A day with us
Gate to wrap, in order. Where you pray, when you eat, who is in the room and who walks you back to the station.
Written for two people
The woman deciding whether to come, and whoever at home is deciding whether it is reasonable.
Our base is one ground-floor room in the Annexe Building at 3 Mills Studios, London E3 3DU, inside a gated, pass-controlled lot a short walk from Bromley-by-Bow station. Below is a stage day on the Studio Simulation; a technical or edit day is quieter and the same arrangements hold.
The day, in order
The gate, then breakfast
On the first morning someone waits at the Three Mill Lane gate, so nobody walks onto a studio lot alone. A pass, then fire points, toilets and the prayer space.
The call sheet, then the floor
The day, printed: your name, your grade, the running order, prayer and break times, and a named person to find if anything is wrong.
Prayer, then lunch
Prayer at the time it falls, not the time that suits the schedule. A private space is held all day: a marked qibla, mats, somewhere to make wudu, a door that shuts. Then a hot meal, halal and kosher sourced separately.
The afternoon
Rigging, shooting, recording, offloading, then your department runs the procedure again at speed. You can step out at any point without explaining why.
Wrap, strike and home
Kit down, cards offloaded, a debrief. You leave together and are walked to the gate, and to the station if it is dark.
Who is in the room, and what you wear
Every participant is a woman and the Screen Sisters lead is a woman. Practitioners are mostly women and sometimes men, because that is who works in those departments. No man is ever alone with a participant, and costume, hair and make-up are women-only. Wear what you wear, and bring flat, closed-toe shoes. Loose fabric near a moving camera is a hazard, so we tuck, pin or tie it before you are on the floor.