a bride planning a wedding! Then, a couple of weeks ago, cast and crew came together in Ren's beautiful studio location, hidden away in the Cambridgeshire countryside, where we did a table reading. 

   A lot of the series' casting reveals are still to come, but some of our actors have already teased their involvement - with a couple of my beloved regular collaborators mixed in with the new faces - and our two leads have been announced. Oriana Charles and Alexander Hackett (both of whom are incredibly lovely to work with) will be taking the roles of Ren and Hunter for series 2, and the first gorgeous promo image of them in costume was shared with the world earlier this week:

[Photo credit: Emma Barrott]

   When my calendar hit one month to go until my episode of Ren starts shooting, my adrenaline really kicked in - even more so than before - and my brain started to go into its default pre-production setting: aka, stressed. No matter how much you love a project, how much you're looking forward to being on set (and Production Designer Rose and her team have built us a great set for this series!), it is natural for directors to go into automatic 'stress mode' during pre-production, even if everything is running smoothly. This time around, it's made me think: what if it doesn't have to be like that? What if it doesn't have to be stressful?

   This new mindset comes partly with age and experience, but mostly because of my current mentor, Justin Molotnikov, who Directors UK generously paired me up with last year. I was lucky enough to shadow Justin on the set of his latest production in Dublin, in October 2022, and it opened my eyes to a fresh way of thinking. I'll be writing a separate article about that experience for Directors UK soon, so I won't reveal too much in this blog post, but it was incredible to watch Justin and his crew tackling a huge scene, with numerous actors and multiple production challenges, all the while keeping their heads cool and working hard to overcome whatever was thrown at them. 

  Don't get me wrong, when it comes to film productions, there will always be stressful elements - particularly with lower-budget projects like Ren (locations, for example, are a big logistical challenge). For me, the biggest hurdle is freeing up my time to prep for the shoot around my existing client commitments; I always like to prepare as much as possible - as I detailed in this recent blog post about my short film A Different Place - but on an unpaid project, when you can't prioritise your prep or book it in like a paid job, you have to work with any pockets of time you can get, and just do as much as you can with them.

   BUT there is no point going into 'automatic stress mode' or assuming things are going to be stressful the moment pre-production starts. When challenges arise, analyse the issues, work damn hard, get it sorted, and reap the rewards. Repeat until all problems are solved and the shoot has wrapped. That sounds like an over-simplification of the process - but really, that is how is should be.

   This is the approach I've opted for throughout all of my work on Ren thus far. Furthermore, I've made sure to appreciate the process along the way. I feel so lucky to be part of a project with an enthusiastic existing fan base, to be playing within such a magical world, and to be collaborating (and often laughing!) alongside such a wonderful group of filmmakers. Above all, doing this project means being reunited with Neil Oseman, and working with one of my all-time favourite collaborators again for the first time since before the pandemic. Neil is not only DOP on Ren, but he's also the producer, co-writer, and showrunner, and we're all so grateful to him for everything he's done to bring this series into existence.

[If you want to hear more about my process & plans for my episode of Ren Series 2, you can watch an extended video interview on the Ren's Patreon page - and you'll be helping to make the project possible in the process!]

   Whether or not I'm able to keep this cool new attitude remains to be seen - but I'll let you know how I get on, as well as sharing updates on my other projects (A Different Place and Good Grief have been doing brilliantly at festivals lately!), in my next blog post - which you can expect to land in June or July this year.

Sophie