Poppy’s Location Reccy Odyssey: The Abridged Version
It is Thursday today and Katie, Chloe, Lynley and I again set out to finish where we left off with the location reccies for Poppy’s. As I’ve blogged two days ago, we were not able to cover them due to their opening hours not matching up with our location reccy schedule.
Juniper Lounge
During lunchtime, we first headed off to the Juniper Lounge. As we did on Tuesday, we split our roles, so Chloe asked for the contact details, Katie surveilled the sound environment, Lynley assessed the style, and I took photos as well as assessed the place for space as well as power supply.
With this location, since it is newly decorated and up to standard, the sounds from outside were not noticeable and the rather wooden style of decoration within Juniper was what really appealed to Lynley. I personally liked the fact that the window front of this café went all around the corner, allowing for natural light to flood the place. The access to the power supplies were not plenty on the floor, but there was extensive power supply behind the bar, as the Juniper Lounge often hosts bands, using strobe lights, amplifiers and subwoofers.
Furthermore, the lounge was spacious enough to easily accommodate even the track and dolly, which would be very useful for our future endeavours. After Chloe obtained all the relevant information, we furthermore learned that we would be given access and permission to film during their closed days, which were Mondays and Tuesdays. Amazing!
Chilli Cake
We then proceeded onto the Chilli Cake, repeating the process and furthering our investigation. This café now has a totally different style, since it is rather colourful, playing to the cheery character aspects of Poppy. It furthermore also contains winding stairs made of metal, which are located to one side of the café.
Whilst Chloe was obtaining the relevant contact details and learned that we would not only be (theoretically) able to film during their closed days but also during their business days, I scanned the room for the usual space and power supply.
Compared to the Juniper Lounge, however, there was less space to work with, as the place was rather crowded with furniture. Furthermore, since the café was rather elongated in shape but only had one window front, the café itself was rather dark and only sparsely illuminated.
Finally, the access to power supplies both on the floor and behind the counter was rather limited, which would only allow for a reduced lighting plan and use of lighting equipment. This will definitely have an impact on the lighting schemes and will need to be accessed once we know more.
My Thoughts
I’ve voiced my thoughts and reservation to the girls. At the end of the day, the final decision will depend on the offered dates and access on part of both shop owners. Personally however, I would prefer to use the Juniper Lounge, as it would offer us enough space and power on top of still having a nice décor.