A little work experience found

On my search for work experience for my university course I have managed to get myself a weeks worth of work experience at the Kent Film Office. I don't really know what I'll be doing during that week but I'm looking forward to it none the less.

Coming Soon a new film fest

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 13/09/2012

I have been in contact with the people that run the Stepping Stone Studios. Stepping Stone Studios is primarily an art gallery in my home town of Maidstone set up and driven to promote aspiring and established artists in Kent. However I have been in contact with them due to finding out that they are looking to hold a week long film festival with screenings, amateur film making competition and exhibits.

Today I went for my first meeting with Emma who I guess is in charge of admin. She told me a little more about their plans and invited me to meet the rest of the team next Tuesday.

Major Project - The edit of Country's Callin' Bee Episode

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 10/09/2012 I started editing the bee episode today and at the moment it is going smoothly. I don't know if I revealed on this blog but rather than doing 5 3 minute episodes I am now doing 3 5 minute episodes. The bee keeping episode will be the first. I will need to shoot some general country shoots soon and find someone with an old english country voice to do the voice over.

Major Project - Filming with Bee Keeper complete

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 17/07/2012

Thankfully the weather today was far better than yesterday. Good enough in fact that filming could go ahead. Everything went relatively smoothly we arrived in Charing where Pat's home and bees are. It was a beautiful house which we later learnt Pat had built himself.

 

We had time to set up the two cameras and microphones whilst Pat took a delivery of chickens. The interview went smoothly but it was when we went into the area of the garden where the bee hives we kept that Pat really opened up. Showing us and talking us through stages of bees lives along with some interesting bee and honey facts.

I won't have a chance to edit now before September because the base room at the studios is locked up. However I did have a quick skimming look through some of the footage and it appears that the dead cat has snuck into shot on occation however I should be able to cut it out during editing.

Major Project - The shoot is a washout

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 16/07/2012

Another reason to hate this stupidly wet summer comes today., Now when I was meant to be getting ready to head off to shoot with Pat the bee keeper i've now had to call my crew and ask to re arrange for tomorrow.

Thankfully because both Hennie and Maddie are so accomadating they have given me a window between 12 and 3 tomorrow in which to get everything I need with them helping me. Pat has agreed to this time so I am hoping that the rain holds off long enough to film tomorrow.

Major Project - Plan for Bee keeping shoot on Monday

Major Project - Arrangements for filming with bee keeper UPDATE

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 10/07/2012

I have been in contact again with Pat about filming with him on Monday. With filming being weather dependent and with this being the wettest summer on record I am hoping that the forecast that shows that there will only be a 20% chance of rain is correct.

Working on the assumption that this forecast is correct I have arranged with him a time and place in which we can film.

I now have to finalise the questions I want to ask him on camera and search for interesting shots that I can use for this episode. Apart from doing the last few planning elements I will just sit and keep my fingers crossed that the forecast is correct.

Hot Shots - The Results

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 06/07/2012

Today the results for the Hot Shots Youth Film making competition were announced. As much as I had hoped I would win it wasn't meant to be this time but I was however awarded 2nd place.

I am happy with this result and would like to offer my congratulations to Sam Nimmo who won the competition.

Major Project - Arrangements for filming with the Bee Keeper

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 05/07/2012

The bee keeper now has a name! He is Pat Hillman and I spoke to him on the phone this afternoon and we have arranged that the best time to film him is July 16th provided the weather holds up. As well as arranging filming with Pat I have also arranged with Maddie Ireland and Hennie Clough (picture to the left) to be my shooting crew for that day. All that remains to arrange is a time for filming and arrangements for my second camera and sound recording equipment in addition to my Canon DSLR.

Major Project - Bee Keeping Fact VO script #1

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 03/07/2012
Introduction VO

In the UK there are approximately 44,000 beekeepers looking after around 240,000 hives continuing the hobby and craft that has been practiced in close fashion for thousands of years.

They together produce near to 6000 tons of honey per year. Each hive bringing around £400 to the agricultural economy.

With a worker honeybee taking 3 weeks to develop from an egg into an adult bee and then only living on through the summer for only 6 to 8 weeks from the time she hatches as an adult bee. Bee keepers and bees alike have a lot of work to do and not a great amount of time to do it in.

Major Project - First Bee Keeping episode plan

Titles Country Shots Introduction - Facts and figures Country shots - Bee shots Interview - Why you got into bee keeping VO about how many hives and bees he has Interview - What’s involved in bee keeping Closing VO Credits Aces and Eights Logo

00.00 - 00.10 00.10 - 00.20 00.20 - 00.50 00.50 - 00.55 00.55 - 01.30 01.30 - 01.50 01.50 - 02.25 02.25 - 02.45 02.45 - 02.55 02.55 - 03.00

Major Project - Country Craft Series Title ideas

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 02/07/2012

So I'm pushing forward with the Country crafts series idea. Even though I should get my idea Okayed by my university lecturer first but until September that isn't really an option. So I would rather start and shoot with the Bee Keeper and then be told to scrap the idea than not shoot and be told the idea would have worked.

So the first thing I have thought about is possible title ideas that would be specific enough to give an overview of the series being about skilled people that live or more importantly work in the countryside doing old crafts. However because the crafts will vary from episode to episode it can't be something specific to one of the crafts that wouldn't apply to another.

So below you will see a list of possible that I came up with one of these may end up being the series title, I may combine some of them or I may come up with something else altogether.

 

Country’s Callin’

Countrywide

Dirt road crafts

Natural life

Country Hands

Faces in the fields

Old Country

Working for a living

Down and dirty

Major Project - What should I do

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 01/07/2012

I haven't blogged about all the ideas I have had for the internet series unit I will have to produce when I return to university in September. I am however leaning toward one that I have blogged about previously this being the Traditional Country Crafts series. Through family members I have already endeavoured to approach some people that would allow me to film them and their crafts for the series.

So far I have potentially got a man that keeps bees and a farrier with the strong possibility of someone that lives on a tug boat and repairs his own lines and nets being up for being part of my series. This leaves the cider making and walking stick makers left to find. I do have confidence that this shouldn't be to difficult.

One obstacle that I do now have to face is through the bee keeper has told me that the best time of
year to film something interesting in regards to the bees and honey would be the middle of this very month. This means if I am to do this series I must get it underway very soon and so a great deal of planning must be started and for that episode at least completed in the next week or two!

I also what to come up with a title that perfectly matches the tone of the series something else I need to think about but for which I have plenty more time.

Major Project - Going to be working with Dean Ross

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 28/06/2012

For the university unit that I have been blogging about previously one of the requirements is unlike most of the previous units already completed. This is in as much as where before it was optional to enlist the assistance of a crew this time its a must. So as well as working on my own internet series idea(s) there was also the possibility for me to approach or be approached to become a crew member of someone else’s series. So when my close friend Dean asked me to come onboard as the director of his series I near enough agreed before even hearing his idea. Still in the early stages of pre production I look forward to working with him on a situation comedy series and knowing the writing and comedic ability of Deano I'm sure that the script will have everyone in stitches.

Major Project - Traditional British Country Crafts series idea

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 22/06/2012

The next idea for my next unit at university came from my father breaking the 15 minutes into five three minute episodes. Using similar imagery as I used in the short ‘The Horse’ each three minute episode would showcase a traditional British country craft. If I was to go forward with this idea I would probably adopt a compacted style of the ITV show country ways. This would be a good place to start however I’m not even sure if that show is still made so I may have to go in search of older episodes.

The top five crafts I have thought about and would be most interested in documenting are:

Honey making/Bee keeping
Horse shoeing
Carpentry / Walking stick making
The making of cider
Rope / Net making

With the variety of subjects I would hope that each episode would offer and engaging and interesting view of aging and in some cases fading beautiful traditional British country crafts.

Major Project - Cocktail series idea

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 19/06/2012

 

I have been thinking about what kind of series I would like to produce for my next uni project details of which was posted in a previous blog entry. I along with family members and friends that I put on the case have come up with a number of ideas. Some of these ideas I have already dismissed and some I fear may simply be to vast with content that the time period allowed for this project couldn't be great enough to handle them. I will however take these ideas into future work.

The first idea came from my girlfriend Amber and would be broken down into the 15 one minute episodes option for the series. With both of us working in the Muggleton Inn branch of the Wetherspoons pub chain she suggested that I could make a simple instructional series on creating simple cocktails that people can replicate at home without spending a fortune on various sprits.

I like this idea as I feel that a number of powerful images could be created due to the range of colours and well designed lighting could produce an interesting spectacle of what is essentially a filming and editing process that would be replicated for each of the 15 cocktails

Scouts - Possible promo film for Loose Cub Scouts

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 16/06/2012

My brother is a member of the Loose branch of the Cub Scouts. During their weekly meeting the boys were asked what they would like to do in future meetings. Along with camping and rock climbing they also suggested making a video. My mother who heard this approached the troop leaders and suggested that I may be able to help. Having fond memories of my time in the Cub Scouts I would be happy to help them if I can. I will venture up to meet with the leaders myself in the coming weeks to see if what I can offer is parallel with what they would be looking to create.

Major Project - Early Thoughts

Reposting entry from acesandeightsproductions.co.uk from 14/06/2012

On summer break from university at the moment so I don't have any academic films in the works at the moment. However I have been given the briefs for the projects that I will be working on when I return in September. These means I am able to begin the tough process of coming up with a realistic target which is interesting and beautiful. Regardless of the idea I am endeavouring to create a series of short films with every frame looking like a distinguished and well planned photograph.

The brief is very open for the next university project basically consists of I will be required to create a series with a total running length of 15 minutes which can be broken down into the following:

15 x 1 minute episodes
5 x 3 minute episodes
3 x 5 minute episodes

For these series I will be asking for assistance in a variety of roles from classmates, contributors and persons outside of my course in order to branch out and embellish the film with the skills of others.

Welcome Back

So today was my first day back after the summer break and a very busy summer it was both personally and for producing and planning for future pieces of work. For more details about some of this please read the past blog entries on my other blog at acesandeightsproductions.co.uk/blog. I find that writing entries on that site easier and so will continue to write on that blog about all of my projects and reserve this one only for university related updates. But one thing that I am able to reveal is the Behind the Scenes of Unsigned Live doc that I made last semester.