I met Charlotte in Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre one afternoon in late February to have an initial discussion about making the . Charlotte was putting on two big gigs, which were to be inspired by her love of physics and would form the narrative of our documentary.
During our meeting Charlotte mentioned, in passing, that she was off that afternoon to see sculptor Rawley Clay, who was going to be making a metal cage-like skirt for her science-inspired stage show.
An hour later I found myself in the car with Charlotte, filming her on the way to see Rawley while she talked to me and the camera as if she had known us for years. She talked about having had enough of fame and how she had actually enjoyed her time as a child star. That was the kind of start that I wanted and from that moment I knew that Charlotte would be very open and great fun to work with.
Charlotte Church wows the crowd at the concert. Image by Lorna Newman
For the next three weeks I followed Charlotte and her band as they rehearsed flat out for their two big concerts in London and Cardiff. All the while Charlotte was frantically trying to realise her vision for the two shows.
We deliberately chose to shoot the fly-on-the-wall elements of the documentary with just me self-shooting. The lack of crew made things far less obtrusive and enabled me to blend into the background in situations such as band rehearsals.
Then, with a bigger crew, I shot a master interview with Charlotte in her home recording studio. This formed the narrative for the documentary as she recounted the key moments in her extraordinary life.
Charlotte and her band arrive in Hammersmith for the first of her two concerts.
Two moments stand out for me during filming. One was when Charlotte was holding a meeting with her lighting director and designer in her kitchen. Her mobile didn't stop bleeping or ringing as she tried to juggle the planning, then she disappeared off to make us all tea and coffee. Despite the fame, Charlotte is a down-to-earth Cardiff girl.
The other was just before Charlotte went on stage for her London gig. She was in her dressing room, wearing her blue boiler suite with her face covered in fluorescent makeup. She turned to the camera and said 'Sorry people of Wales, I've gone a bit weird!'
Charlotte Church wearing face paint during the concert. Image by Lorna Newman.
What Charlotte was doing with her was 'a bit weird' but I applaud her and the band for being different and Charlotte for doing what she wanted to do.
They have some fantastic music but as Charlotte's partner and co-writer, Jonathan Powell, says
'It's been falling on deaf ears'. They have a mountain to climb to convince a music industry that still brands Charlotte Church as 'The Voice of an Angel'.
As anyone who watches this documentary will see, Charlotte is a clever and driven woman and I applaud her for being so open and at times brutally honest.
Watch this documentary and I hope you will agree with me.
is on 成人论坛 One Wales, Saturday 12 July at 9.40pm. The concert, , can be seen an hour later at 10.40pm.聽