: : Bye-Child film : : Screenplay adaptation by Bernard MacLaverty and Andrew Bonner of the poem by Seamus Heaney

BYE-CHILD making the film

Time was when such a new director and producer team could not have attempted a short film of this scale. So it is thanks to the work of all the investors, cast and crew that the film was produced at all. It is a hard task to collect the money, gather the talent, find the locations, book the gear, roll the cameras and deliver a film that still work s in the edit suite. This page gives some of the story that took place behind the camera.

development

Some films have the strangest and longest stories about how they came to be made, and Bye-Child is no exception. You could say this film has been in development since Seamus Heaney made his first attempts at writing the poem and showed what he had achieved to Bernard and other members of the Belfast writing group way back in early 1970! However, for the purposes of this website we begin the story when Andrew Bonner approached Seamus Heaney for the rights to adapt the poem to film.

rights and scripts and the search for cash

Andrew Bonner had been an admirer of Bernard MacLaverty's writing for many years, so when Seamus Heaney gave him permission to adapt the poem into a short film, he knew who would be first choice to write the screenplay. It was only much later that Bernard revealed to Andrew that the Bye-Child poem had been an important source for his work on the novel and screenplay of Cal, one of his most acclaimed works. . So Bernard was keen to make the short film come to life: it had always been a story that fascinated and appealed to him.

It took a couple of months for Bernard to think about how he would construct a story from the impressions and imagery of the poem. For example, the poem never attempts to explain how and why the Bye-Child is hidden in the outhouse. This has to be explained if a film version is to work. It was also necessary to explain how the child could have been hidden so well for so long, and why no one on the neighbourhood had come across him/her sooner. The screenplay's answer was to create an isolated farmhouse, that would distance it's owners from any nearby villages, and to have characters who themselves might be socially isolated, thus making it less likely that they would receive visitors. Anyone who came to the house would be by invitation, or by mistake. This issue was solved by bringing the grocer's van to the house at the beginning of the film, showing that it wouldn't be easy for the woman to go shopping, and by bringing the boys to the house when they play hide-and-seek midway through the film. This becomes the catalyst moment that unearths the Bye-Child. With these and other script issues sorted, Andrew Bonner set about looking for cash and talent. Though one problem, that of finding a director was very quickly solved: Bernard himself volunteered to do the job. It was something he always fancied, and Andrew Bonner was delighted to accept his offer.

It wasn't until two years later, however, that enough money was found to pay for the production. Short films do not make much, if any money, and so it takes a long search to find people who will want to support them. Bye-Child's money came in the form of grants from the Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen, Northern Ireland Film and TV Commission and private investors. Susan Lynch had agreed to play the lead role of the Mother, though most of the other roles weren't settled until the final stages of pre-production.

pre-production

Once all the money had been offered and guaranteed, the film moved very quickly from development into pre-production. One of short film's other drawbacks is that crews and cast are often on other, bigger projects right up to the start date for shooting and so pre-production has to be very quick. The makers of Bye-Child had little more than two weeks to finalise their plans.

Prep is the most intense period of work for many members of the crew, particularly the art department and production team. The production design team had to build a shed, dress the exterior of our house, furnish and arrange the interior of the house, order chickens, source, buy and collect wheelchairs, stools, mirrors, and props of all kinds. The team to do this would be much bigger on a TV or feature film, and with only a few people working on our shoot, the production design team did a tremendous job.

While the art department were busy getting the set designed and built, the production team were arranging for the rest of the cast and crew to get involved. The learning curve for new producer, Andrew Bonner, was steep and difficult to climb, but with the help of a great production manager, Lisa Woods, many of the difficulties were fixed. Pre-production is the time when all the plans for the actual shoot are agreed and finalised; so the Director of Photography, 1st Assistant Director, Production Designer, Make-up and Costume supervisors, and a host of other people have to be part of the plans. They will all have to share their thoughts on how the plans affect their jobs. Bye-Child was a tough prep because there were so many issues to be solved in a very short amount of time. But the team made it; helped in no small part by their enthusiasm to be working with Bernard. His ability to explain very clearly what he wanted, and to quickly adapt when he couldn't get it, helped everyone. By Sunday 8th June 2003, everything was in place for six days of shooting in the beautiful countryside of Northern Ireland.

production

Making a film is often described as 'doing the high-wire sprint'. Once prep has finished there is no turning back without a lot of expense and possibly a lost film. Production is when the film rolls through the camera, actors come into their own and the producer hopes and prays that all the prep has been sufficient for everyone to do their job. It is also the time when problems have to be dealt with very quickly or else there will be huge ramifications for the film.

DAY 1 Shooting on Bye-Child took six days in June 2003. Day 1 started at the chapel inside the grounds of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum near Holywood, Co. Down. There were 30-40 extras, almost full cast, and a crew of 35-40: it would be the most difficult day of all. Amazingly, the crew got through most of the shots required, even with a few problems along the way, and moved from Holywood to the location for the house in time for a few shots in the evening. The rest of the film was shot here, near Templepatrick, Co. Antrim, and this made the next few days easier to handle.

DAY 2 A long day that spent a great deal of time on the night shots and dark exteriors for the beginning of the film. Some interiors were shot in the early part of the day, but the cast and crew were in for a long night as sufficient darkness could not be achieved in the night sky until VERY late. A difficult task, but good to have it out of the way relatively early in the week.

DAY 3 Lots of interiors: of the woman trying to get to sleep, and then some moves to get the exteriors of the priest approaching the house. This is also the day that the rescue of the child is filmed. Originally written to take place at night, it was decided that, with such bright skies well past midnight, there wouldn't be enough dark hours to accomplish this. Instead, it was shot in the afternoon, and many say how much better it worked than the original idea. Genna MacCormick, playing the Bye-Child is trained to perfection by drama coach, Julie Austin, and the scenes have tremendous impact with all the crew.

DAY 4. Many of the night interiors of the shed are filmed. A black drape is erected over the shed in the garden, and daylight is banished. The rat is one of the stars today, and performs brilliantly. The one-take wonder-rodent is wrapped by teatime. This is also the day when Susan Lynch and Dick Holland perform their difficult fight scene. It's tricky to choreograph and shoot, but is done with amazing skill and rare power. Everyone knows this will be a great scene in the final cut.

DAY 5 Just when we needed it, this was a beautiful summer day. Scheduled for Day 5 was the hide-and-seek game with the boys. It's complicated by the fact that many angles and points of view have to be covered. For example, when Susan Lynch goes to her window to check on the disturbance she hears, she must see the feet of Danny McGrady making his getaway. Lots of time spent setting up, but all the shots are in by wrap.

DAY 6. The last great day! All the scenes dropped from earlier in the week have to be picked up. The priest is yet to confront the father, and so Brian Devlin is recalled for another day's work. Another glorious day of sunshine lifts spirits, and the film is completed on time and with all the footage required, in the can.

post-production

Post-production is when the camera has stopped rolling, the cast and crew go home and the director waits to see if he really has a film. The first assembly edit takes place, and Bye-Child seems a bit long. There is a discussion about how the flashback should work, because as it is scripted it doesn't seem to have as much power as was hoped. These issues are solved and then the special visual effects, like placing the moon in the night sky are added. The edited film goes to a digital negative processor in Switzerland, and a new negative comes back to Technicolor in London. Bye-Child's post-production is delayed at various points by personnel being on summer holidays, babies' births and other commitments. Sound has to be re-recorded, and dubbed. Music has to be written and recorded, and then dubbed into the sound mix that has already been taking place. Credits have to be agreed, and then filmed, printed and attached to the main film: it can seem like the film will never get made.

But the print is ready in time for its premier at the London Film Festival in October. Finally, the film makes it to a big screen, and receives a tremendous reception.