Best Of The Fest

Hello Bloggers

Well I just got back from the 2010 Exposures Film Festival which was held at the Cornerhouse in Manchester, and wow! what a brilliant three days. I think the best thing I got out of the whole thing was a massive boost in confidence, I saw some truly great films but at the same time I saw some truly awful films too. Meeting industry professionals and other film students was great and really showed me how far I have come in just under three years on the BA Media Production course and how good my course is. I had to wince when a college student proclaimed "I edit my films on Windows Movie Maker".  I believe that "Wheels" has every chance in the world to be in the festival next year.

The fest was also great for ideas generation, nothing stimulates the brain into ideas mode better than sitting and watching 12 hours worth of films for three days. Below are some of the best films I saw this week.


Adrift from Adrift Animation on Vimeo.

I loved Adrift because it was one of the very few lighthearted films shown at the festival. One thing that annoys me more than anything about student films is that they are very rarely lighthearted and nice, it seems everything must be violent and involve death. This annoyance was one of the driving forces for me to write "Wheels".


Notice from Amy Hill on Vimeo.

I also loved Amy Hill's "Notice". I loved the interaction between the two main characters and how natural and realistic the film felt. It was brilliant to see a film which was simple and yet had character's with serious depth and personality. It just proves that a good film is not always an action packed, heavy dialogue driven three hour epic and is often based an a very simple premise.


The City from Dylan Blythin on Vimeo.


Finally The City directed by Thomas Beswick. I loved the look and pace of the film, it must have cost a fortune in film to create and the soundtrack is extremely good too. However had I directed the short I would have cut the running time a little.

Anyway I better run as I have a train to catch to Leeds for the Thought Bubble Comic Convention this Saturday. I'll update in a few days.

Peace!

We Have A Victor!!!!

Hello Blogosphere

Well what a week! I've been on three shoots, one for "The Dog and The Suitcase" by Adam Georgiou, which was great fun if a little cold and the other for "Untitled Horror" by Steven Cooper. Steven's shoot was a blast, nothing beats filming at stupid o'clock in the morning in a haunted pub in Nantwich!

The main news this week however is that I'm super excited to announce that after a brilliant audition Len Dobson will be playing Victor in my short film "Wheels". It was a close call to make as everyone who auditioned was great but Len was the right choice. I have also tweaked the script this weekend, making the number of drafts come to seven!

Now it seems nothing can stop me flying into production and I really cant wait. I have a meeting with the crew tomorrow afternoon and before I know it I'll be shooting......at last!

However before production there are some very exciting things to do. For three days this week I will be at the Exposures Film Fest eyeing up the competition and getting to know industry professionals, and next weekend I am going to be nerding out at Though Bubble Comic Con in my hometown of Leeds. It will be nice to head home before the massive rush and stress that is production and its a brilliant excuse to stock up on some comics! As always I'll update soon!

Peace!

Things are looking up!

Hello Blogworldians

Things are operating at full pace again after a slight hitch with casting Victor last week. I am pleased to say I'm currently in talks with actors wanting to play the role of Victor.  Audition are taking place next Thursday (11/11/10) and I have the shoots scheduled for the 23rd and 24th November. I am praying everything goes well next week and no other surprises are in store.

Casting isn't the only good news. I recently put out a call for composers and the response is immense! I've currently had over 70 applicants and counting, my phone hasn't stopped buzzing. It seems I'll have to take a day out to go through them all there are that many!

I have also booked tickets for the "Exposures Film Festival" held at the Cornerhouse in Manchester. I am looking forward to meeting industry professionals and watching the competition in the screenings. The fest also has some very interesting lectures and seminars and I am particularly interesting in the "How to Get a Job in TV and Radio"and "The Highs and Lows of a Freelance Filmmaker" lectures. At £20 for the whole three days its a steal!


I'll post an update in a few days.

Peace!

Jennifer Cast!

Hey Blogworld!

I'm super excited and pleased to announce that the role of Jennifer in my upcoming short drama "Wheels" has been cast. The wonderful Clementine Conlon Spears auditioned last week and was great! I was very impressed how she wasn't afraid to change dialogue about and make the character her own and how enthusiastic she was about the project. The script is also about one draft from completion, just some very minor tweaks to be made and I think that I'm there with it! which is a great feeling to have after re-writing a script everyday for two months.

Clementine Conlon Spears (above) will be playing Jennifer

However it seems the project has hit a bit of a roadblock as the role of Victor was not cast last week, delaying the shoot (planned for this Thursday and Friday).  I must admit it was heartbreaking to have to call off the shoot, I have been working flat out for the past two months to get it shot early but I guess these things just happen. I have sent out another casting call and am calling in every favor to get him cast in the next two weeks. If all goes well the film will be shooting in mid November and in post by early December.  As always I'll post an updates as they happen.

Peace!

The Joy Of Pre-Production

Hi Bloggers

Well the chest infection is almost gone now....finally! "Wheels" is almost at the production phase and it's an exciting/nerve wracking time, the script is currently on draft six but I'm sure by the end of the week that will have jumped to eight! The story has changed and evolved so much since I first began writing I can barely believe it but I am very happy with the script now and I'm at the stage where it is tweaks rather than massive re-writes.

Casting is this Thursday and Friday, I'm very excited to meet the people who will become Jennifer and Victor. Locations have been confirmed which is a huge relief and I am extremely thankful to Rachel Wood and her family for letting me invade their home for a day or two. I have been in contact with a musician for the soundtrack and we are going to be writing a track etc for the film when we hit post-production (mid November). So all in all things look pretty groovy at the moment.

Right I'm off for a walk with my lovely new Olympus OM10 and my lovely girlfriend. I'll update after casting when we have a Jennifer and a Victor!


Peace!

Digital vs 35mm Film

Hello Blogworld

I'm still in pre-production on "Wheels", the casting call is still up on the sites until the 23rd October and applicants are still applying, the script is on draft five and just keeps getting better and better. I'm still really excited about the film but am somewhat hindered by the fact I have a chest infection.


To cheer myself up I did a bit of browsing on Ebay for an SLR camera and I discovered a lovely Olympus OM10 from about 1980 which came with a wide angle lens, a flash gun and the standard lens. All for the bargain price of £30. Having bought the camera I've been thinking about film's place and it's advantages over digital. The first advantage I can see is that you have to be economical with your shots and as a result you should become a much more disciplines film-maker/photographer. Advantage number two is the "look" of film, in my opinion digital can never replicate the grain and depth that film offers. Below are some shots taken with an Olympus OM10

 For a camera nearing 40 years old the quality is above and beyond modern digital cameras', the grain adds to the pictures unlike digital noise and the shadows looks beautiful. You cannot seriously say to me that in 35 years time people will be using 10 mega-pixel camera's or that they will match up to the technology available. I plan to use my new toy on the set of "Wheels" for production stills and hope to while away some weekends looking for shots outside of Stoke-On-Trent, but as the camera wont be here until late this week/ mid next week I'll have to focus my energies on kick this chest infection.

Feel free to comment and I'll update in the next few days

Peace

"Wheels" update

Hello Bloggers

Thought I'd best update you on "Wheels" my latest film and first drama. I'm really excited about this project right now, it feels nice to do a story that is nice and lighthearted. A lot of the projects I'm involved with seem to be killing off character left right and center, something I don't want to do.The script has had several major re-works over the past two weeks and is finally coming together. The casting call went out yesterday and the response has been very encouraging and I'm sure more applicants will appear as time goes on. I cannot wait till casting later in the month.


On another note, I am now fully trained in using Jib's, Track and Dolly and and fully refreshed with the Steadycam. I plan on using all the new equipment I can on "Wheels" especially the Steadycam which I would love to specialise in when I graduate university in just under 10 months (eeekk!). I'd also like to say a huge thanks to my web develop Thomas for hooking the blog up to the site and giving it a lovely sleek look! and what about those drop-down menu's! Anyway Ill update with more news as it happens folks, but right now I'm gonna dig into Batman: The Long Halloween