Graduation Day

My four-years at 'film school' came to an end at the start of the month when I attended my graduation ceremony at Teesside University.

I was awarded a 'Distinction' in my studies, which evolved from FdA Television and Film Production to FdA Creative Film and Moving Image Production in 2011.

As I reflect on my time, I see how I could have dug a lot deeper into every aspect of the course; I see gaps in my knowledge as I attempt to apply my new skills but I also see how far I have traveled and would definitely recommend the course to anyone wishing to move out of their bedroom or garage and into a film studio and beyond!

Mum, Dad and Me!

I can't thank enough my parents, Pat and Tony, for supporting me through my studies and everybody else who has acted, filmed, created, edited, scored and slogged away on a 'Living Bliss Productions' film - Thank you all!

Living Bliss Productions will continue to push forwards, the next film to be completed will be the 'Director's Cut' of my final year film: 'Championship Hunt' - stay tuned!

Phase III is well underway

It's just that 'Phase III' is sprawling and MASSIVE!

These are the race car/driver scenes and include John Foster as both an adult and a child, a 'real' race car, a cardboard 'pretend' racecar, gravestones, dismembered foxes and stately homes - oh my!

Here's a look at some of the props I've been working on for 'Phase III'; you can find more on the Facebook page... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.229478947192668.1073741826.162966950510535&type=3

See that big cardboard box and the little drawing of a racecar? That's how it all starts...

A few hours later and everythign is cut out, reshaped and stuck down, ready for a paint job

Here's Laura McClurg helping me paint

Here's the mostly finished car... There's a few more details to go on, such as a steering wheel and wheel centres

I've also repainted a model car to match the Team Nova race suit and helmet design

The finished model used waterslide transfers to add detail

I also made a 'fox waste' bin, to imply the casual manner with which foxes are dispatched in the future

 

 

At this point I'd like to thank Crathorne Hall, Yarm and Gisborough Hall, Guisborough for allowing me to film on location in their grounds - unfortunately I have neither the camera, nor the adequate weather to do the scene justice, so that will have to wait!

 

 

http://www.crathorne.org/#/crathorne-hall-hotel/4551019945

 

 

http://www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/hotels/crathorne-hall/

 

 

and

 

http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/gisborough-hall-hotel/?gclid=CLDkvdmtvLYCFRDKtAodvDgAtQ

Phase II Complete!

Phase II - 'the Lord P scenes' - are finished, and what a shoot it was..!

Luke McGibney, an east-midlands based actor and film maker, travelled up last Monday, and leapt straight into filming what are probably the most important scenes in the film.

I was lucky to work with most of the same crew as on the Grand Hotel shoot, so there was a ready-made working relationship between the camera crew and the set builders, which saved an awful lot of time.

We welcomed James Morris to the set and props department; he, like other undergraduates, gave up his spare time between taught-sessions at college, to help me design and make props and to lift and carry heavy pieces of set dressing from one college building to another.

Another stroke of luck was the availability of Stuart Hanrahan, who plays Billy Hawksmoor. A proposed 'remote' scene was reimagined to take place in Lord P's office, and both actors did a fine job.

A last-minute change of venue on the Wednesday cost us half an hour at the start of the night but ultimately saved us an hour or more overall, as the shoot ran over but we didn't need to break down and reset the set between shoots.

Jay Hayes stepped in as Luke's body-double again, to allow us to film over-the-shoulder shots after Luke had headed home.


All in, it was another fantastic shoot, everyone dug in hard to make every scene and every take  look and sound the best it possibly could, and the onus really is on me to make the most of their work in the edit.

I was nervous this time last week; I had begun to edit but could only go so far without Luke's half of the scene. Now I have all the ingredients, I can make up around 80% of the final film... Time for 'Phase III' - John Foster's countryside training scenes..!

Luke and the 'fox Buster'

From left: Luke, Chris, Rhiannon, Andy and Jay

As the dust settles on the Grand Hotel shoot...

...I'm still picking up the pieces from a fantastic weekend shoot.

The script suffered a few direct hits, as did the cast and crew, but those still on their feet marched valiantly on to victory in this major battle; the war, however, still hangs in the balance.


Friday to Sunday was a blur, as was all of the past week. I had a solid team, who, with a little telepathic ability, made the shoot not just survivable, but also quite a success!

With the benefit of hindsight, a clear mind and sleep, I can think of many ways in which things could have been different; one thing I'd like to do is PAY my cast and crew. There was such a high degree of loyalty and professionalism on set, everyone worked for food, friendship and to be a part of a killer opportunity, and it's back to me to make everyone's efforts worth something in the near future.

I didn't take too many pictures on the day, but here's a couple I did grab:

Stuart Hanrahan, A.K.A. 'Billy Hawksmoor' doubled as my Cheif of Entertainment... Other crew include Rhiannon Jones as Production Runner/Beauty Make-up, Chris Coles as 'Camera 2', Alice Knight as 'Catering/Production Runner' and Peter Suttron as Set Dresser.

 

Fear not, in this picture all of the alcohol bottles are props!

 

 

In a sports-report style, we created a backdrop using logos 'donated' by other North East film makers. Sadly the 'set' wasn't used

James Kent, A.K.A. 'John Foster' stood still for just two photographs. Alarmingly, this was the best one!

Thanks to Laura McClurg for helping me create the race suit.

 

Peter Suttron was my Set Dresser/Prop Master, although he was asked to appear in the film twice, once as a 'Snoozing party-goer' and once as 'Bandaged man'.

Peter hated, Hated, HATED being under the bandages, but stuck with it for a good four or five hours! - Thanks Peter!

For more pictures from the shoot, please visit the Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/ChampionshipHunt

Welcome to 2013!

Production begins for real on 'Championship Hunt' in 24 days - and I think we're right on track!

There's loads to do, LOADS! but I've been catching up with my actors and crew and I'm confident that we will nail the filming and that the finished piece will be something really special - maybe that should read 'weirdly-special'!

As statements of intent go, here's my Championship hunt Picture of the Year so far!!!

Many thanks to Laura for the wonderful Christmas present and all of your help and support on this project to date!

 

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

A Grand Job

Today I delivered the stand and graphics to the Grand Hotel, Hartlepool, for their Airport themed New Years party.

This work was undertaken in an exchange for hiring rooms for Championship Hunt; it was intended to be farmed out to students but the end of term hit too soon, so the ball fell back into my court.

Here's some pictures of it's development:

Intitial concept art

Concept art for VIP room

Working drawings

 

Pre-painted stand

 

 

The finished stand

 

 

This was a bigger job than I'd anticipated, although it was straight-forward and nothing went wrong, thankfully!

 

Thanks to the Entertainment Design team and the IT Technicians for their support, and thanks also to Kathleen from the hotel for trusting in me to realise her project within the limited timeframe.

 

The Grand Hotel, Hartlepool is a beautiful hotel and has served Cleveland College of Art and Design on many an occasion, and we look forward to working with them many more times to come.

 

http://www.tavistockleisure.com/best-western-grand.htm

There's Something in the Fog..!

 We had a rather lucky break this weekend when a location scouting trip turned into our very own fox hunters-hunt! A visit to Castle Howard, rendered all but useless thanks to thick fog, was followed up with a trip into deepest Yorkshire and an abundance of horse boxes suggested there was a hunt underway. As we drove through the lanes - in the mysterious fog - we were quickly caught up in the procession of horses and hounds, taking part in a drag hunt. We spoke to one of the riders who allowed us to take some quick pictures and I feel these could be used in an early montage in 'Championship Hunt'.

 

Here's a couple of snaps:

Here's a link to Castle Howard on Google Maps:
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl