Filming Diary 27th May 2026

That's one hell of a schedule!

Yesterday, Rocket Badger Productions and Show Ready Productions teamed up to produce This is Awkward, a brand-new LGBTQ+ rom-com short film starring Ben Jennings and Jack Hyde.

It was one of those filming days that reminded us exactly why we love independent filmmaking. Chaotic, emotional, exhausting, and incredibly rewarding all at once — and somehow, after weeks of planning, we’re already heading into post-production!

Directors Katie Parker and Benjamin Stubbs arrived on location at 7:30am to get set up and ahead of the day. The beautiful campus of Reaseheath College provided the perfect filming location, and we’d like to give a huge thank you to the college for allowing us to shoot there.

While some quick B-roll footage was captured, Benjamin worked closely with the actors to prepare them for the day ahead. With his background in theatre and film acting, he brought a huge amount to the production, helping to guide and develop performances throughout filming. The actors arrived at 8:30am and, from the moment we called “action”, they were energised, professional, and absolutely hilarious.

Ben Jennings (left) and Jack Hyde (right)

The crew consisted of just three people: Katie, Benjamin, and an incredibly enthusiastic film student, James O’Connor, who worked as production assistant throughout the shoot. Like most indie productions, everyone wore multiple hats. Benjamin focused on directing performances, Katie handled the technical side of production, and James supported the team with scheduling, lens changes, and anything else needed throughout the day. There was a lot to manage, but we worked together brilliantly and had a great time doing it.

A couple of hours into filming, we encountered our first setback — because every film set has at least one! One of the sound recorders stopped working properly, but thanks to a quick trip to the Reaseheath College IT department, production was back up and running shortly afterwards. A huge thank you to the IT team for saving the day.

The production team after wrapping for the day!

The stunning location gave us some beautiful views between takes — although there wasn’t much time to enjoy them! After a quick lunch break, we jumped straight back into filming to make up for the time lost earlier in the day. Thanks to fantastic teamwork and incredibly patient, hardworking actors, we managed to get back on schedule and finish on time.

We had an amazing time making this film and can’t wait for audiences to see it. Ben Jennings and Jack Hyde were perfect in their roles and brought so much humour and energy to an already funny script.

We’re currently aiming for a July release, so keep your eyes peeled for more updates very soon.