Dreams: On the set of The Brothers Grimm

Gilliam during the night shoot pic by Phil Stubbs

The Brothers Grimm pic: Francois Duhamel

I see dozens of people working hard setting up the first shot of the evening. And in the middle of everything is the director of the project, Terry Gilliam. It's not been an easy road for Gilliam over the last few years. After his last film was released in 1998, Gilliam threw himself into a project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which came a cropper after just a few days, due to bad weather and injury - the events of which were captured in the documentary film Lost in La Mancha. Then he spent a year on Good Omens, and a number of other potential projects which came to nothing. Not having been able to get any of his own movie projects off the ground, he's taken on a studio project, a script by Ehren Kruger with Dimension Films providing funding. Gilliam fans will be cheered by the news that he and his co-writer Tony Grisoni have been given some freedom to rewrite the script, to shape the material in a more Gilliamesque fashion.

Gilliam finds a moment to have a quick chat with me. Among other things, he tells me that he's particularly pleased with the performances his actors have given. There's no sign of a documentary crew on this set, and fortunately there's not the sense of doom and disaster that affected Quixote either. But the events are being recorded by Gilliam biographer Bob McCabe who is on set to write a book about the making of the film.

The key members of the filmmaking hierarchy (Assistant Directors, Continuity, Director of Photography) are linked with wireless communication devices, so no matter where I hang around, it's quite difficult at any moment to work out exactly what is happening.

As I've said, Gilliam and crew are setting up the first shot of the day. There's only one actor in this shot - a young girl wearing a red-hood, reflecting the Grimm roots of this script.

The camera has its back to the thin forest, and is facing the village. The camera is placed upon a crane which is in turn moving on a track. In the shot, the girl runs away from the camera towards the village in the background. She falls to the ground as the camera moves towards her. Her face and the village is lit up mid-shot suggesting she's witnessing an explosion. There is an enormous and loud fan behind the camera to simulate a blast on the girl and which also blows straw onto her. Straw is dropped in front of the fan during each take.

Just after 9pm, we're ready for take one. Takes two and three follow soon after. After four takes, Gilliam says he's happy with it. But he then says, "Let's do one more." He has a better idea. After take eight, Gilliam describes it as "Wonderful", but asks for another. Ten o'clock goes past, and we're onto take ten. The director giggles "great". In the next few takes, there are more problems as the girl keeps on making mistakes. In between each take the girl's hair stylist recreates the girl's hair. He finds that putting the curling tongs in front of the stars' red-hot oil heater helps him get the right style each time.

By this time, Heath Ledger has appeared to find out what's going on. He arrives on set with a pal wearing a rugby shirt and throwing a rugby ball. He chats for a bit with various members of the crew. Heath, who's required to perform later, leaves the set throwing ball to his pal. They depart quickly but almost appearing in a vital take in modern attire. Jonathan Pryce also turns up and has a chat with Gilliam. Pryce just flew in today - he's required tomorrow but popped down to the set to see how things were going.

By 11:30pm the crew has completed take twenty of the shot with the girl - this is to be the final take, the last few shots having been done with a wider angle.

Tonight I witness a continuous shoot throughout the night, which means no breaks for cast or crew. This presumably to minimise the number of days the cast and crew have to work nights. But the food tent remains open all night supplying drinks and snacks for all.

The Brothers Grimm is being shot on film. Within the camera is a further digital device which is used to feed the monitors around the set. The monitors are used by Gilliam and the DP to set-up each shot. And during shooting, not only are the moving images captured on film, but they are recorded digitally to provide an immediate record to ensure continuity. Working on set is an editor of the digital output, linked to the wireless communication system, who is able to replay any take to the monitors on demand. Gilliam and his DP Tom Sigel have monitors just near the camera, and there are further monitors situated for the seats reserved for the cast.

For the two days I was on set, Gilliam spent all of his time with the main unit for ten hours each day, seemingly taking no breaks. As on any movie shoot, the set-ups take significant time, as the elements in the shot are arranged and the camera is set-up. The assistant directors and DP have planned their work so they don't need constant supervision from Gilliam, but the director talks to the cast, tests things out and makes himself available to answer questions. When the set-up is complete, Gilliam sits down behind the camera with his DP looking at the digital monitors, ensuring that each shot is perfectly composed. From there the DP can control the camera using levers. Where necessary, this is then compared with a previous shot recorded digitally - to ensure continuity.

When action is called, Gilliam carefully examines what is being captured by looking into the monitors. He watches the shot intently, acting as Quality Control. Then he communicates clearly what he likes or dislikes about the shot. If he's happy, he giggles and utters positive comments. If he's unhappy, Gilliam is not shy in telling his crew exactly what he thinks. On set, he's clearly in charge.

It takes just over an hour to set up the second shot of the night. The crane, dolly track and platform from the previous shot are dismantled. The crew are preparing a shot at the main entrance of the village. As this takes place, Peter Stormare arrives on set in boots and spurs - without his character's hairpiece, he's bald with slight curly sideburns. His look is complete with shades and an anorak. Stormare is the most unpredictable individual on set, and the star who is most comfortable making conversation with whoever's around him. "Are lentils called lentils because they are eaten in Lent?" he asks, the reason unclear. No-one is able to answer his question. He later spends time sampling and commenting on sweets brought in by English crew to help them through the uncomfortable night.

The village under construction - pic: Francois Duhamel