I've had such an awesome time at the NFTS Pre-Residential weekend!
Today I got to look at some more on the film we'll be working on in three weeks time at the actual Residential and thinking about the practicalities of shooting it- we've got quite a sizeable budget as well, which is nice! We're looking at hiring rain machines, traffic lights, a stunt co-ordinator, a car... it's going to be pretty cool!
Not only that, but to top it all off we got to have a Q&A with Mike Newell, the Director of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral"- which was so cool! He gave some really useful information on the Director's job, in particular in taking the role as leader and the importance of rehearsing. A really interesting guy to talk to, he's done basically every genre out there, working on a load of shorts when he began in television.
Anyway, I'm pretty exhausted now but had such an amazing weekend and met so many amazingly talented people! I literally can't wait to go back!!!
Sunday 16 March 2014
Saturday 15 March 2014
NFTS Film Academy Pre-Residential- Day 1
So a little while back I got accepted on the BFI Film Academy at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, which is basically a ten day course at NFTS, where you make a short film, go on various trips etc. Well today was the first day of the "pre-residential" weekend, an extra weekend to allow us to get to know people, have a look at the scripts we'll be turning into films- that sort of thing.
It was so cool! We did some stuff like team-building games, a film quiz as well as getting into the groups we'll be in for the actual residential and looking at the script. Ours is kind of a drama-type film (not going to give away any spoilers) written by Ron Mulvey, a guy who's on the course as a writer and honestly, I can't wait to make it! I'm going to work on sound for the film, which should be awesome!
Tomorrow we get a bit more times in our groups, discussing the script some more and even a masterclass/talk/Q&A with Mike Newell, the director of "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", "Prince of Persia"... so excited!
It was so cool! We did some stuff like team-building games, a film quiz as well as getting into the groups we'll be in for the actual residential and looking at the script. Ours is kind of a drama-type film (not going to give away any spoilers) written by Ron Mulvey, a guy who's on the course as a writer and honestly, I can't wait to make it! I'm going to work on sound for the film, which should be awesome!
Tomorrow we get a bit more times in our groups, discussing the script some more and even a masterclass/talk/Q&A with Mike Newell, the director of "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", "Prince of Persia"... so excited!
Friday 14 March 2014
"The Careers Interview"
So this is my latest short film (and certainly one of the better ones)! A nice little comedy short depicting a nervous guy in a Careers Interview who has... well, quite an ambition.
Basically I made this with five other members of the BFI Academy held at The Rural Media Company I've been privilaged to be a part of. We made it in (I think) the space of about three days or so as part of our Silver Arts Award.
I shot it on a very nice Canon C100, which shoots in 2K (the highest I've worked with so far) and is VERY nice to use! I personally was on sound, holding the boom pole, doing foley, mixing etc. This was actually my first time using a boom pole on a proper film (I've had the odd go with one here and there) and it actually wasn't too bad. I mean, ok, maybe I've got to work a bit on the old shoulder muscles, but hey-ho, it was good fun! I made the decision to record sound separately (on my Zoom H4n), which meant syncing sound after, using a clapper and all that jazz, but gave me a lot more freedom to roam around, safe in the knowledge I could keep well out of shot and still be capturing the best possible sound (without having to leave a 30-metre XLR cable trailing along behind me into the camera).
Once we'd shot and edited it (thanks to Alex Wilson, our fantastic editor) we handed it over to our composer, Ashleigh Harley, who whacked up an awesome score for some of the last few scenes! I worked closely with her, doing a final master on the track to avoid any peaking etc from the music getting too loud.
Finally, the film premiered- yes, actually premiered (my first one) in Borderlines Film Festival at The Courtyard Theatre. Professional film editor Tony Lawson (Michael Collins, Kez, Byzantium) and cinematographer Richard Greatrex (Shakespeare in Love, Run Fatboy Run) were invited to see the films and gave great feedback on it- notably on the simple but effective storyline and marked it out among other short films shown at the same screening for high praise. It was awesome!
So tomorrow I'm off to the BFI Academy at the National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield for the pre-residential weekend, where I'll get to meet the other 65 young filmmakers who'll be going as well as being able to have a look at the script for the film we'll be making on the actual course, in a few weeks time! It means getting up at 6:30am for the long drive down, but hey, it'll be well worth it!
Basically I made this with five other members of the BFI Academy held at The Rural Media Company I've been privilaged to be a part of. We made it in (I think) the space of about three days or so as part of our Silver Arts Award.
I shot it on a very nice Canon C100, which shoots in 2K (the highest I've worked with so far) and is VERY nice to use! I personally was on sound, holding the boom pole, doing foley, mixing etc. This was actually my first time using a boom pole on a proper film (I've had the odd go with one here and there) and it actually wasn't too bad. I mean, ok, maybe I've got to work a bit on the old shoulder muscles, but hey-ho, it was good fun! I made the decision to record sound separately (on my Zoom H4n), which meant syncing sound after, using a clapper and all that jazz, but gave me a lot more freedom to roam around, safe in the knowledge I could keep well out of shot and still be capturing the best possible sound (without having to leave a 30-metre XLR cable trailing along behind me into the camera).
Once we'd shot and edited it (thanks to Alex Wilson, our fantastic editor) we handed it over to our composer, Ashleigh Harley, who whacked up an awesome score for some of the last few scenes! I worked closely with her, doing a final master on the track to avoid any peaking etc from the music getting too loud.
Finally, the film premiered- yes, actually premiered (my first one) in Borderlines Film Festival at The Courtyard Theatre. Professional film editor Tony Lawson (Michael Collins, Kez, Byzantium) and cinematographer Richard Greatrex (Shakespeare in Love, Run Fatboy Run) were invited to see the films and gave great feedback on it- notably on the simple but effective storyline and marked it out among other short films shown at the same screening for high praise. It was awesome!
So tomorrow I'm off to the BFI Academy at the National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield for the pre-residential weekend, where I'll get to meet the other 65 young filmmakers who'll be going as well as being able to have a look at the script for the film we'll be making on the actual course, in a few weeks time! It means getting up at 6:30am for the long drive down, but hey, it'll be well worth it!
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