'Lights, Camera, Action... a Film Made in Edlesborough'

Posted on October 8, 2012

The clapper-board snapped shut in front of the camera, as I hovered behind the fi lm crew. It wasn't exactly Leavesden Studios, but I was still pretty excited!

Every now and then we all see cameras and lighting equipment and wonder what's going on. This occasion, up at Edlesborough church in mid-June, was the making of a short film accompanying an original song by a local artist – Soffia Osk.

Soffia is an 18-year old singer-songwriter, originally from a tiny fishing village in Iceland, who moved to Beaconsfield a few years ago, and attended Berkhamsted School. The video was made by volunteers, using the song as a backdrop to its story.

I knew Soffia from school so I went up to the church and helped out with a few odd jobs on the filming: making cups of tea; fashioning the daisy chains, (an important part of the storyline); making a hundred cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches; and generally trying to stay out of shot!

Watching the film being made was a fascinating process, but what surprised me most was the hours and hours of waiting around – you don't see that on the DVD extras.

And so that was my Edlesborough film-making experience. Next time I drive past a camera crew I will be reminded of a day spent making daisy-chains, toasties, and a lot of hanging around.

If you want to see scenes of the village and the church you can watch the video on YouTube (embedded below) – just search for Soffia Osk; the video is called 'God I Love You'. The song has also just been released as a single - a local/Icelandic connection!

Source: Focus, October 2012