Spotlight
Libbie Barr
What was your background before you got into the industry?
My film life began in BBC Scotland working in every department which gave me a great knowledge of a variety of jobs. I then transferred to London to work in the Music & Arts Department where I feel my real education began!! I worked on dramatised documentaries about cultural icons, and one of those was a doc about Humphrey Bogart which took me to America. Whilst there we interviewed Lewis Milestone (he directed All Quiet on The Western Front, 1930) in his Beverly Hills garden, and one of his colleagues was there - script supervisor Meta Wilde (IMDb her credits - mind blowing!!!) and she talked so excitedly about her job, and it planted a seed in my mind.
How did you get into the industry?
A few years later a former colleague rang and told me she was leaving Minder (1979 - 1994) - a terrific series on itv - and why didn't I take over from her?? After a great deal of thought, I remembered Meta Wilde - I had to take this chance. I left the comfortable arms of the BBC and did six months on Minder - a very hard, but rewarding, learning curve!!! The rest is history and - luckily for me - the phone never stopped ringing about future jobs.
You have worked on films in Ireland. What are your memories from them?
Working on five films in Ireland was utter bliss and I still have firm friends from those times - I always love working there! A couple of enduring memories are being stranded at the end of a film, on Inish Oir for 4 days due to bad weather - I recall a very sore head from thinking I was drinking water when in actual fact it was Poteen - never to be touched again!!! And when shooting in cold winters I have very fond memories of 'electric coffee' - hot Ribena with the added ingredient of Rum - to keep us warm on cold nights - which was supplied by the Electrical Department for a select few!!!
Another wonderful memory was shooting in Donegal on a John Sayles film The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) - with renowned DoP Haskall Wexler (IMDb him also) - he was the oldest person in the crew and the one with the most energy over the rocks and up and down hills - we had a great rapport and ate some fabulous mussels!!
What advice would you pass on?
My advice to anyone wishing to be a script supervisor would be to be inquisitive, hard working, know your script backwards, forwards and inside out - really it's a form of detective work - you are constantly looking for misleading information, and correcting it - in conjunction with the director, of course.
And always be approachable no matter how up to your ears you are in something!!! You also need to be prepared to work long hours both on set and after wrap!
I have totally adored being a script supervisor and been lucky enough to work on some iconic and fabulous films and made great friends in all departments. I often bless that day I met Meta Wilde in California!!
Libbie Barr,
June, 2020.
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Check out Libbie's IMDb page here.