War Footing

A wise chap once said:
"Making a film is like declaring war on reality"

Light snow fell for much of Sunday afternoon and I was able to cover the tiny Tartar cemetery before the grumpy old man in charge of it decided to close it at a seemingly early 3:10pm. I imagine he wasn't able to veg out properly in front of his TV knowing that a certain little bird was recording some shots on his (almost-never-visited) terrain.

Today there was more light snow to tease me but I was too tired to go out after yesterday, and besides I had to check the Tartar material to judge whether or not I will have to reshoot any of it - it seems I may have to. Probably I shall have to bribe the grumpy old man second time around.

Tomorrow a day of snow is predicted - probably one of the last for this winter. I require one last snow shot (Christian war graves being snowed on) to complete the (possible) opening sequence of the film. My destination is the Cmentarz Wojskowy (the soldier's cemetery) which incidentally is the last stop on the rather cheery 'see what's left of Warsaw' tour as offered by the city's Public Tourist Bus.

So...it is war footing:

Batteries...recharged and packed in the correct pocket
Public transport route...planned, bus numbers marked on hand
Secondary objectives...planned and timed
Tripod, umbrella and snow tubes...beside the door
A dozen layers of clothing...piled in order
Morning tea...standing by
Standby breakfast (another 2 eggs)...laid out
Reshoot reference cards (if the snow keeps going)...printed out
Camera...sealed and tape positioned
Satellite weather image...checked - 'flurries expected'
Wallet...emptied of all but essentials (bribe/Snickers money)

I even have a 'snow-alarm' - if a friend encounters falling snow on the way to work - I receive a warning message (I might be still asleep and snow is seriously silent...).

Its 8 hours until dawn. We shall see if the white stuff falls on cue. I have the feeling I won't be lucky this time but we shall see. Probably I should have been fearless and gone today but you usually record 'off shots' when you're tired.