V+ Movie Blog

Rats, Maggots and Coffins!

2009-06-05T04:24:00.000-07:00

Back again!
Well in the last few weeks weve had some pretty interesting shoots at Kingswood in Overtsrand and at 'Take 5' in Norwich!
Our first shoot was in a longish hall in Kingswood where we were filming the banquet scene and so had to lay out a heap of food including jelly, apples, melon and a pig's head!
We brought along with us the two rats Jodie and Josie who were incredible actresses and did it in one take! We also had the pleasure of having the infamous Alex May with us playing Dracula once more. Nice one Alex! Then we got the maggots out..............

Firstly they absolutely stink!!!!
And after we filmed them squerming about all over our lovely feast we had to clear them up which i have to admit was the worst job i have EVER had to do.
And we did all this without the Kingswood crew noticing. Hehehehe!

The next shoot was in a cellar in 'Take 5' where we had to transport 4 coffins.....
3 came in the minibus along with about half a dozen slightly cramped pupils.
When we got there everyone had to be made up into VAMPIRES (except Alex Tebble a.k.a Guy). Jack C and me got some leafage from the middle of the roundabout outside.

Getting in the coffins was the easy bit, getting out was slightly harder...
Though we pulled it off while looking rather creepy!
Well done to everyone who filmed it! We're nearly there so keep up the good work!

Zoe x

Alby Barn Shoot

2009-04-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ello all V+ fans!
In the last 2 days we have been filming at a secret location some where in the Norfolk countryside (Alby) and have been hard at work trying to get things done!
The first day we spent there the 5 main actors had to act slighty drunk (apart from Becky, who's a natural :) ).
The sets were fab! The crew were paitent! No chickens or lambs ran onto the shot (an added bonus).
The next day things became sligthy abnormal (for filming a vampire film anyway), where Becky AND Lisa tragically died in a sticky golden-syrup-and-food-colouring mess. Lisa was killed by Molly (no suprises there), and Becky was supposedly killed by a group of Vampire children. However as most of them were either at school or in another country we had to make do with what we had there (1 camera man, 1 sound man, 1 lighting man and 2 of the main characters)---so Fleur was killed by her collegues??? Haha only joking!
So lots of fake blood was used (made by me) and so as i made the mess i decided it was only right to clean it up so i spent 20 minutes scrubbing the shower to get scarlet golden syrup off (Kim and Aggie HELP ME!!)
Thanks to everyone for putting up with George :) (nah we love ya really) and thank the heavens for the weather!
Until next time......
Zoe (Suzanne) x

2009-03-29T04:38:00.001-07:00

We are planning to put on a presentation evening to the parents and friends of the people who went to Romania. The idea of this is that the parents and friends of the people who went can find out what we did while we were over there. Should be good! I will try to get some of the team to put up some new posts soon.

That's all for now, keep looking here for more updates. Ash.

Pictures (supplied by Camelia)

2009-03-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Hannah & Zoe :)

2009-03-02T05:27:00.000-08:00

Ello all!
Hannah:We haven't spoken in ages! Um, (laugh) (louder laugh), no don't keep doing that! (Silence from Hannah), ur turn!

Zoe:Ok, so its been (how long?) 2 weeks? maybe less since we came back from ROMANIA!!
wahhhhayyyyy!

Hannah; We miss it and everyone sooooo much! It was a truly amazing experience!
YAYAYAY

Zoe: We are still in contact with all the funky Romanian and German people. Hopefully we will see them soon! But its weird being back in England cause theres no snow! Its actually beginning to look like Spring :)

Hannah: I miss the sandwiches!

Zoe: fair dos......i miss the yummy soups at the hostel ---narock to all the funky romanian people at the hostel!

Hannah: We are really glad we have stayed in contact with all the Romanians(Love you all!) And the Germans!(Love you all too) We are hoping to see you all soon.

Zoe: Indeedy Hannah! We just wana say a HUGE thanks to James, Dom, Emma, Susanne, Monika, Camelia, G.G, Micheal and ALLLLLLLLLL the students for all the hard work they put into the trip. Seriously, it is really appreciated!! XXXXX

Hannah: I would also like to say thank you to all the staff in the hostel for their hard work, and patience. Seriously the food and hospitality was incredible. Thank you!

Zoe: Well that's all iv got to say...............(over to hannah)

Hannah: All I have to say is we miss you all and we'll see you soon. Bye Bye.

Zoe: Thats all folks!

We are back from Romania.

2009-02-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

The V+ team have arrived safely back home. The party on Wednesday was great, and we were partying till about half eleven, when the last songs ended and we were told the bad news...We had to be at breakfast by 6:30 to say goodbye to the Germans and to get ready for the very big day ahead! We filmed some major scenes that day, including the arrival scene at the train station. We also did a shot with the camera up the top of the bell tower, but very few got to go up. In fact, the only people that went up were one of the romanian's and five of us(Suzanne, Matt, Me[Ash], Georgina and George). The view was amazing, and photo's should follow soon.

Back Home

2009-02-21T03:51:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

Well we are back home now after such an amazing trip with so many memories from Suzanne and Dom raving it up to the stress and excitement of being on set.

Wednesady night was big party night which I will never forget. Many awards were given out and Molly and Harry's speech was a classic moment! After every award was given out it was party time with lots of dancing especially from Suzanne and Dom!! As the party came to an end our last song was 'Hallelujah' and after that song there was not one dry eye left in the house and after lots of hugs and tears it was time for bed.

Thursday morning was a difficult one as we said goodbye to our German friends and once again LOTS more crying!!!!
Thursday night was when we left and again more crying as the trip was over but it was a trip I will never forget as I have made sooo many friends who I will NEVER forget and I will always keep in touch with and will definately see again!! XX

Love you all!!!!
Lisa
XXXXXXXXXX

Pictures (supplied by Zoe)

2009-02-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

ZOOOEE

2009-02-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

Hey all!
We're back in england now :(
Romania was too beautiful.....i miss the snow and Jimmy the Dog!
Now comes the grueling task of emptying my suitcase :(

LOVE TO EVERYONE!!!!
x

biancaaa_ioana@yahoo.com

2009-02-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

from crazy girls with love, thank you very much for everything ,thanks for invitation to your party ,it was great, we love it and we hope that someday we can do it again, all of the students and also the teachers were great. we love you all and we want you to come back someday...we kiss all of you and take care of you. susann a said you must come to england and show a good drama ,the english students are good and we want to know them better, and we hope that someday we will come in england. FANTASTIC!!!!

Rocking and popping with Dom and Suzanne

2009-02-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

At our party tonight both Dom and Suzanne tried to rock and pop. It was so bad, the kids won't even put it on you-tube. How sad is that. But they are still rocking and popping, much to our discrace. The oldest rockers in town! Smoke on the water, who ever has heard on that! The poor old devils have just come up for a glass of water. Hang on a minute, where has Dom gone? Is suzanne rocking on her own?

On the lighter side, the party is in full swing. Everyone is enjoying themselves, but, as antisipated, lots of tears because it has hit home the fact that we are leaving tomorrow. Here is the V+ crew 'rocking' the night away!

Suzanne and Ash

Picture supplied by Zoe

More pic's

2009-02-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

Drama session with vampires and Suzanne.
Getting technical in the school.

The famous clock tower.
Romanian students, Romanian culture.

Country living.
Suzanne's favorite photograph, feel proud of this one.

Cool tourist
Wow!

Snow on snow.
What a way to go (funeral cart).

This is where Emma and the gang decided to slide on their bottoms to the bottom of the hill, where Suzanne happened to be coming up the other side! Some good pic's were taken of this spectacular moment. Keep watching.

Oh no! More school!

Buying tacky gifts. Watch out back home!
The town centre.
Sword fighting with icicles.

Romanian and German teachers side-by-side.
Gritting the roads the old fashioned way.
The team in sibiu

Sorry if we are repeating pictures, we have so wanted to share it with you.
It's party night. English girls are hosting. Big awards presentation, dancing, singing and no doubt lots of tears at the end as emotions are running high. New friendships have been formed and some girls are wearing more lipstick than usual! Sick bags are at the ready, and the teachers say "just take it steady". We have invited the teachers and some girls from the local school, to make up the numbers and help make the party go with a bang! That's all for now. Ash and Suzanne. x

2009-02-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

All blogged out. Do hope you have all enjoyed looking at the pics. What a trip. Suz and Em good night.

Vlad Tepes Birth Place, round the corner from the hostel

2009-02-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

Out and about in Sighisoara

2009-02-17T14:44:00.001-08:00

Filmmaking

2009-02-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

2009-02-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

ian

We visited a Romanian Rural life Museum, taking in the culture and a fabulous walk in the sunshine.

2009-02-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Dominic up to his usual tricks had us all lying in the town square in Sibiu making a V+. passers by joined in.

2009-02-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

Working hard on the voodoo dolls

2009-02-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

Wiener Schnitzel sandwiches a popular choice with vampires- suzanne would rather suck eggs! we will never forget our wonderful pack lunches or the sack load of peppers that came with them!

2009-02-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

Linda found out about Romanian Traditions helping at the after school club in between shoots. We were warmly welcomed by the teachers, showing us very impressive hand made greeting cards and intricate clay love hearts and flowers.

2009-02-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

It is an amazing world here, very different from Germany and England, we followed the gritting truck for a bit yesterday spreading salt by the spade load and there are wild dogs everywhere.

2009-02-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

Monika meeting the locals! we are having a guided Dracula tour tomorrow, with, we are told, a surprise!

Making the most of the snow on the way back from a shoot the tech team found a huge slide! more photos to follow tomorrow we are taking Dom up there in the morning!

2009-02-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

The town is a no trumpeting area.... Coulson is under Police observation!
With the lack of technology Tomas and Andre sword fights with icicles!

film shoot in a local school

2009-02-17T12:37:00.001-08:00

Romanian students showing how to tie NWHS ties properly, under the firm guidance of a German Student's Susanna. To Mrs Eke's approval!

Mrs Eke taught her first international drama lesson using tableaux, thought tracking and internal monologues. Stanislavski and Mrs Christie would have been very proud. While Dominic was hiding upstairs! Throwing in a little 'Splat' and 'Wink Murder' for good measure! Was loved by all.

2009-02-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

Draculas day

2009-02-17T12:17:00.001-08:00

oh my god im writing in a chat of V+ yeah
okay guys out there i'm alexander may
who's that?!
Dracula!
okay my day was today not so full of work but hard to!
don't know what i mean listen!

Okay today we saw the scene of lunatic(thomas)
hahahahah
that's what i say to these theme
okay today i had to learn in just 1 day 6 pages
okay that was not easy
and than i heard we do the scene tomorrow
i learned all day long!!!!!!
okay at the evening we went to graveyard the next place for our scene
everywhere snow
amazing
okay at the end i had no more feeling in my foot.
and because we shouldn't be in the graveyard i had to hide my fingernails and my long tees
had i told that i loved them, no then now
okay we did just 1 scene because it closed and my finale scene gonna do tomorrow
my big scene
excited
okay may in a few of days you can watch my video diary in youtube ( ore months(: )
watch it
and the film in the cinema
goodnight Dracula

Lisa the pizza and Hannah Banana

2009-02-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

Howdy everybody!!

Everything is going absolutely AMAZING here!!
Filming great and people so lovely!
Tomorrow night is the last night (sob) but it is Oscar Night!!
Me and my Hannah Banana are hosting it and in charge of awards, games and food.
Lots of funny awards being given like the most random most likely to go to Harry
and biggest cock-up most likely to go to Molly and her plug.
Made Lots of new friends and is going to be soo sad when it is over but I will
definitely keep in touch...here's Hannah

Hi everyone. Today has been AWESOME! We filmed lots of cool scenes at a nearby school, and watched a really cool Romanian show done by the drama students. I also got to be a VAMPIRE CHILD! It was so fun. Hosting tomorrow with Lisa, YAY! Emma is going to show all of us to ceroc dance tomorrow, and we have had all kinds of other offers of dance lessons eg. Salsa and street. Watch this space to see the photo's tomorrow- Some may be sensored! Thank you for your messages mrs Dack and Mrs Goddom for your words of encouragement. And a happy belated birthday to Mrs Gascoyne. Suzanne says she hopes your still watching! I have also made loads of friends- I am going to be sooooo sad to leave!

2009-02-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the school in the new town to film. Many thanks to Michael the drama guy there + the performance given there. Don't want to give away plot. SUSPENSE!! Haha you'll have to wait. My name is Matt. Tonight i hope George gets an early night, coz he is getting an early morning, how does icicles sound, or a kiwi?

Company Sergeant Matt. Over and out.

The Big day from Lunatic!

2009-02-17T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here is Thomas from Germany - i play the Lunatic in the film... Today was my big day with my big scene. Now i tell you what we did all day...

So first we went to the school in the morning where we film some scenes . In one scene i was too ;) Guy ran down the floor in front of some vampires and then i (Lunatic) must come out of my room and follow Guy. When we finished filming in the school some of us watched a little theatre from some romanian pupils. I liked it. After this theatre we went back to the hostel. And now comes the terrible part... my big scene - where i must jump around the floor, sing the "Doh - a Deer"- Song. While i sang i must dance too. First it was hard for me to do this, but after a time i liked it and it and the very good direction (Matt & Dom) made it easy for me. I am happy that the day is over now... because im so tired :)

& u know what?! I think i found the lunatic in me today ;)

So... that was my day! & dont forget... vampires are everywhere!! ;)

Hannah and Zoe

2009-02-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

Heyyy!
Today we went to a BIG city and went SHOPPING! YAY! We like shopping! Sibiu was really pretty! And we all got many looks making v's on the floor! It was cold. Need no explanation for that. :) THERE'S not much else to say really, but it was really great! Bye.
THATS ALL FOLKS!

BNCH....and Z

2009-02-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Heeeeeey. It's Beth, Naomi, Chloe and Harry! We're having loads of fun and want to stay longer. Today we spent the majority of our time shopping in Sibiu. Chloe slipped over on the ice and super Naomi was there in a FLASH to break her fall. Woop! Woop! Harry bought a Buddha and it fell out of his bag, but it was OK because he saved it. (: We also alll laid on the floor in the middle of Sibiu and we made a V+, along with two other people who randomly joined us, so quite an audience. (Zoe joins in our blog in blogging.) ' ummmm, it looks interesting > the blog.' The weather is cold and snowy. Infact it has beeen cold and snowy for a long long time. It is getting quite tedious, but we are all having fun, apart from the people who are ill. :( they should hopefully be better soon. (Becky and Molly) awwww. Working with the Romanians and Germans has beeen so much fun and we will be very sad to have to say goodbye. We will definately keep in contact though. (:
So anyway we will now say goodbye.

Goodbye.

Toodles. x

Big day off in Sibiu

2009-02-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

Today we had a real change in our schedule, believe it or not we drank lots and laid around in the city square of Sibiu... Before you all get to thinking the teachers have lost the plot, let me explain. After having lots of fun exploring the countryside, local churches and a Romanian rural life museum, we made our way to the city of Sibiu, to buy you all tacky souvenirs. We ate our packed lunches and drank our pop before shopping till we dropped! Before we left, it was time for a whole group photo shoot. And guess what we had to do next...It was suggested(but with no choice in the matter) And as true, well disciplined North Walsham High School pupils, we laid down in the Market Square in the shape of the V+ title of our film. Of course this caused great excitement/bewilderment to the local people yet again. But as they saw we were having such a good time doing this, many joined us on the ground! Wow! pics soon(we promise!).

A quick weather report just to make you all jealous, It is fantastic, thick, white, crunchy, snow snow snow! It looks like a winter wonderland with the snow looking like candy floss all over the trees! We have seen horses pulling carts of wood, right across the countryside and sheep herders with their flocks(difficult to tell who was who, as they were also dressed in sheepskins). This should tell you all how cold it is! Our local tour guide informed us that these men really do protect their flocks from the many roaming wolves and bears (glad we were on the coach!). This however does not dampen anyone's spirits, just adds to the whole atmosphere.

Romanian hospitality rules! Tonight we were humbled by the generosity of our Romanian counterparts. They certainly know how to make us feel welcome! They gave all the students and staff a V+ rosette using ribbons that were the colour of the Romanian flag. They also presented us all with Romanian mobile pouches. Thank you guys.

In regards to other news, we have had a visit tonight from a local Romanian High School teacher, who will be allowing us to film in his school and helping to sort out electricity supply to the locations for the next shoot. Plus, we have invited him and eight of his pupils, to Wednesday nights party, which is being planned with great enthusiasm at this very moment by the whole crew. It's goodnight from her(Suzanne) and it's good night from me(Ash).

2009-02-15T13:29:00.000-08:00

What a great day! We must have done 70+ takes today and have shot a couple of really complex scenes - amazing. Students are beginning to take control from the Coops and we are may even get all the scenes completed. James continues to speak in broken English with a strange accent and Suzanne has become uber-mother. Dominic nearly electrocuted himself, but it couldn't have been anticipated in the H & S risk assessment....honestly Neville.

2009-02-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

Dracula back to Sighisoara. He has just arrived safely from Germany. And with him his assistant, the lunatic. Playing a role in V+ is a really big experience for them especially as they have never
been acting before. The other three German students help with the filming, lighting and the making -of, which is great fun for them, too.
Being at a place like Sighisoara is just wonderful. There is a very special atmosphere in the old part of the town. When walking around you can t stop taking lots of photos of picturesque old houses, towers, staircases etc.
Meeting people from England and Romania, talking to them, working together with them, having fun together is a very valuable experience for all of us.
Today was the first day for us (6 Germans: 5 students, 1 teacher). It was very exciting to explore the town, to do the filming etc.
We are looking forward to going to Sibiu with the whole group tomorrow.
(Monika)

Sound Crew

2009-02-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

On behalf of the sound crew, we have worked our socks off! It's been great fun, working with the whole team.Today it got a little tricky to find a quiet spot to record some of our sounds, including water running and change jangling, all because of over-excited drama queen's! ( girl's+Harry!). I found myself fighting my way through bra's and underwear in Emma and Suzanne's bedroom, just to find a bit of peace and quiet. Life for me will never be the same again! Ha Ha Ha!. Ash.

2009-02-15T12:28:00.001-08:00

Its been a full on day and just when we thought we were done for the day after three film shoots, when someone mentioned a night shoot and the kids were off! the camera was out before the teachers had even agreed! the storyboard was quickly written, props appeared from no where and we set out with what we thought would be a skeleton crew, but no, the whole town turned out! including all our team! we got some good outtakes along with some really good shots! Students have taken on directing the scenes and they're very professional and much scarier than the teachers! its been a grand day and we're all looking forward to a well deserved day off tomorrow and a visit to nearby Sibu for a hunt for the tackiest souvenir! bet you can't wait!!
Emma

More images of the day!!

2009-02-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

Night shoot + tavern scene finally finished.

2009-02-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

Today, after much hard work and much more slacking, we finally finished the tavern scene + arrival scene. Against the general will of the inhabitants of sigisoura, invading camera space and patrolling the streets in politia cars whilst other cars' alarms went off, doing their best efforts to halt filming.
Special celebrity appearance of Jimmy the Dog who came into shot and decided not to leave, following us all the way back to the bar to taste the local Romanian brandy with James, Dom, Camilia, Suzanne, Monica + Gigi. Well let's face it guys, he has more experience in the field than we do. Local opinion is we are the filming elite, either that or the more likely reason that something was lost in translation. - George

All photography by Georgina ( She wrote this =P )

The kids are a real credit to North Walsham High School, polite and encouraging too both the Romanian and German students. Fantastic team work by all the crew, what a joy to be part of all this action. If I were to write you a post card it would go something like this... "Wish you were here." Mrs Squeek x

15th February 2009 (tavern and random scenes )

2009-02-15T01:53:00.000-08:00

heeeeyyyyaaaa peoples,

today is a boring day it is shot 1254987965443683261 of the tavern scene (sainsbury's) (says rhys)

I've got to roll around the floor looaaadsss because i doubt i'll get it right 1st time, i also have to run up stairs for no real reason (says alex)

the germans came last night woop! woop! (says lisa)

It's gonna be funkadelic but i can't wait to move onto another scene!! My foot also healed mysteriously.....hmmmmm...weird. But im not generally ill so thats ok. I LOVE ROMANIA!!! (Says Zoe)

this whole trip has been amaziiiiiiing so far (: very very very tiring, and everyones feeling ill, but generally its an awesome experience & im loving it so much. its better than staying in england for the holidays haha. this is becky by the way ;) x

2009-02-14T03:12:00.000-08:00

Hey ho!

Happy V+alentines day!!

The day started here in the hostel with happy valentines celebrations, making love letters out of any thing we could find or steal, notes taped to doors chocolate everywhere no-one could escape it. Great teamwork from eveyone, we are really bonding as a group and there is more to come, the Germans arrive late tonight.
Film stuff is going great, location for the first tavern scene is go go go (great vodka here, guy really liked it). We're here with the romanian school, theyre great, they made voodoo dolls of all the five main characters this morning, i wonder if they really work?
Make up and hair team are working theyre socks off with suzanne, film, sound and lights team are working like a steam train with Emma. Actors are just poncing and posing around, "I'm going to my trailer!"- Dom, his humour and acting is being put to the test but as always he comes out on top. Our leader, James, the cheif vampire as it were, is not missing an oppotunity to make this film a sucess, staying cool, calm, collected and constantly encouraging the international bond. Everyone is working at full speed, full whammy, fingers to the bone etc, working on getting everyone ready for the shoot this afternoon.

SILENCE ON SET!
SOUND READY?
LIGHTS READY?
CAMERAS ROLL?

Take One. ACTION!

Matt and Suzanne, pics to come later.

2009-02-11T01:35:00.000-08:00

2009-02-04T02:20:00.000-08:00