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Money MattersCommissioned by the Warrington NHS Mental Health Promotion team, as part of the Healthy Ageing information films, (see “A Trouble Shared” for more background), the “Money Matters” films were originally intended to be one film but as luck (or should that read “inexperience”?!) would have it, the end result is probably a better outcome as two separate, but related, entities.
A Bit of BackgroundWhen the Healthy Ageing project first kicked off in 2007 (see “ A Trouble Shared”), we discussed topics that might be useful to the older community. As I had had fraught personal experience of power of attorney, I thought that might be a valuable topic for a film, for both the older person and their relatives. After discussion, this was extended to finances as a general topic but was deemed to be lower priority than some of the other health-related films – a “nice-to-have if we have time,” if you will. My plan for this topic was that I would experiment with documentary – a new area for my filmmaking - and I was looking forward to the opportunity. However, after the initial successful reception of “A Trouble Shared,” the council’s drama officer, Owen, decided that it would be better to have a drama featuring Albert and Vera. So, a loss on the one hand but a major pat on the back for Myles’ and my characterisations, which gave a nice little boost to my confidence as a scriptwriter. Where on Earth Can You Get Inspiration?As Summer 2008 progressed and the September deadline for finishing all the films loomed ever nearer, I was struggling for my angle for the finances script. And then by chance, one of my clients handed it to me on a plate! Peter Bean, a tax advisor (and partner in John Jepps LLP) mentioned to me that he volunteers for TOP via Age Concern, some two hours a month. Once I’d read up on the charity, I realised that it is a really worthwhile and necessary organisation but sadly not well known. So how better to promote it than by making it the subject of my film? Peter very kindly invited me along to one of his tax surgeries at Age Concern, so that I could garner information on the type of issues and worries people have. Whilst the TOP website indicates that there are a lot of incorrect demands being made by the Revenue, it seems that many of the visitors to this service simply want some reassurance and help with their annual tax form. The stress this can cause should not be underestimated. (I see the mental health topic rearing its head again!) So there was nothing else for it, but to have poor old Albert get a demand for a lot of money from Revenue and Customs! Thanks to me and Peter though, he can now sleep easily in his bed – his tax form has been sorted out and he may even get a refund. One thing’s for sure, he doesn’t owe them any money! Research, Research and More ResearchWell, that was one area of Money that needed covering, but my research discussions with Age Concern and Citizens Advice, raised the thorny and much misunderstood area of benefits – or rather the non-take-up of them by those who are entitled to the money. (It’s £4.6 billion folks!!!) So as I usually do, I went off the Internet to find out more. First port of call: Age Concern’s website. WHOAOO! Look what I found: they have an electronic Benefits Checker on the site itself. And so another angle for my film was born. The old adage of “write what you know” immediately sprang to mind – and since in my other life I’m a successful and experienced technical author, what better than to write something about the web? Except that this film is intended for older people. Ah. Hang on a minute, though: aged over 50 myself, I now count as an “older person,” meaning that many of the people I interact with are also in that category. And then there’s the “silver surfer.” So why not buck the stereotype and show some older people using the computer to do things – including finding out about benefits. Yippee – sorted! LocationOf course, this now left the tricky issue of filming, which with my screenwriter’s hat on, shouldn’t be my problem - but as I’m also the director (and as it transpired, pretty much the producer of this one to boot) I had to bear that in mind. Filming the back of people’s heads and getting half a screenful over their shoulders wouldn’t really make an interesting film. So how would we do this? And that’s where my other “life” came into play. Back in January 2008, I joined a group for a 5-week project to create monologues, which would be performed by the Warrington Youth Theatre. (See Writing Lives.) The whole thing was so successful, that the tutor, Connie Hancock, decided to continue it on a fortnightly basis (this time we’re writing a group comedy play, but I digress). So I was regularly visiting the Learning and Enterprise Centre at the University of Chester and was well aware that a number of the group used the PC room to take LearnDirect courses and learn about PCs. As Connie also very conveniently manages the LEC, I asked sweetly and managed to get to use the PC room while they were closed. What a great room it is – a central bank of PCs which you can approach from both sides – location sorted! CharactersAnd it got better! Seeing as Albert and Vera were already involved in the TOP scenes, I decided I ought to use some additional or different characters. I didn’t need to look very far. One of my writing group, Bill, had just had his acting debut in July, in play for a local charity – to great acclaim. And then there was Mary - a lovely lady who had a long career as a nurse but who seems to lack confidence. So who better to include in my film than these two? And then, as we’d only used Arthur and Elsie in the Falls film, I thought it might be an idea to reprise them too. So now I had four characters to discuss the benefits problem. One Lump or Two?(You might need to watch a few of the films to get that, methinks!) So far so good. I had a scene which introduced Albert’s tax problem at home, then a “meanwhile down at LEC” scene and finally the TOP surgery scene. Time was now running out and what with availability problems of actors and locations due to holidays, I wasn’t sure this film would meet the DVD deadline. As the Benefits part was kind of unrelated and only one scene, I reckoned at worst we could just run with that. But I so desperately wanted to make the TOP film – possibly more from a selfish point of view because I’d hit on a perfect way of progressing Albert and Vera’s relationship! (It’s good – promise! And everyone likes it, so I’m really grateful we managed it in the end.) Anyway, as the schedule transpired, we filmed the last scene first. And then we came to the Benefits shoot. My DP asked me what aspect ratio I wanted and as most of the other films had been made in 4:3, that’s what I asked for. HOWEVER, as things were being pushed through so fast, I hadn’t had chance to look at the rushes for the TOP footage – until after we’d filmed the PC scene. OOOPS. The camera we’d used for the TOP scene only films in 16:9. (I wasn’t aware of that.) So now what to do? One scene left to film – which aspect ratio to choose? So that’s when my editor and I decided we may as well make two films and shoot the first scene in 16:9 which would keep the Albert and Vera part as a whole and the Benefits film could be standalone. As I mentioned earlier, I think in the end, this has worked out for the best – especially as to keep it all as one film would have made it almost as long as Trouble Shared, which is the longest film of the suite. So we used a common piece of music to link the two - and I guess this actually gives us the option to make further Money Matters films at some point. The Director’s CutI feel that I have to confess to this one. There’s a short scene where Albert and Vera are waiting to see “Mr Bean” and are talking about Albert’s situation. That chat is all improvised – not one word scripted, nada. I asked them to talk amongst themselves and expected we’d get a few seconds’ footage before Peter opens the door. But they were off – no holds barred. I might as well pack up my pad and pencil and go home! So we left the camera rolling and when I came to help with the editing, I realised there was no way I wanted to cut that scene – even if it meant the overall film was a tad longer than the spec. Oh and Peter pretty much made up his lines too. I did script something for him but he felt it easier to play himself. Like I said, I think I might be redundant! So inadvertently, I guess I can take my hat off to Mike Leigh. I suppose in the scheme of things, being director and assistant editor, as well as scriptwriter does have significant benefits.
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