9 tips to prepare for a film crew in your home

How to get ready for filming an interview at your home or studio by Rose Rushbrooke

Here are some things I learned when a film crew came to my home studio. Some of them I found out from talking to the producer on the phone and some of them I learned when the film crew arrived:

Make sure all clocks in the house are turned off - there's nothing worse than a clock chiming or bonging the hour. No, take it back; even worse is a clock chiming the quarter of hour, half hour AND quarter to hour. It all makes the sound man go crazy. Plus, it shatters the moment of concentration.
If you own a dog and haven't trained it to stop barking (our dogs bark at thin air) then ask a friend to look after it. Or find somewhere for the dog to go where it can't be heard. The same goes for any pet. The camera man will not laugh when the parrot remarks he's a pretty polly. Not sure how noisy fish are but if their aquarium makes a lot of bubbling then don’t film in the same room!
Have a big pot of HIGH TEST coffee ready when the film crew arrive. This is what my husband calls good strong, caffeinated coffee. The stuff that keeps your eyes open wide! And if you can, make a plate of cookies. You can't expect the crew to go for five hours without sustenance. Never mind them, what about you?
Wear something fairly loose on top with a proper collar and a belt around your waist. If you need to be wired the sound man will clip a box of tricks onto your belt and run wires under your clothes. Then the little pick-up microphone can be clipped onto your collar. It's rather awkward having a total stranger fiddling about your person so make it as easy on both of you as possible.
Be prepared to do or say the same thing over and over again. I won't ever forget being asked to point my finger at a particular section of an art quilt for what seemed like a hundred times. “Okay, point your finger again” intoned the cameraman. And every word of “welcome to my studio” became meaningless after saying it fifteen times.
Before the big day, go and have your nails manicured. If you are being filmed working then your hands will be on show. don’t embarrass yourself by displaying ratty, nail-bitten fingers. Unless of course, you don’t give a rat's arse what your hands look like in which case - carry on regardless.
The crew probably don’t care but you might. Clean the house or hire a maid to come in. Then you can stop fretting about the dust bunnies on the stairs and the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Come on, do you really keep the house ready for visitors to drop in at any time? You do? Okay, then class dismissed, you can ignore this tip. (And please call before you come round here!)
Turn off the telephone ringer. Turn off your cell phone. Do I even need to explain this suggestion?
Go out for a meal after the whole thing is over. You will be totally drained, the adrenaline will make you high and then you will come down. Take yourself away from the scene of the crime, find a familiar restaurant and settle in with a relaxing glass of wine and a good meal. There is no way you will want to cook at home. Plus, if you go with your spouse as I did, you can dissect every last nanosecond of the past hours.

Rose Rushbrooke
Artist