When The World Ends Call Amy Lee When I'm Sober For Me.

So, 2012 is nearly at an end. I have to say that even though it doesn't rank as the greatest year for me, (For those interested 2010 was that year) it will probably linger in the top four a bit like Arsenal. I will attempt to run down a few reasons why 2012 was a nice little year.

1 - www.pixiefairiecreative.co.uk

Hello, yes that's me that is. That's my very own website the features links to almost everything I've done. I feel very proud of it. It showcases my talent quite nicely and also features galleries from my film shoots. It has taken years but I now have a central hub. Of course some would say I've had a big fat hub for years....

The next step is to look at making PixieFairieCreative a fully functioning production company with accountants, accounts, incomes and expenses. Reasons for which will become clear in the next three years. (Oooh how mysterious do you want to be?)

2 - IMDB

Guess what you can do in 2012 that you couldn't do at any point in the past 30 years? Yes, you guessed correctly you can put Noel Rainford into the IMDB search bar and come up with credits. Have to admit that this is a very proud achievement and one that I share with Robin Booth and Max Byrne who both have virgin credits to their name. Hopefully that will change next year too.

3 - Being A Northerner

Hang on a minute, I can hear you all cry at once. What's so great about being a Northerner in 2012? Well I'll name you a few shall I?

• Danny Boyle - Creator of the greatest Olympic Games Opening Ceremony ever seen. [Highlight of which can be seen here... http://youtu.be/257EDRKfQFk
• Bradley Wiggins - Tour de France, Olympic Gold, Sports Personality Of The Year, Knight of the Realm
• Jason Kenny - Olympic Gold
• Paddy McGuinness - Just because.
• Manchester City - Premier League Champions
• Ian McKellan - Former Bolton School pupil

 So Mr Cameron if you could just fuck off back into number 10 and stop screwing with us it would be greatly appreciated.

4 - BakerNunPixie

BakerNunPixie  is my pet name for our little collective. Scott Baker, Elinor Perry-Smith and myself.  2012 has been a nice learning curve (as I mentioned in my last post) and I already have ideas in my head for where we can go in 2013, which have already been discussed with Mrs Perry-Smith.  Stand by for bigger announcements in the coming months, because 2013 will be the year of BakerNunPixie, you mark my words.

5 - Jubilee

Ok,I know that quite a lot of republicans out there will disagree with this. But let me just point something out here. The Jubilee weekend was a major moneyspinner for the Country as was the Olympics. Without a Royal Family who cost us about 70p per person a year (compared to the bailed out bankers who cost us £1,000 per person last year.) then we would be 300% more fucked as the economy falters. A lot of foreign travel comes into the country for our prestigious events pumping money into our economy, paying our inflated prices for crap beer and dodgy food. Standing in the rain, buying our knock off Jubilee Tat. That's what makes Britain Great, the fact that these idiots are willing to do all that just to say hello.

Hilary Swank And Chloe Sevigny Lesbian Sex

Forgive me for the sensationalist blog title. But, for those if you who are disappointed and will no doubt accuse me of using misleading and teasing headlines to get your attention and then not delivering. You can view it on Netflix or Love Film or buy it on DVD from somewhere that sells DVD's.

Hilary Swank won the ACADEMY AWARD (tm) for BEST ACTRESS in this film about a girl who pretends to be a boy.

Now some of you readers will no doubt by wondering what that intro was all about, and no doubt the rest of you are already on Daily Motion watching clips. But the point is one of  interest and readership. My last blog was read by 10 people. My Twitter page has 300 followers. so explain to me how that works. My Facebook page has 22 likes, yet I have over 50 friends. The issue is about rallying communities and activities. Spamming and cold boxing people who may or may not have an interest in your project.

Marketing is an increasingly important tool for independent filmmakers to attract attention and make their voice heard. But as always its about who you know more than what you know. Within my entourage of twitter friends I'm lucky to have two very supportive people, Damien Ahuir. who is based in Ireland and runs the website "Limited-release". He is very supportive and often retweets and follows my projects and project related postings. He even did me a great service with a lovely interview in 2011 when my first ever short film was released, which can be viewed here.  http://limited-release.com/noel-rainford-screenwriter/. This was way before I fell in with the lovely Mrs Perry-Smith and the ruggedly handsome Mr Baker to form Nun With A Gun Productions in association with PixieFairieCreative.co.uk in which we took Mother Superior's Nun With A Gun Productions and forced it into a small wooden Cell with my portfolio website to create that extremely long name for our working relationship.

The other name that has often been a source of support for me is the winner of  Mr Bolton Bulls himself (disclaimer: that competition never took place, it's just that you find his face on almost all of the Bolton Bulls promotional material) I present to you Mr Michael Galligan. [Please skip next paragraph if you do not like sentimentality]

I've been friends with Mr G for over ten years, we met a college and shared a similar twisted sense of humour that involved deep sarcasm, surrealism and the ability to laugh at others in an ironic kind of way. The thing that makes that last part so wonderful was that unlike a high number of people who did that we didn't bring the arrogance, because quite frankly we had nothing to be arrogant about. He will regale you with a story about our brush with Reality TV in an up and coming blog. (In case ur interested I've just been through 15 days of his twitter feed in the last 20 minutes looking for the link. Hopefully he'll repost this @RatedR1882 and he'll have a link for ya) Anyway, he's also been the greatest supporter and listener and friend anyone could wish for and I genuinely mean that. I can count my true, close real friends on a couple of fingers and he's definitely the thumb :).

In reality I need a bigger circle of people or I need other people to have a bigger circle to spread the word and increase interest in upcoming projects. (I will include the names Vanessa M. Ryan H. and Max B. who have been reposters and retweeters recently) But on the other side of the coin, 2012 has been an amazing learning curve for me in which I've thoroughly enjoyed embracing the role of producer and discovered I have little or no interest in being a film director. Even though the the three occasions of co-directing have been good, I can't see it being a full time move.

It's the run up to Christmas which means that there may very well be a review of 2012 blog post. all cheer hooray!! But before you get too happy about that there will also be a what's coming up in 2013 post too.

Merry Gothic Christmas. :)

http://youtu.be/uPGf12quies

Driving Me To Damascus

A couple of days ago, I was toying with whether or not to blog. Truth be told I was having a severe crisis of conscious about the current state of trying to get my new project off the ground and at the hurdles I was having problems getting over. You can see in the paragraphs below how I originally started this

Maybe its time time of year, with this being the first year I've actively been involved in the indie film business I'm not entirely sure of its peaks and troughs. But the amount of people who are willing work hard to get themselves noticed and increase their portfolio seems to have dwindled in the last few months, in fact people willing to get involved in new small projects seems to be significantly reduced.  I've spent a good few hours over the past few weeks networking and searching for people to get involved with the new "12 Days" project. I've sent out postings on several media sites for DOP's and Cinematographers and film crews and offers of co-productions. Literally all these have to do is turn up and film, scripts, locations, actors, props all taken care of and paid for. I find it strange.

But the things I find hardest to take are the ignorants. I can understand ignoring messages and requests from people who lives hundreds of miles away in other countries. People whose requests will never amount to anything because they're just out to add numbers. That kind of ignorance I understand because I've done that myself. But people in the same country, actively seeking help and actively pushing projects and trying to get things made, the simple "sorry, not interested" would be fine.

As you can see, I wasn't exactly channelling the spirit of goodwill. But it does beg a few questions, I personally blame the new vogue of crowdfunding, now instead of working hard and collaborating to get things made you can beg for money and people get paid. I'm still uncertain about the whole crowdfunding revolution in a lot of ways, if someone gets five thousand people to donate a tenner each and then that film makes tens of thousands of pounds of profit, what percentage of that profit goes back to the investors. Under normal circumstances a producer would be allowed to enter that production into competitions and festivals. How does that come into it? It really is a minefield I'd rather avoid.

In a strange quirk of finance, it worked out cheaper for me to pay travel expenses and an overnight stay and lunch for a crew who have enthusiasm and desire than pay for a crew just there for the money.

Anyway, something happened in a weird kind of coincidental way,. I've been reading a book about Stuart Adamson and the things that went on with Big Country and the record companies through the years and I've reached the last chapter, in which the great Big Country comeback and top 20 single was dashed by a record chart executive who decreed that the Big Country single 'Fragile Thing' had too many folds in its packaging and could have been bought because it looked good instead of sounding good. Good thing such stupid rules don't exist now or everyone will be buying singles just because there's a bikini clad hottie on it who can't really.... Oh... :(

It just so happens that on Radio 4 there was a documentary about the making of Driving To Damascus, the final album released by Stuart Adamson and Big Country and it got me thinking. I remember when I first bought the album and the reasons for it. I remember how depressed I was, how unhappy I was. How I used to listen to the songs over and over, how See You, Somebody Else and Fragile Thing were adopted as a soundtrack to my heartbreak. I read about Stuart's battles with inner demons and how he felt he lacked a support network which ultimately led him to a hotel room in Hawaii.

I suppose I'm a little bit sadder now, because a great talent has been lost, because a great album has been swept aside and because one of the great 90's songs will never be heard and acknowledged by the mainstream. I suppose what makes me saddest the most is that I now have a feeling that this great bubble of indie filmmaking that I've enjoyed over the past twelve months is shrinking and that instead of hard work and collaboration its money, money, money.

Fantasy Casting - Second Act

Well, this week has seen me approaching several actors and actresses... Should that be acti? What is the name for a group of actors and actresses anyway? A rehab of talent? Maybe someone could look it up for me. So while they are stewing over whether they wish to be involved in my projects I will take the fantasy casting through to the second block of episodes that have been prepared for "12 Days."


EL AMOR DE UN HOMBRE ESPANOL

Two Spanish lovers receive some bad news. But one won't accept bad news at Christmas time and is determined not to listen.



Starring:: Benedict Cumberbatch as Oscar

Oscar is the one who receives the bad news, brooding and miserable. While don't for one moment believe that Mr C, has an inability to go beyond broody I do believe he has an exotic look which would be perfect for a Spaniard in the midst of personal issues, plus I believe it would be excellent to see his interplay with...



Starring: Johnny Lee Miller as Cesc

Cesc is the optimist, the  man who sees no wrong who believes in a better future and that Christmas is about peace, love and drinking. Imagine the chemistry between a broody Cumberbatch and an energetic Miller. Imagine the flocking of young ladies when they know that they're playing lovers. Yes it may be eye candy casting, but at least these boys can act.


CAMGIRL CARNAGE

A webcam model describes the first business date she went on with a client and how it didn't come with a happy ending.



Starring: Shannon Whirry as Aisha.

For certain members of the audience Shannon Whirry is an unknown actress. For the rest of them she was the greatest softcore actress of the 90's. I am in the latter category and have to admit she is a perfect lady with a lot of attributes. who better to play a Webcam model then a former sex kitten? the role of Aisha calls for someone who can seduce you with her eyes, her smile and make you imagine that naughty things were a distinct possibility, in that respect Shannon is highly if not over qualified for the role.  


FLIRTATIONS WITH THE LAUNDRY
A party girl in an apartment block finds herself trapped in the laundry room with a man with more than dirty laundry on his mind.






Starring: Gerrard Butler as Steve.

Take a look at that face. If ever there was someone who oozed arrogance and sleaze with some enigmatic charm and cheeky sense of humour it's Gerard Butler. For anyone who has seen 'The Naked Truth' or 'The Bounty Hunter' then you'll know what I'm talking about. Steve is that kind of man, he carries a laundry basket with his arms outstretched so he can tense his muscles. Deliberately wears vests and shorts to show off his gym body because he thinks its what the ladies want. Well, buff, cheeky, sleazy and arrogant are all traits that we've seen Gerard Butler portray in a number of roles and sometimes all at the same time.



Starring: Audrey Tautou as Colleen.

Giggly, girlie, with a hidden secret. Teasing, tempting and giddy. There's more than meets the eye to Colleen, the bored party girl who is doing her laundry in the apartment basement late at night. In a similar vein to the character of Aisha, a lot of what Colleen does is in her look and the way she acts. Audrey Tautou is another one of those actresses who uses their body. Creating a mood with a smile, a glance or a look. Some of the sexiest eyes in the movie industry and a continental flair that betrays her French heritage.

A Little Game Of Fantasy Casting

Something that every movie maker or screen writer has done, (whether they care to admit it or not) is to fantasy cast one of their projects. In the build up to the new project (Project 12 Days) I'm going to play the game with you guys now. In the past I have cast John Cusack and Winona Ryder as my principle leads. I even went as far as choosing to entice Leonard Nimoy back into the Directors chair for the Sci-Fi epic, "No Earthly Connection". a script that I never finished but, once photoshopped, the poster looked brilliant.

I am picking three scripts (out of 12 for those of you paying attention) and will give you a brief plotline and the fantasy cast.

If you're sitting comfortably I'll begin.

VAMPIRE ROSES

"Nunwood Vampire Justine McVey has a date with a secret admirer."

 

Starring: Nicole De Boer as Justine McVey.
As seen in: Star Trek DS9, The Dead Zone, X Rated, Metal Tornado.

There are a couple of reasons why I'd cast Nicole as my Justine McVey. First and foremost is that she is a lovely actress who has an innocent, wide eyed quality to her that fits with the vision I have of Justine. I don't mind admitting that part of my decision to cast is the little crush I have on her and it would be lovely to meet her on set. :) Justine is innocent and sweet. Sexy and vicious. Nicole is cute, determined and smart. Together they could be formidable.

Starring Lee Evans as Donald

As seen in: The Medallion, Mouse Hunt, Doctor Who. 

Donald is a wonderfully weird character. A man who has fallen in love with a Vampire to the point where he carries pictures around with him. Manic and geeky. The role needs to go to someone who can pull it off without being bad strange. Someone with a charm and likeability so you can see beyond the weird obsession to the love and affection that Donald has towards Justine. Everyone loves Lee Evans, his turn as Dr Malcolm in Planet Of The Dead is just the right side of Geek to make him loveable. 

A PRESENT FOR ELIZA.

"The Voice, allows Eliza, the survivor of his latest game to choose her own Christmas present."

Starring: Helena Bonham-Carter as Eliza. 

As seen in: Planet Of The Apes, Big Fish, Fight Club, Alice In Wonderland

Eliza is a fragile, damaged young lady. taken from the streets as a teenager she has been forced to take part in vicious games to appease The Voice. Eliza has survived several brutal rounds and seen everyone around her die in the process. As victor she has lost her mind, but her prize is a chance to live in the darkness. If anyone can play the role, it's HBC. Twitchy, on edge and despite the fact that her mind is broken into a million little pieces still gorgeous. This could be another Marla Singer and she still looks hot in an eye patch. 

MESSAGE TO THE GREAT BEYOND

"A young Wiccan tries to contact her lost boyfriend." 

Starring: Ellen Page as Danielle

As seen in: Juno, Inception, X-Men III, Super

Anyone who's seen Juno will appreciate that Ellen Page gives a great performance as the wise ass child growing up quickly. There's a lot of things to be negative about, mostly the song and undertone of Jason Bateman's character bordering on obsession with a young girl. Danielle is a girl in control of her own life, knowing what she wants and is willing to experiment to get it. This episode calls for a strong spine of comedy, the central character should be moody and have a bit of a tantrum when things don't go their way. Credentials that exist in Page's Juno more than in anybody in the dodgy follow up 'Jennifer's Body'. 

So there you have it. If money/location were no object that's the cast I'd be looking at for these episodes. I'd be interested in hearing about your thoughts on who you would cast based on these loglines. 

I've already got Catherine Tate in mind as a busty barmaid in a Zombie flick and Winona Ryder and John Cusack in a Sci-Fi epic. So don't go steeling them!!

I Am God!!

"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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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. :)    

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.

Write It Again, Sam.

There's so many different pieces of advice that come from writers, to writers. Most of the 'how to' books will tell you that writing has rules which must be obeyed, it appears that most of these ever so helpful 'how to' books will quite readily ignore literary classics which ignore every rule in the how to book and are still talked about in English Lit classes throughout the world.

One of the main "this is how you must write" orders from 'experts' is to write about what you know.

Some writers take this literally at face value, write about people and places and events that they're familiar with. I have been told today that I should write about my work place and make it an observational comedy because of everything that goes on. It got me thinking about what the meaning of "write what you know" actually is.

In my opinion, write what you know goes deeper than situations, it's about characters and interactions. At its heart the Lord Of The Rings trilogy is less about Orcs, Elves and Dwarfs, and more about family and relationships. Twilight is about being the outsider and finding your place among similar peers (the other films don't have the same focus and as a result suffer IMHO)

So, I suppose in essence what I'm saying is that I believe the only thing that a writer should remember is focus. To plus my own works, they work best when looking at relationships, Byron's relationship with Slate and Sam drive the highlights of Hour Of Portland, several episodes of Star Rabbit Tracks focus on people finding or losing friends and loved ones.

Take a closer look at ForeverTogether, find the relationship. It's so subtle and yet so integral that you could miss it altogether, but without it the whole thing would fall apart, it would be empty and hollow........

Ever Circling Seasons Of The Skeletal People

So, how do you combat fatigue?

I like to take a big glass of all your hopes and dreams and that great big light at the end of the tunnel.... and smash it against an oncoming freight train that's put its tickets up 15% because they can.

Obviously none of the above actually amounts to anything other than surreal ramblings of a person with things on their mind. I'm 30 years old now, way older than I believe myself to be, the big difference is the way that a 30 year old woman is no longer a hot milf, but is actually my age group. Again, not really much to do with anything, but rambling.

Rambling is good, apparently. Cleanses your mind and a little piece of your soul.

February was amazing, it was the moment of clarity, the veil that lifted. The tunnel was coming into view and there was the light. Everything started to stack up, the people, the choices, the workload. I was happy.

Whoops, there it goes again. It sounds like a rumble and then there's the hooter then the light, the light gets closer and closer and closer...

You get the idea.

I hate being teased, it's horrible having that potential dangled in front of you, having choices, making choices and then... It's taken away in an instant.

At the start of the year I was told, there's no job for you, you'll have to go on nights.

I hated the thought, saw it as a total loss of everything, I was wrong, it was liberating, I got to work and achieve and saw my dreams flourish. Without nights #ForeverTogether would never have been born and released and organised in time. [I am not being ingenuine, I hope, to my fellow workers, if so I do apologise]

So what's the one thing people do when they can see you happy and reaching for your dreams... They stop you.

All of a sudden, within a couple of weeks, everything changes and 'no job on days' becomes 'no job on nights' and job on days becomes extra work on days. Oh how I laughed... well not really, more died internally.

Norman Stanley Fletcher had three rules to survive.

1) Keep your nose clean

2) Bide Your Time

3) Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down

I've done number 1, been doing it for 10 years.

I'm doing number 2, working harder at it over the past few years.

Number 3, is really really hard.

PRODUCTION NOTES - part 3

I challenge anyone who thinks that making films is easy to undertake the challenge that we have. The past few days have been stressful. I myself undertook a 5 hour journey, meeting and pre-planning location photograph session and an extra 2 hour of journey time (plus twenty minutes on the underground playing musical stations) on only an hours sleep. I apologise to the people of Chatham, Strood, Rochester, Rainham and Gillingham for whose stations I slept through at 10:30 on Tuesday night.

On top of that on the day of shooting I walked out of the location and saw.... snow! Noooo!! It can't snow we have exterior shots to film. Luckily it subsided, apart from the cold and the wind chill which turned quite a few hands blue.

And our poor actress, by poor I mean suffering because in terms of the quality we received this was high end stuff. If the previous actor we worked with is anything to go by she can expect to have leading roles in commercials very soon. Oh how we punished her, having her in a negligee opening a door to sub zero temperatures and still being seductive, that is ACTING!

I don't know what I expected, as my last experience of filming was very much based on patchwork, multiple locations multiple days spread over months of filming. The pressure to get it right, to stay on schedule this time was immense, over running wasn't an option all night filming if necessary. We have to complete, there was no way it could be another week, everything was planned to the tiniest detail, writing week 1, pre production week 2, filming week 3, editing week 4, final edit and upload week 5. Maybe we have to apologise for being so pushy that people feel put out, but sometimes we have no option. The best thing about the day, was that nobody stepped out of line, everybody had a role and everybody stuck to their task.

Everybody appreciates good, hard work. When you're good, you're good and I find myself in a great position in that due to possibly more luck than anything else I can surround myself with people who are not only good, but great. Let's take for example my followers on Twitter, I needed faces for a fake social network site, and out of all the people I asked ( I will refrain from naming those who didn't respond) I had a majority yes from them all. It's frankly a weird world where someone you hardly know asks for your picture and you say yes.

I sometimes in these situations feel like a fake, a bit like that TV show whose name escapes me where someone pretends to be in a job they know nothing about. When the lovely Elinor Perry-Smith (Nun With A Gun Productions and co-producer of ForeverTogether) treated us to a lunch break I found myself surrounded by people with degrees and proper training, they've had their talents honed and developed to be the best they can be. Here was I , the untrained Northerner, somehow I'd gatecrashed a group of people with degrees and certificates and awards and yet I was an equal. It goes to prove one thing, if you have the talent then it comes to the surface. I had the priviledge of working with extremely talented people and they were just as complimentary to me as they were to each other. I still feel a fraud, but I'm not going to dwell on it because I'm a very good fraud.

Taking time to reflect on the day, I don't think it's an understatement to say that with another crew I wouldn't be as confident that we would have succeeded. I could put my faith in them and go there you are, location, actress, script. Do your thing. While I just faffed about in the background moving furniture and offering minor suggestions and collecting minor props that had slipped our mind.

[A test, anyone who can find the last minute prop that masqueraded as something else entirely will win a box of chocolate fingers]

So where do we go next? A very good question as the journey is far from over. We still need music, we still need an edit, we need to keep our fingers crossed that the thirty people we're thanking don't count towards our crew count. (I wouldn't have thought so) We need to upload it, we need to find tuxedo's, we need to discover if I and Danny Boyle have shared memories of the hills and dales of Bolton's countryside, we need to know how to get to the O2 arena to pick up our prize.... In terms of fantasies it's not a bad one. You have to try and you have to believe, as Teesha proved, if you try; you succeed. You cannot wipe the smile away from someone who has beaten the odds to be somewhere they only imagined. She may be one of a thousand dancers at the opening ceremony of the Olympic games, but she will have one of the biggest smiles.

So, here we go. Win Sundance, Adib and Adeel get their shot at a million dollar budget movie, Vanessa becomes lead role in Downton Abbey as Hugh Bonneville's long lost daughter, Scott gets to write the next Jason Statham action flick, Elinor is the most talked about new writer in the art movie world and I get a phone call from Toby Whithouse that says "I'm taking over Doctor Who.... let's talk."

We can dream.........

PRODUCTION NOTES - part 2

Four weeks of the Five Week Film Project to go.

Sometimes you do things that make you feel like a right bastard, I've been reading 'The Writers Tale' finally got round to picking it up again. He talks a lot of sense, it's real insight and almost like finding a kindrid spirit with a similar work ethic. Although I'm not for one second kidding myself that Russell T. Davies and I would ever be friends.

If you find a project that you believe in, you will push whatever you can to get it made. Sometimes you have to take charge and walk over people. I hate that thought, steamrollering your way through people to make a change and a difference, but in hindsight that's the only way small people get started. Believe in yourself and make others believe in you too.

When I contacted the directors the first question was "can you make a short film in 5 weeks." his answer ended with "Nothing is possible, I always believe :)"

In reality there was a lot of pressure on that question. Without the right answer things could've been different, storylining and scripting would probably still be ongoing, I'd be sitting back and writing and fretting about my day (or night as it is at the moment) job. Because he believed it could be done, I believed it could be done. I became obsessed and almost possessed. E-mailing people and sending messages when I got home at 5:30 in the morning. Hunting down locations I knew would be possible and practical, really wanting to get as much sorted as soon as possible.

It is now 4 weeks until deadline day.

We have a script,

We have a location

We have a schedule

We have a shooting script

We have directors

If we can get an actress within the next three days then start to film next week. That leaves 2 weeks for editing and post production. At this point I have to put things in the hands of talented people, but I have faith that they will come through.

The second point that has dawned on me, is that I am for all intents and purpose this is partly mine. I can take it away, claim ownership, take all kinds of praise... Or be the punchbag if things fail. My dad has always tried to protect me from failure, but his way has always been to tell me to step back and not get too deeply involved. I hope that with this he can understand that it's ok for me to take these risks and get deeply and passionately involved.

I feel more relaxed, because I know that if for whatever reason we fail to make Sundance:London. Then the project doesn't stop or die or fade away. It still gets made, it enters other festivals, because I and the execs will all have a piece of this and have the power to push it wherever we like as hard as we can.

PRODUCTION NOTES - part 1

Today I discovered how Jerry Bruckheimer feels every day of his life. Man it's stressful. But exciting.

The main things needed to make a film, director, writer, actor.

Out of those three we currently have writers and directors. Waiting for an actress. I hardly slept last night. It's like a nervous excitement because the deadline is so tight, if one thing falls apart then the whole thing may crash.

Luckily, we have a tentative yes from the location for filming and we may hopefully get a discount, which is great for a no budget movie. :)

The script is on its 5th revision, and I've had to put my foot down and say enough is enough. One last edit each. But I know I'll be editing it once more when it comes to location filming, pushing a scene from interior to exterior.

A list of things to buy, black cloth, silver gel pen, candles, incense sticks, photo paper, sexy nightie. Ok, maybe the actress will have her own... But will it be in my size???!!!

The main thing is to have back up and luckily the other guys all know an actress who may be available.

Creating the schedule is daunting, I need to know if the location is available so we can book a filming block, the location wants to know a date for the filming block so it can tell us if it's available. Have I done the right thing by saying I'd try for a 12 hour window between Monday and Thursday without consultation with the Directors? Probably not, but if I hadn't we could lose the location...

So far so good. Written, cast and location booked all within a week. Which would give us 4 weeks to film and final edit. It sounds easy doesn't it?

I hope so......

Waiting To Sundance

Everyone likes a countdown, to name a few well know ones there were

Channel 4's gameshow with Carol Vorderman.

The wait until Charlotte Church was legal.

The Millennium

The end of the world

New Year's Eve

The Channel X free-view 5 minutes

Please feel free to remind me of any I may have missed, :)

The Sundance London film festival, has a closing date of 28th Feb 17:00hrs. So, in true reckless fashion steps are afoot to write, cast, direct, edit and enter a short movie in 5 weeks, 1 day.

I will try to keep you abreast (or a*insertbodypart*) of the situation. Good or bad.