Diary of a Deaf Filmmaker, Month One: Can I actually do this, or not?

Posted on July 9, 2014 by



Some of you might know that in the month of May, the Gods of Deaf film-making smiled upon me and I won something called the Ben Steiner Bursary.

I wrote about it here and everything.

Well, you lucky devils/poor unfortunate souls (delete where appropriate), now I have decided to track my progress in a delightful/dreadful (delete where appropriate) Deaf Film Makers diary!

I’m hoping it will prove useful for others looking to get into the industry and give you all a bit of insight into what goes on behind the scenes. At the very least, I expect someone will have a good old chortle at any production mishaps that may befall me along the way (shame on you in advance!).

So let’s get to it…

June 2014 – Month One


1

Dear diary…..actually, no I don’t like that…greetings, trusty writing companion!….No, that’s rubbish as well. Ah ha, Captains log! Oh sod it, I’ll figure that out later.

2

I’m counting everything that’s happened since Deaffest 2014 as preproduction but so far a lot of my time has been spent thinking.

Not the blissful procrastinating kind…the volcanic erupting panic kind. So many things have been buzzing around my head, the production schedule, insurance, the budget, locations, set, crew, cast and which bloody order do they go in?!?!?!

3

But at the back of my mind, one question in particular pops up….Can I actually do this?

4

I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but film-making is bloody hard work and sometimes being Deaf can make it even harder.

I remember a time when I was a runner working on a Deaf film, but the majority of the crew were hearing. People would be running past me, uttering instructions at high speed (time is money, don’t ya know!) and I would be standing there feeling pretty lost and useless.

5

People were stressed, busy and wanted everything done quickly, correctly and with a cup of tea in hand.

I questioned whether or not this kind of work environment was the right place for me to be. I even spoke to the 1st AD about it, but they just sort of looked at me like I was the runt of a very pathetic litter and said “maybe you’d be better off in an editing suite”.

6

I’m sure they meant well…sort of….but it sure did plant the seed of doubt.

7

But it’s too late for that, as I’ve some how managed to end up in the directors seat.

8

Will it all be perfect? No. Will everything go exactly according to plan? Of course not! But I’ll find a way to deal with it as and when the time comes, and if being Deaf makes things harder, then I’ll bloody well deal with that too! Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be a solo effort. I’m going to need lots of help!

9

So, if you’re a Deaf film-maker or would like to be, then keep your beady little eyes open, as I’ll be looking to crew up very soon.

Garratty….out!

10

Teresa is a freelance film maker, photographer and full time cynic. At school, she was voted “Most likely to end up in a lunatic asylum”, a fate which has thus far been avoided. Her pet hates are telephones, intercoms and all living things.

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