….our film requires all three, and getting the right vehicles might have proved a headache if it wasn’t for, once again, the help and support of local businesses. We require several cars during The Husband Obedience Trials and each one needs to be ‘just right’ for the character utilising it.

Finding an old banger for the newly weds clearly wasn’t going to be a problem, but pinning down a black top of the range Range Rover, especially one that would need to be used not just locally in the village, but in scenes to be shot in Birmingham, just might have been. In stepped Martin Allen, owner of 434 Enterprises Ltd, a business on the Kingston Business Park, who has not only agreed to supply us with his car but has also offered to add the name of the actor who will drive it to his insurance policy.

So, with that ticked off we turned to the next vehicle on the list, which only happened to be a bus. There is a fantastic scene in the film that happens inside a bus and we are sure you will see many familiar faces amongst the passengers, but getting hold of a bus (and driver) to spend a day with us, to ensure the shots are right, may have been tricky. Not so, luckily for us, Peter Skinner of Nostalgia Travel has very kindly given us permission to use one of his fine old buses for this particular scene, even better he has offered to drive it. Guy Browning said “Both Peter and Martin, like so many other local businesses and individuals, have been incredibly generous and it is this level of support which is integral to making the film happen.”

With regard to trains, you’ll have to watch the film to see how they feature but planes? All we’re saying is keep your eyes peeled to the skies over Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor at 19.41 precisely on June 20th.”

434 Enterprises Ltd provide 24 hour emergency thirst aid. They are wholesalers to the licensed trade and can be contacted on 01865 823333.

While the media may be obsessed with instances where health and safety has gone mad it is something that we need to take seriously during the course of making the film. We have scenes involving horses, people in tree houses, climbing up ladders and very hot coffee to name a few.

Local resident, Chris Green, stepped forward to volunteer as our health and safety officer and pointed out that it would be prudent, practical and re-assuring to everyone if we had fire-fighting kit to take round with us from location to location/set to set. He came up with a list of kit and pointed out that heaven would be if it could come in a complete docking station, ideally on a set of wheels.
So, we contacted Executive Fire based in Oxford and very nicely asked the Managing Director Mick Franklin if he could supply us with the equipment we need, free of charge, please.

Mick didn't even think about it, he'd already heard about the making of the film, and said he would be delighted to help, and would have everything we asked for ready for collection in time for the first day's filming.

Mick said: "We are a local company and are only too pleased to help by providing all the necessary fire-fighting kit. I love projects that are exciting and involve a whole community, where people get together and make things happen."

Guy Browning said: "Should the actors set the screen alight, we will no longer have to worry, a big thank you to Executive Fire."
Executive Fire and Security Services have been established in Oxford since 1990 providing both commercial and home security to Oxfordshire, Abingdon, Swindon, High Wycombe and surrounding areas. Over the past 18 years they have been at the forefront of changes and development in fire and security systems and installation. They can be contacted on: 01865 435435.

Big stars don’t look good on screen by accident.  They have an army of makeup and hair specialists making sure they look absolutely perfect before they do the big explosion scene.  It will be the same with our film.  We have a crack team of top hairdressing and make-up professionals working round the clock to try and make our director look human.  If there is any time left, they will be applying their considerable expertise to our cast.

Vanessa Green runs Aquarius, a salon known far beyond the village for the quality of its cutting.  She’ll be working closely with her former boss and close friend Angela McKnight who now runs the Anya salon in Bath Street, Abingdon.  Angela is a specialist in long hair, especially creative designs for brides. They will be joined by Emily Cambrey who is a trained specialist in film makeup and prosthetics. Sadly none of the cast will be requiring a second head growing out of their chest, but if they did Emily would be able to do it (and make both heads looks good).   The team will be working from Aquarius before they do a full day of their own work. It means hard work for them, but great results for us. Thank you to our great team. 

Making a film is a major logistical exercise that needs to be supported by a production office. There are a whole host of requirements that need to be met before shooting commences and then daily necessities such as the production of daily call sheets, movement sheets, copies of the scenes for the day and a 101 other ad hoc demands that need to be realized before the director calls for “Camera, lights, action!”

Our production office manager is Pat Smith and we needed to be able to provide her with two high specification computers, a network and a top of the range photocopier. These things don’t come cheap and we need to protect the film’s budget at every turn. So we put on our thinking caps and approached Roger Powell from Comp Tech, Kingston Bagpuize and Kevin Smith from Thames Valley Copiers, Wooton with a cheeky request for free equipment. Like so many other local businesses they were happy to support us, not just with the loan of expensive state of the art equipment for the duration of the summer but also with free delivery, installation and the promise of technical support should we require it.

Kevin Smith said “I think the whole project is inspiring and I’m glad to support a community looking to work together to provide entertainment for the masses. I look forward to seeing the finished product.”

Roger Powell said, “I live in the village and this film has generated a lot of buzz and excitement, it seems to be what everyone is talking about so I’m really pleased to be able to say that I’m helping to make it happen as well.”

Guy Browning said “Even if the actors are all looking in the wrong direction it's important they've read the same script, so we're delighted that Roger and Kevin have seen fit to support us in this way.“

Thames Valley Copiers specialize in the sales and servicing of digital multifunctional copiers, laser printers, scanners and fax systems throughout the Thames Valley region and have a wealth of experience to draw upon. They can be contacted on 01865 736606 www.thamesvalleycopiers.com

Comp Tech provides PC trouble shooting support to homes and businesses. They are experts at providing repairs and upgrades, virus fixes, network problems, data recovery and broadband fixes. Roger Powell can be contacted on 07870 755637.