"The secret to a good mix tape is to start big, bold, brash, amazing and on track 2 take it up a notch,"
The above quote is kind of what John Cusack said in High Fidelity, in my opinion one of the finest ManFlick films ever made. It teaches us how to be a man and deal with our fallacies, our faults and above all how to accept our faults and move on.
I've mentioned before in these pages that I use this blog to shameless self promote, update and convince myself of ability and drive. The fact that I haven't posted in what seems like ages could be an indicator that all isn't well in the state of Denmark. Well, yes. For the past few weeks I've lost the balance between work and work. I drifted into long hours, meetings, preparation, planning and execution. Tired, irritable, lacking in humour... This is my job and it really doesn't push any buttons of enjoyment. I think back to the start of the year and to February, two hours sleep, eight hours on a train between Manchester and London and Kent and London and Kent. Bouncing with energy, loving every second of arrangements and negotiations. I felt alive... tired but ALIVE!!
I'll admit that partly the reason I was drifting into the less satisfying work is because I'd been hoping really hard that we'd get our entry into the 2DaysLater film festival and I had two entries on the burner, simmering away ready to add the ingredients and let it boil. For one reason or another the projects stuttered and then stopped, leaving no entry to the festival. I won't lie, I was bitterly disappointed because this festival had been on the agenda since we first decided to give it a go so to go from two entries to none was a bit crushing.
I have however, been reading with great interest some postings on a website called Stage32. It's meant to be the Facebook/Twitter/MySpace/Beebo for media types. To be honest its not jumping out at me as anything special as quite a lot of my contacts are in America or don't answer me back, but I have been drawn to some interesting comments regarding how social networks translates to viewership and an audience. In my last blog I remarked about how the new project was going to be an all guns blazing attack on lots of different streaming media sites. (If I didn't remark then I should have) I now have an extra focus, building the audience, increasing the perception around the 12 Days Project and the Nun With A Gun brand.
I recently commented that the reason why some people struggle to get noticed is because social networking is saturated with people who are all take take take. Out of ten crowd funders who have followed me on Twitter only two have ever exchanged tweets with me. Out of twenty films looking for supporters I've watched a whole two films. The reason for this is because they're just faces and numbers on a board.
You learn your craft, you write, you create. The hard part is selling it, selling yourself. As a person who isn't arrogant or very good at talking myself up or taking credit the ability to promote behind an image appeals to me. So I have vowed to plough a lot of time and energy into the next project, prepare to be bombarded with blogs, websites, twitter accounts, Facebook groups, G+ stuff and anything else I can get my hands on. I may even call round at your house with a flyer and a sandwich.
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Monday, 27 August 2012
Tracing The Paper
I've been on holiday, unlike some people on the social network ladder I thought I wouldn't mention it before I went away, just in case someone knew where I lived and tried to burgle me. I suppose that makes me pretty insecure, but hey, not really sure I care. sometimes the things you notice most about a holiday is just how much you needed it. 7 days in tranquillity with no TV, no meithering idiots, plenty of time to unwind with a book.
What I discovered most about the holiday, was a little bit of contemplation and a couple of regrets... Not to mention some Daddy-Long-Legs and expensive Cider. £4.90 a bottle, is this usual or unusual, its been a while since I've been out for a drink. Some of the regrets I'll carry and learn from, times have moved on so much that I'll never get that opportunity again, I do wonder what would have happened are where it would've led. But that's one mistake I'll live with. My other regret is one that I'm currently in the process of trying to change.
In a couple of weeks it will be Autumn, that is three seasons that I've been a semi-nun. Cause for celebration with the mother superior when I get a minute I think. And the one thing I have learned is that you must be thinking two to three projects ahead at every step. Because we have to work with no to low budgets and co-productions the voice and ability to shout and exert power is considerably lessened, because quite frankly because you're not offering anything by way of payment they could quite rightly tell you to piss off.
Patience is one of my better virtues, I have bags and bags of it which is possibly why I often get tested to my limits, quite a number of people have tested my patience with inane prattle and general dickheadedness. The fact that I inwardly instead of outwardly combust is possibly one of my worst flaws. I could possibly add that to the regret pile, if I'd told certain people to fuck off and stop telling me how shit their life is then maybe things would have been different again. Oh well, these things are apparently all meant to lead us down a chosen path.
Since I have returned from my holiday I appear to have a renewed energy and a slightly different outlook. I'm more than happy to have projects on the go, especially if they have been filmed and are in need of editing. So far the Nun With A Gun/PixieFairieCreative output currently looks like this.
1 - ForeverTogether - Completed and can be viewed on YouTube, Vimeo, Black Flag TV and Metacafe.
2 - Searching For The Night - Script locked, on hiatus while interested parties are sounded out. Potential to expand into a feature screenplay.
3 - Paging Matthew Harris - Script locked, production unit re-assigned. Should start to enter production in the next four weeks.
4 - The Whisperers - In the edit.
5 - A Relaxing Day In The Country - In the edit.
6 - Roulette Of Horror - Script locked. On hiatus waiting for rescheduling and possible re assignment.
7 - Project "12 Days" - Currently scripting. (12 separate scripts)
8 - Jiffy - Script locked, waiting to assign production unit.
As you can see that's nearly 1 project per month so far. In reality because of our fledgling nature we should be pushing for at least five productions at production stage. The ambitious nature of "12 Days" should make up for that fact... I will tell you more in the coming weeks.
As mother superior says "Onwards Gentlemen" so watch this space as more details about project "12 Days" are dripped out. All I will say is that the words "roses" "messages" "laundry" feature in titles so far.
Our aim may outstretch our reach, but that won't stop us reaching. :) You never regret something if you've tried.
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Keep On Rocking In The Free World
This blog could lose me a few supporters. I say this safe in the knowledge that a fair number won't unfollow because I'm like the prisoner. I am a number not a name. But for the real people on Twitter who actually care about things and not just mindless childish postings, (That footie chick has big tits LOL) what I'm about to write may just annoy the shit out of you and be too politically charged and weird for you to comprehend.
Friday Night here in England we had the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. If stories are to be believed it cost £20,000,000. Quite a lot of money unless you fall into one of the following categories.
1) A Banker who has just got his bonus
2) A Footballer who has just moved from Newcastle to Liverpool
3) A Man City supporter
4) A Sheik or Russian magnate.
5) Don't give a shit.
I'll be frank with you, I fall into one of these categories. Guess which one... Go on....
Basically I see it this way. Danny Boyle was called over by Seb Coe and asked if he wanted to be creative genius behind the opening ceremony. He said yes and was given £20,000,000. Now just to put something into perspective here. The budget for "127 Hours" which ran for just over an hour and a half was £18,000,000. "The Beach" had a budget of £49,000,000. So Danny spent £20,000,000 on a four hour ceremony designed to show off everything that was great about Britain. So far I don't have an issue.
In the past three years, we have changed our Government and been promised that measures of cuts and austerity and debt control would see our country blooming. And this very week we've had the news that we're in the worst double dip recession for over 50 years. (And a minor point here, under Labour just before we booted Gordon Brown out of office we had economic growth)
In the past three years Danny Boyle has sat down with a giant flip chart and written down.
1) Kenneth Brannagh in a top hat oversees a gaggle of body popping engineers while smoking a giant cigar.
2) A giant ship will celebrate welcomg immigrants from the West Indies
3) A Forge will create the Olympic rings in a manor resembling Saruman's destruction of Fangorn Forest in the Two Towers.
3) Mr Bean will play the theme from Chariots Of Fire
4) Mike Oldfield will play Tubular Bells, surrounded by jive dancing nurses and doctors, and children in hospital beds.
5) A 60 ft high Lord Voldemort will be beaten back by a hundred Mary Poppins'
6) James Bond will walk through Buckingham Palace followed by Corgies and meet the Queen.
7) The Queen and Bond will sky dive out of a helicopter.
8) A Giant house will lift up to reveal a guy on the interenet..... Lets make him the inventor of the internet!
9) 27 cyclists wearing angel wings will cycle to Come Together.
Imagine the ideas he rejected.... I'd like to think that Grace Jones Hula Hooping to A View To A Kill was very nearly in there.
So which of these do we seem to be more cynical about?
Well, and to be frank again, it annoys the crap out of me that as a nation we're more than happy to bend over and be fucked up the arse by a Governemnt, increasing prices on everything; failing to keep their business pals under control and helping them out with tax CUTS and being smug bastards about how its all our fault. Cut the arts, cut the NHS, cut the police, the armed forces.
Why do we find this more acceptable than a spectacle that has allowed hundreds of young people to live their dreams. To dance in front of the Queen and millions of people on TV. To take part in a spectacle in their home city, to prove they have what it takes!! Our view of society is sometimes quite rightly clouded in shit by what happens and how people behave. But sometimes we have to accept that people are better than we give them credit for and all they need is an opportunity.
How many volunteers that danced in the opening ceremony will now decide to follow that as a career? How many will become choreographers? Singers? Actors? For half an hour someone believed in them enough to let them try. And to me that's worth more than treble £20,000,000 that was spent on the ceremony.
We're all born with brains, its a fact of human anatomy that no-one can dispute. The choice we have is how we're going to use them. In three years time there may be another 5,000 graduates that sit on boards and become directors and managers who are only interested in counting beans, making people redundant, increasing the unemployed and increasing the amount of pounds in their pocket. What I'd like to think is that in three years time, inspired by what they saw on one Friday night in July. We have artists, actors, writers, musicians, dancers, choreographers, directors, producers, CGI artists, production managers, set designers, swimmers, runners, rowers...
But above all I'd like to think we have people who are willing to go, this is my dream, this is my talent, I am going to try.
Friday Night here in England we had the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. If stories are to be believed it cost £20,000,000. Quite a lot of money unless you fall into one of the following categories.
1) A Banker who has just got his bonus
2) A Footballer who has just moved from Newcastle to Liverpool
3) A Man City supporter
4) A Sheik or Russian magnate.
5) Don't give a shit.
I'll be frank with you, I fall into one of these categories. Guess which one... Go on....
Basically I see it this way. Danny Boyle was called over by Seb Coe and asked if he wanted to be creative genius behind the opening ceremony. He said yes and was given £20,000,000. Now just to put something into perspective here. The budget for "127 Hours" which ran for just over an hour and a half was £18,000,000. "The Beach" had a budget of £49,000,000. So Danny spent £20,000,000 on a four hour ceremony designed to show off everything that was great about Britain. So far I don't have an issue.
In the past three years, we have changed our Government and been promised that measures of cuts and austerity and debt control would see our country blooming. And this very week we've had the news that we're in the worst double dip recession for over 50 years. (And a minor point here, under Labour just before we booted Gordon Brown out of office we had economic growth)
In the past three years Danny Boyle has sat down with a giant flip chart and written down.
1) Kenneth Brannagh in a top hat oversees a gaggle of body popping engineers while smoking a giant cigar.
2) A giant ship will celebrate welcomg immigrants from the West Indies
3) A Forge will create the Olympic rings in a manor resembling Saruman's destruction of Fangorn Forest in the Two Towers.
3) Mr Bean will play the theme from Chariots Of Fire
4) Mike Oldfield will play Tubular Bells, surrounded by jive dancing nurses and doctors, and children in hospital beds.
5) A 60 ft high Lord Voldemort will be beaten back by a hundred Mary Poppins'
6) James Bond will walk through Buckingham Palace followed by Corgies and meet the Queen.
7) The Queen and Bond will sky dive out of a helicopter.
8) A Giant house will lift up to reveal a guy on the interenet..... Lets make him the inventor of the internet!
9) 27 cyclists wearing angel wings will cycle to Come Together.
Imagine the ideas he rejected.... I'd like to think that Grace Jones Hula Hooping to A View To A Kill was very nearly in there.
So which of these do we seem to be more cynical about?
Well, and to be frank again, it annoys the crap out of me that as a nation we're more than happy to bend over and be fucked up the arse by a Governemnt, increasing prices on everything; failing to keep their business pals under control and helping them out with tax CUTS and being smug bastards about how its all our fault. Cut the arts, cut the NHS, cut the police, the armed forces.
Why do we find this more acceptable than a spectacle that has allowed hundreds of young people to live their dreams. To dance in front of the Queen and millions of people on TV. To take part in a spectacle in their home city, to prove they have what it takes!! Our view of society is sometimes quite rightly clouded in shit by what happens and how people behave. But sometimes we have to accept that people are better than we give them credit for and all they need is an opportunity.
How many volunteers that danced in the opening ceremony will now decide to follow that as a career? How many will become choreographers? Singers? Actors? For half an hour someone believed in them enough to let them try. And to me that's worth more than treble £20,000,000 that was spent on the ceremony.
We're all born with brains, its a fact of human anatomy that no-one can dispute. The choice we have is how we're going to use them. In three years time there may be another 5,000 graduates that sit on boards and become directors and managers who are only interested in counting beans, making people redundant, increasing the unemployed and increasing the amount of pounds in their pocket. What I'd like to think is that in three years time, inspired by what they saw on one Friday night in July. We have artists, actors, writers, musicians, dancers, choreographers, directors, producers, CGI artists, production managers, set designers, swimmers, runners, rowers...
But above all I'd like to think we have people who are willing to go, this is my dream, this is my talent, I am going to try.
Saturday, 7 July 2012
Just Have A Little Patience.
Its an ironic scenario, my day job which should be the most stress free of jobs, where I spend all day walking up and down solving problems and pressing buttons is 100 times more stressful than my non paying job in which I have to script/script edit and produce/production manage. The reason for this I believe is down to effective management and communication.
So, what was the point in that opening salvo, wait and see because hopefully by the time I finish this blog post I will have wrapped it up in a shiny bright bow in pure Charlie Kaufman-Moffat style.
Do you remember reading my Production Notes blogs? (Yes I know half of you are wondering what this has to do with wheelchair basketball, but bear with me, I can be just as amusing and life affirming as Michael Galligan... Just give me time!!) If you do then you may recall that I signed off with a little piece of premonition in which I pondered upon where the cast and crew of ForverTogether would be... Well, six months down the line and ForeverTogether is still the only release from the Nun with A Gun/CreativePixieFairie.co.uk stable. Does that make us failures? Well, in some eyes yes. (I recently met a guy who had completed 42 productions) But, in my eyes and certainly in other peoples I would answer a resounding No!
So on what do I base my stance?
1) Quality over quantity.
This is possibly the most overused statement ever. I hear it all the time in audio drama circles, some minority kicks up a fuss about there being no regular output and how they can't wait and who does it take so long to get a show on the air. To be honest I just let the argument wash over me, but seeing things from the other side it is an incredibly valid argument. I've read scripts and even written some that I've rejected out of hand because the whole thing could not be made in its original format with our budget at top end quality. It would be far more damaging to release short films and productions of inferior quality than to have high quality but slower releases.
2) There is so Much Wonder To Come.
Following on from number 1, is surprisingly, number 2. It is very important to understand that the reason you haven't seen any of our new work is because it is high quality stuff. The recent completion of principle photography on 'The Whisperers' made me contemplate its position. The original idea was that it would be a streaming video release to spread interest in Nun With A Gun/PixieFairieCreative.co.uk and increase our visual portfolio's. I actually think that what we have so far is too good to sit on a streaming site and should be entered into competitions. Yes, actual horror spooky supernatural competitions.
Add to this you also have two more in the 'Soul Trilogy' still to be filmed. Plus editing to 'Relaxing Day In The Country' Plus, 50 kisses, 2 Days later, One Shot, Christmas, all in the pipeline. And more!! So much on the back burner just simmering and stewing and in some cases fermenting.
3) We're Learning
Ok, to clarify... We're not students or night schoolers. We've all come from different backgrounds and all bring something different to the table. But to my knowledge none of us had ever run a shoot before, though I may be doing Mrs Perry-Smith a disservice. You have to start somewhere, find out how you react to problems, where you turn, what you have to drop and raise, where you have to negotiate and where you have to be a bastard. The Whisperers tested everything and had lots of production issues and budget issues that would have put other people off completing the shoot. We didn't, we grew, we learned.
4) Any Other Business.
It may come as a shock, but we actually haven't made any money from the projects. We haven't entered the crowd funding arena which seems to be filled with so many people wanting something for nothing. I've had some negative experiences with some of these productions, really tarnish the idea of indie productions sticking together and helping each other out. me personally I'll resist it, but maybe one of the other producers will convince me its the route we should go. I'm more old school, raise money, save money, co-produce, negotiate.
In between current activities I have a day job, Mr Baker has a day job, Mrs Perry-Smith has her own commitments. So the very fact that we have a fair few productions in various stages of development has to be applauded. If some tweeters are to be believed they have £1,000's in budgets and don't work and have yet to take one single roll of film.
Add to that, Mr Baker sidelining as a web designer/campaigner for the Below Zero movie, Mrs P-S with her plays currently in two theatres and my writing and producing and audio drama. Maybe we're working too hard and something we love?
I can't recall the movie, but the line goes "It's called Show Business. Not Show friends" or something like that. And I have spent a lot of time looking at this aspect. I have a better understanding of limitations, of processes and potential outlets. What's the point in having things with nowhere to put them?
The first six months of 2012 may have been a slow progress year, but just you watch us grow, just you watch us get better. Watch our films of YouTube, Vimeo, Black Flag TV, Metacafe. Vote for our films at the multitude of festivals that we'll be in. Watch the people we work with get better, get more confident and grow, watch teams develop, watch friendships and relationships and lots and lots of things happen.
Remember the names David Key, Edward Rastelli-Lewis, Michael Hudson, Adeel Abbasi, Rafiqul Alam, Scott Baker, Elinor Perry-Smith, Vanessa Mayfield, Jacquie Cumberledge, Chloe Sinclair, Daryl Pargeter, Andrew Smith, Charlotte Covell, Robin Booth, Max Byrne. One day you'll be queueing at ComiCon and one of them will be charging £5 an autograph and telling you about their life in film.
So, what was the point in that opening salvo, wait and see because hopefully by the time I finish this blog post I will have wrapped it up in a shiny bright bow in pure Charlie Kaufman-Moffat style.
Do you remember reading my Production Notes blogs? (Yes I know half of you are wondering what this has to do with wheelchair basketball, but bear with me, I can be just as amusing and life affirming as Michael Galligan... Just give me time!!) If you do then you may recall that I signed off with a little piece of premonition in which I pondered upon where the cast and crew of ForverTogether would be... Well, six months down the line and ForeverTogether is still the only release from the Nun with A Gun/CreativePixieFairie.co.uk stable. Does that make us failures? Well, in some eyes yes. (I recently met a guy who had completed 42 productions) But, in my eyes and certainly in other peoples I would answer a resounding No!
So on what do I base my stance?
1) Quality over quantity.
This is possibly the most overused statement ever. I hear it all the time in audio drama circles, some minority kicks up a fuss about there being no regular output and how they can't wait and who does it take so long to get a show on the air. To be honest I just let the argument wash over me, but seeing things from the other side it is an incredibly valid argument. I've read scripts and even written some that I've rejected out of hand because the whole thing could not be made in its original format with our budget at top end quality. It would be far more damaging to release short films and productions of inferior quality than to have high quality but slower releases.
2) There is so Much Wonder To Come.
Following on from number 1, is surprisingly, number 2. It is very important to understand that the reason you haven't seen any of our new work is because it is high quality stuff. The recent completion of principle photography on 'The Whisperers' made me contemplate its position. The original idea was that it would be a streaming video release to spread interest in Nun With A Gun/PixieFairieCreative.co.uk and increase our visual portfolio's. I actually think that what we have so far is too good to sit on a streaming site and should be entered into competitions. Yes, actual horror spooky supernatural competitions.
Add to this you also have two more in the 'Soul Trilogy' still to be filmed. Plus editing to 'Relaxing Day In The Country' Plus, 50 kisses, 2 Days later, One Shot, Christmas, all in the pipeline. And more!! So much on the back burner just simmering and stewing and in some cases fermenting.
3) We're Learning
Ok, to clarify... We're not students or night schoolers. We've all come from different backgrounds and all bring something different to the table. But to my knowledge none of us had ever run a shoot before, though I may be doing Mrs Perry-Smith a disservice. You have to start somewhere, find out how you react to problems, where you turn, what you have to drop and raise, where you have to negotiate and where you have to be a bastard. The Whisperers tested everything and had lots of production issues and budget issues that would have put other people off completing the shoot. We didn't, we grew, we learned.
4) Any Other Business.
It may come as a shock, but we actually haven't made any money from the projects. We haven't entered the crowd funding arena which seems to be filled with so many people wanting something for nothing. I've had some negative experiences with some of these productions, really tarnish the idea of indie productions sticking together and helping each other out. me personally I'll resist it, but maybe one of the other producers will convince me its the route we should go. I'm more old school, raise money, save money, co-produce, negotiate.
In between current activities I have a day job, Mr Baker has a day job, Mrs Perry-Smith has her own commitments. So the very fact that we have a fair few productions in various stages of development has to be applauded. If some tweeters are to be believed they have £1,000's in budgets and don't work and have yet to take one single roll of film.
Add to that, Mr Baker sidelining as a web designer/campaigner for the Below Zero movie, Mrs P-S with her plays currently in two theatres and my writing and producing and audio drama. Maybe we're working too hard and something we love?
I can't recall the movie, but the line goes "It's called Show Business. Not Show friends" or something like that. And I have spent a lot of time looking at this aspect. I have a better understanding of limitations, of processes and potential outlets. What's the point in having things with nowhere to put them?
The first six months of 2012 may have been a slow progress year, but just you watch us grow, just you watch us get better. Watch our films of YouTube, Vimeo, Black Flag TV, Metacafe. Vote for our films at the multitude of festivals that we'll be in. Watch the people we work with get better, get more confident and grow, watch teams develop, watch friendships and relationships and lots and lots of things happen.
Remember the names David Key, Edward Rastelli-Lewis, Michael Hudson, Adeel Abbasi, Rafiqul Alam, Scott Baker, Elinor Perry-Smith, Vanessa Mayfield, Jacquie Cumberledge, Chloe Sinclair, Daryl Pargeter, Andrew Smith, Charlotte Covell, Robin Booth, Max Byrne. One day you'll be queueing at ComiCon and one of them will be charging £5 an autograph and telling you about their life in film.
Friday, 15 June 2012
Bolton Bulls Takeover.
Something a little bit different with this blog, and hopefully one that will get a wide readership. :) I'd particularly love to hear what the gentlemen in Japan and UAE think about it.
Of course, there isn't an awful lot different to what I've started to preach myself in these blogs. because what I use these for is to basically psyche myself up, to convince myself that I CAN do this. I CAN make it. I WILL make it.
So, below is basically a cut and pasted story from Mr. Michael Galligan, a good friend of mine who I've known for years and who has been a wonderful source of support over the years, even laughing at my jokes and he also helped me with my first ever screenplay by providing the basis for its lead character and plot. Recently he's been involved with the local wheelchair basketball team, the Bolton Bulls and by involved I basically mean playing basketball, training in basketball and signing up as the unofficial posterboy. Yes ladies, he is a basketball playing model!! With his own home. And a newt. And a dog. I have his number, form an orderly queue now.
So, please see this little story below and remember to support local charity, local people. Oh, and follow your dreams.
Michael Galligan
@RatedR1882
Today, alongside Chairman Steve we’ve (well mostly Steve)
taken 3 assemblies worth of primary school children & taught them…
…”The Way of the Bulls”, that is, we showed up, talked like
we knew stuff about stuff, showed video clips, talked more and then I threw a…
…ball at some of the braver tiny souls, and thankfully
didn’t injure any of them. All in the name of Bolton Bulls. It was way more
fun…
..than I ever expected being truly terrified in a roomful of
tiny strangers could be. One moment will stick with me for the rest of my…
..days; (brace yourself, I’m about to be serious) After one
presentation (at Ladywood School, this may be important for context) we asked…
..if there were any questions. *silence* then, one tiny hand
at the back of the room, & she meekly walks to the front, and asks…
..”Can I play wheelchair basketball?” If I achieve nothing
else at wheelchair basketball, It will be all worth it, just for that. *proud*
Typing all that out just made my cry real tears. A year ago,
I could not have done what I did today.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Production Notes - Part Un
Tonight I find myself watching the Bafta's, yet again.
I've seen Steven Moffatt take home an award for his writing, I've seen horribly written and performed links. I've seen award after award being given and accepted with over sentimental speeches about thanking everyone who got you there and even a couple of speeches that made you stop and think... Not always for the right reasons.
I've been lucky enough to receive nominations for pieces of work I've written. I'm not going to degrade them or put them down, because there are plenty of people out there that never have and never will have someone take in what they've done and like it so much that they'll put their name forward for an award. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but thank you for those who did. Even though we've never went beyond the long list last year, I have high hopes that this year we'll go one further. So on this occasion even before we find out our fate I'd like to thank the CEO of Misfits Audio Cap'n John, who has given me unequivocal support in my vision for the series of Star Rabbit Tracks and I hope I've repaid him. Just wait until series 3 starts with a major shift in gears. I've also got my fingers crossed for the future of In The Line Of Duty: The Vanguard Archives, because there are some lovely character moments in these prequels that will pay off in the bigger picture when the series starts. :)
But, anyway, you don't read this... although I'd love to know what they one guy from Saudi Arabia thought of my blog please comment next time you're passing through... because you want to hear about me going on about what may be happening. You want to know what IS happening.
Tuesday marks several firsts,
1) The first film I've written/produced/directed
2) The first film produced under the Nun With A Gun Manchester banner.
Ok, you were probably expecting more and to be honest so was I. But to be on the inside looking out it's another spoke on the bicycle of life. By the time half the year is out another 3 films will have finished principle photography, Dave Keys will have completed filming on Ghost story 'The Whisperers' and one or possibly two other shorts will also be completed (I keep these secret at this time because they remain the property of their writers up until their completion, upon which time I will snatch them with an evil laugh and wave them around like they are my own hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
*cough* *cough*
Anywaaaaaaaaay, back to the beginning. My ambition is to one day walk the carpet at an awards ceremony and to pick up a winners bag. I'm quite relaxed, maybe a nice speech about my work mates, how Mrs Perry-Smith was kind enough to let me hijack her company, or Mr Baker for bringing the trio together in the first place. Can I thank Mr Abassi and Mr Alam for giving me my first taste of successful screenwriting. Maybe I'll get obscure and thank Ms Yourieff or Mr Busby. Maybe Mr Frandsen or Mr Reed.
Of course no award ceremony and no speech is complete without that obscure reference, and here's mine. Thank you to the special person who made me believe, who made me want to do better and be better and kicked me so hard that I got better. You are my island, my soul provider and my muse. I hope to one day be on that red carpet with you by my side. :)
I've seen Steven Moffatt take home an award for his writing, I've seen horribly written and performed links. I've seen award after award being given and accepted with over sentimental speeches about thanking everyone who got you there and even a couple of speeches that made you stop and think... Not always for the right reasons.
I've been lucky enough to receive nominations for pieces of work I've written. I'm not going to degrade them or put them down, because there are plenty of people out there that never have and never will have someone take in what they've done and like it so much that they'll put their name forward for an award. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but thank you for those who did. Even though we've never went beyond the long list last year, I have high hopes that this year we'll go one further. So on this occasion even before we find out our fate I'd like to thank the CEO of Misfits Audio Cap'n John, who has given me unequivocal support in my vision for the series of Star Rabbit Tracks and I hope I've repaid him. Just wait until series 3 starts with a major shift in gears. I've also got my fingers crossed for the future of In The Line Of Duty: The Vanguard Archives, because there are some lovely character moments in these prequels that will pay off in the bigger picture when the series starts. :)
But, anyway, you don't read this... although I'd love to know what they one guy from Saudi Arabia thought of my blog please comment next time you're passing through... because you want to hear about me going on about what may be happening. You want to know what IS happening.
Tuesday marks several firsts,
1) The first film I've written/produced/directed
2) The first film produced under the Nun With A Gun Manchester banner.
Ok, you were probably expecting more and to be honest so was I. But to be on the inside looking out it's another spoke on the bicycle of life. By the time half the year is out another 3 films will have finished principle photography, Dave Keys will have completed filming on Ghost story 'The Whisperers' and one or possibly two other shorts will also be completed (I keep these secret at this time because they remain the property of their writers up until their completion, upon which time I will snatch them with an evil laugh and wave them around like they are my own hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
*cough* *cough*
Anywaaaaaaaaay, back to the beginning. My ambition is to one day walk the carpet at an awards ceremony and to pick up a winners bag. I'm quite relaxed, maybe a nice speech about my work mates, how Mrs Perry-Smith was kind enough to let me hijack her company, or Mr Baker for bringing the trio together in the first place. Can I thank Mr Abassi and Mr Alam for giving me my first taste of successful screenwriting. Maybe I'll get obscure and thank Ms Yourieff or Mr Busby. Maybe Mr Frandsen or Mr Reed.
Of course no award ceremony and no speech is complete without that obscure reference, and here's mine. Thank you to the special person who made me believe, who made me want to do better and be better and kicked me so hard that I got better. You are my island, my soul provider and my muse. I hope to one day be on that red carpet with you by my side. :)
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Living Da Skreama De Shalka
Anyone remember the Scream Of The Shalka?
Wonder how many blogs have opened with that question. I don't ask it because its something that was so cultish that it should be forgotten and consigned away as a side step in the rebirth of Doctor Who from Geeky Anorak Fodder to mainstream Drama Juggernaught.
There are many people who have negative opinions about it, Richard E. Grant's take on The Doctor, being interesting, the twisty reveal of the Master companion being (*spoiler*). But it has a lot going for it if you like, urban darkness.
There's a line in a Big Country song that goes "Some people say you have to change to stay the same, I guess we tried so hard to stay the same we changed." I've never been one for change myself, I like settlement. In fact over the past two months I've probably felt worse than I have since the start of 2012. Having a regular pattern of 7 hours sleep when working nights was great, but then people left and the saviour was once again needed.
So in all this change what remains the same? 2nd year in a row Star Rabbit Tracks received a Parsec Award nomination... Basically what that means is that my second series DID NOT SUCK!! Jumping on board a series established by someone else and trying to stamp your own mark on it isn't easy, and I thank people who have enjoyed my eps, the recent few eps have been amazing to the point where even I was laughing at my own jokes.
And Of The Night returned from the dead (ironic with it being a Vampire Noir) episode 3 after a 2 year absence. And I still think its one of the finest things I've ever written. It holds a tender part in my heart and am very proud of the guys at Spiritblade for what they've done.
Did I also tell you that In The Line Of Duty: The Vanguard Archives is also a ratings success with regular downloads of over 100 a month from across the world? The series has grown through a lot of pitching and repitching with my collaborator Ben Reed. The formula is as follows. There are action sequences, but the characters are real with emotions and back story. Every little character has a tale and a connection. My favourite ep is the one where David Ault's Jack Anders carries the story on his own as the husband who has lost his wife, but (and this is a secret) Michael Hudson's performance as George Marcus a man who has lost his son was so good we decided to write him into the series full time.
My writing life will come full circle if Eric Busby releases the Byron specials I wrote for him. One of which was inspired by what someone described as a Twitercrush. she liked Mummies so Mummies appeared in the episode.
But all of this is old news revisited. This isn't the new news. I hear you cry, some of you say "Please stop blogging" some of you say "you ignorant arrogant pig" some of you even say "I don't get it" which I suppose is most of you. So for all those interested in what's happening I'll let you know...
The Soul Trilogy is a little set of short films linked by a narrow thread. I've been persuaded not to be such a protective, power hungry so and so and I've relinquished my arm to my London colleagues for their particular stories. casting, locations... Because I've been working on:
Manchester Nun With A Gun Productions...
TaDah! What do you think? I'm working on T-shirts as we speak. (No, I'm not kidding)
The first Manc Nun wit' Gun production is cast, semi located and I'm currently wooing a film crew and hiring an AD. I know that I'm not to everyone's taste, but hopefully I do things for what I consider the best intention. So on this occasion I will be stepping into the Ron Howard director's hat.
So, I work hard at the day job doing things I don't like, working long hours for extra money to finance the production that I do like, but that I'm doing a job I'm not sure about to get the vision I want...
Sometimes in order to get to where you want you have to take risks and do something you hate, to be hated and know that deep inside you're doing it for the greater good.
Wonder how many blogs have opened with that question. I don't ask it because its something that was so cultish that it should be forgotten and consigned away as a side step in the rebirth of Doctor Who from Geeky Anorak Fodder to mainstream Drama Juggernaught.
There are many people who have negative opinions about it, Richard E. Grant's take on The Doctor, being interesting, the twisty reveal of the Master companion being (*spoiler*). But it has a lot going for it if you like, urban darkness.
There's a line in a Big Country song that goes "Some people say you have to change to stay the same, I guess we tried so hard to stay the same we changed." I've never been one for change myself, I like settlement. In fact over the past two months I've probably felt worse than I have since the start of 2012. Having a regular pattern of 7 hours sleep when working nights was great, but then people left and the saviour was once again needed.
So in all this change what remains the same? 2nd year in a row Star Rabbit Tracks received a Parsec Award nomination... Basically what that means is that my second series DID NOT SUCK!! Jumping on board a series established by someone else and trying to stamp your own mark on it isn't easy, and I thank people who have enjoyed my eps, the recent few eps have been amazing to the point where even I was laughing at my own jokes.
And Of The Night returned from the dead (ironic with it being a Vampire Noir) episode 3 after a 2 year absence. And I still think its one of the finest things I've ever written. It holds a tender part in my heart and am very proud of the guys at Spiritblade for what they've done.
Did I also tell you that In The Line Of Duty: The Vanguard Archives is also a ratings success with regular downloads of over 100 a month from across the world? The series has grown through a lot of pitching and repitching with my collaborator Ben Reed. The formula is as follows. There are action sequences, but the characters are real with emotions and back story. Every little character has a tale and a connection. My favourite ep is the one where David Ault's Jack Anders carries the story on his own as the husband who has lost his wife, but (and this is a secret) Michael Hudson's performance as George Marcus a man who has lost his son was so good we decided to write him into the series full time.
My writing life will come full circle if Eric Busby releases the Byron specials I wrote for him. One of which was inspired by what someone described as a Twitercrush. she liked Mummies so Mummies appeared in the episode.
But all of this is old news revisited. This isn't the new news. I hear you cry, some of you say "Please stop blogging" some of you say "you ignorant arrogant pig" some of you even say "I don't get it" which I suppose is most of you. So for all those interested in what's happening I'll let you know...
The Soul Trilogy is a little set of short films linked by a narrow thread. I've been persuaded not to be such a protective, power hungry so and so and I've relinquished my arm to my London colleagues for their particular stories. casting, locations... Because I've been working on:
Manchester Nun With A Gun Productions...
TaDah! What do you think? I'm working on T-shirts as we speak. (No, I'm not kidding)
The first Manc Nun wit' Gun production is cast, semi located and I'm currently wooing a film crew and hiring an AD. I know that I'm not to everyone's taste, but hopefully I do things for what I consider the best intention. So on this occasion I will be stepping into the Ron Howard director's hat.
So, I work hard at the day job doing things I don't like, working long hours for extra money to finance the production that I do like, but that I'm doing a job I'm not sure about to get the vision I want...
Sometimes in order to get to where you want you have to take risks and do something you hate, to be hated and know that deep inside you're doing it for the greater good.
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