Ben Mottershead (Teabelly Productions) has put together this behind the scenes documentary during the making of Joe O’Byrne’s film, The Watcher.

Joe O’Byrne wrote and directed this film as part of a commission from DIGITfest, who were hosting a weekend  of events at The Lowry in June. The Watcher is another one of Joe O’Byrne’s tales from the fictional housing estate of Paradise Heights.

Short Com is a new short film night at Manchester’s Frog and Bucket, aimed at showcasing the funniest sketches and short stories. There is no entry fee for submissions, and nothing will be shown prior to or after the event. Films can be anything from five seconds to around ten minutes.

If you’d like so submit material, send an email to Chris Aitken. Large scale production values and big named stars have little to no influence on selection. It’s all dependable on a films ‘funny’ factor. Whether they have premiered at other events, or made some years ago, again, doesn’t matter.

The event is to be held at the Frog and Bucket comedy club on 16th November, doors open at 7pm. Admission £2 or free entry with selected film and tickets can be purchased in advance from the Frog and Bucket site here.

Britain in a Day is a unique portrait of twenty-four hours in the life of the UK, filmed by you. On Saturday 12 November 2011 pick up a camera and record your thoughts, hopes and aspirations, then upload your film to the Britain in a Day channel on YouTube. You’ll be helping to create an amazing archive and your film could be included in an historic BBC documentary in 2012.

Director Morgan Matthews explains more about the project.

What is Britain in a Day?

Britain in a Day is an exciting and ambitious documentary project where we are inviting people across the UK to send in footage shot on one particular day – the 12th November 2011. This is an ordinary day like any other but we aim to capture both the ordinary and the extraordinary events that take place in people’s lives every day across the UK. We will edit the footage into one, hopefully remarkable film to be screened on the BBC in 2012.

Why should people get involved?

This is an opportunity to capture history and be a part of a unique film-making event. The footage that you capture could be included in a film that I believe will provoke, inspire, surprise and move audiences around the world. Britain in a Day will be a record of our nations, both in the present and in the future.  A film about us made by us.

How do people get involved?

On 12th November 2011, pick up a camera and film anything that’s happening in the 24-hour period from midnight on Friday to midnight on Saturday. Any type of camera will do – whether it’s a domestic video camera or your mobile phone – just use the best you have available and start filming on the 12th November 2011. Once you have recorded your footage, upload the unedited clips onto YouTube using the Britain in a Day website. If you haven’t used YouTube before, don’t worry, it’s easy – take a look at the ‘how to’ guide on the Britain in a Day website.

Are you looking for any particular clips?

I am looking for footage of anything that’s happening to you or someone you know on the 12th November 2011. You may be with your family or you may be separated from them. You may be walking in the hills or dancing on the town. You could talk to the camera and create a video diary of all or part of your day, or you can film people you know – with their permission. There may be something wonderful happening to you or your friends and family – perhaps a birth or a marriage, or you may be experiencing something difficult or traumatic – perhaps coping with tough times, a break up or the loss of someone close to you. If you’re going to work or staying in on your own, use your camera to show me what you see and tell me what you are feeling. Whether your experience is a momentous occasion or an average day or night, there is meaning, tragedy and beauty in everyday life that we can all identify with – and I want you to capture it for me.

Do you have some suggestions or questions we could think about when filming?

Yes. These are just ideas, but you might want to think about the following to get you started:

• What can you see from your window and how would you describe your area?
• What do you like or dislike about the UK?
• What do you see in the mirror?
• What do you worry about?
• What is your vice or your guilty pleasure?
• What makes you happy?
• What is the most important thing in your life at the moment?
• If you are working, show me what you do.
• Show me what you do in the evening

Do I need experience with a camera or making films?

This is a project for everyone. Don’t let lack of experience put you off, you really don’t need to have touched a camera before. Check out the web site for some simple tips and how to videos. It is really easy to take part.

When’s the date?

Record your footage on 12th November 2011: from midnight on Friday to midnight on Saturday. Upload your footage by 21 November 2011 at www.youtube.com/britaininaday.

Why not set up a film day or some kind of event to encourage your community to get involved with the project? You can download the free poster and How To guides on the BBC Britain in a Day website here to help with this.

For more details on Britain in a Day  and to get involved, go to: www.bbc.co.uk/britaininaday and film YOUR day on Saturday 12th Nov.

James Redmond and Mel Moon in Wake Up England (The day that morning was broken).

Comedy fans have the chance to take a sneak peek at a brand new TV sitcom filmed and set in east Lancashire . . . before taking part in a live Q&A with the stars. 

Wake Up England, starring Briercliffe funny girl Mel Moon, will be unveiled for the first time on Thursday October 27^th, 7pm, at Burnley’s Apollo Cinema.

The ‘test screening’ will give a select audience the chance to air their views on the 25-minute pilot show, before it is broadcast to the nation at a later date.

Says Mel, who co wrote the show with fellow stand-up Dave Candy: “A test screening is vital for any new production and is the only sure-fire way to know we are getting it right.”

Wake Up England (The Day Morning Was Broken)  tells the story of scandal-hit daytime presenters David and Dannyella Joy ten years after they were booted off the morning sofa.

The hapless husband and wife team, played by actor James Redmond (Casualty/Hollyoaks) and stand-up star Mel, are tracked down by a TV documentary maker, played by comedian Jason Manford; a decade after opening a  small B & B in Burnley, Lancashire.

The show, directed by Barrowford filmmaker Stephen Rigg, also features actors Ewen McIntosh (‘Big Keith’ in The Office), Philip Barantini (Band of Brothers) and a host of local performers including 13-year-old Jack Cooke and Mel’s real-life partner Kris Scholes.

The show, sponsored by Rossendale firm Euroshel, will run for 25 minutes and there will be a Q&A afterwards.

Adds mum-of-two, Mel: “Q&A’s are done with most of the cast and crew saying a few words about how things were done.

“For me the important thing is that we listen to you, the viewers. It’s your sitcom, and if there are things you don’t like we want to know. We are issuing tickets on a first-come-first-served basis – so please act fast!”

For your chance to grab a seat at the screening contact: info@wakeupengland.co.uk  with your name, contact details, age and favourite sitcoms.

Halloween is coming and to mark the occasion Filmonik is holding its first ever themed event – a special horror, Sci-Fi and fantasy “Gorilla” Micro Kabaret.

Part creative jam session, part cinematic bootcamp, The “Gorilla” Micro Kabaret is three whole days of flat out, peddle-to-the-metal 24/7 guerrilla filmmaking; a chance for filmmakers, writers, actors, musicians, artists and creatives of all types to come together in a spirit of creative collaboration, to put their inventiveness, ability to improvise and eye for an opportunity to the test, and to have fun with film.

If you’re interested in taking part in the Micro Kabaret make sure you get yourself down to the Launch Night which is taking place at MadLab this Thursday, 27 October, 7pm – 9pm. Here introductions will be made, weapons revealed (skills, cameras, computers, lighting, props, ideas etc), and collaborations forged.

The “Gorilla” Micro Kabaret is free to attend, although you will need to register in advance here.

The subsequent screening is to be held at Kraak Gallery on Sunday, 30 October, 7pm – 11.30pm. Admission £4 (£3 concession for screening filmmakers).

As you can see, Future Artists claimed they had receiveda 4 page investigative dossier, and attributed its creation to the “NWNW.”

The final image above is from an even earlier false allegation which claimed we had “blacklisted” them from our blog. How it is even possible to ban anyone from a blog, where there is not a membership function, we do not understand. We’ve never had so much as a post-comment from Future Artists to even be blocked, rendering this allegation a complete falsehood.

We are incredibly disappointed that Future Artists, or specifically their MD, Mark Ashmore, has taken to insinuating NWNW in such matters; his statements are entirely innaccurate, lacking in context, have no founding or proof, and are incredibly disappointing and hurtful at a professional and personal level.

Let us categorically state that we here at www.northwestnewwave.org.uk (which is Chris Lane and myself) have not, and never will, be involved in compiling dossiers and investigations into any organisation.

We are here to help filmmakers communicate, and to make filmmaking easier. Not write reports on anyone else.

We contacted Future Artists to ask why they had made these claims and who had written this document. Mark Ashmore replied to us stating that he was glad to hear it wasn’t us after all (he had not checked first before making his statement) and claimed the dossier had been written by a film-maker who was claiming to represent the NWNW, and so that was why he made his statement as such.

We replied politely and privately expressing our concern that on the whole, assigning the dossier to “NWNW” would immediately make people think that as being both Chris and myself as the editors of www.northwestnewwave.org.uk.

Concerned by these public claims lacking in context and that someone maybe falsely representing us, we asked for two simple things from Future Artists.

1) That Future Artists share this dossier with us, as it was in all our interests to see if anyone is indeed impersonating www.northwestnewwave.org.uk.

2) That Mark Ashmore issue a statement on Facebook, where his original public statement was made, clarifying and categorically stating that the dossier was not by Chris Lane, Colin Warhurst or www.northwestnewwave.org.uk.

The burden of proof always lies with the originator of a statement, and from our position, many of Future Artists readers were/are currently under the belief that we have been creating such dossiers.

Any professional business or persons would have acted on our concerns immediately after discovering we had nothing to do with their claim, yet Future Artists have refused to resolve or clarify the issue with any expediency.

Chris and I initially tried to conduct all of this via mail, but Mark Ashmore initially claimed he was too busy to read all our emails at that moment. We wrote back expressing our concern that time was of the essence in clearing our reputation as his statements (at that time) were still public and he had not yet corrected or clarified them. Yet Future Artists still failed to respond in proper professional time, with any urgency or even to recognise the potential damage they had done to us. We were then forced to ask them publicly, and politely, to issue a statement.

Mark eventually replied to us via email stating that he deleted the “original comment” and so thought the issue over. We explained that he made more than one insinuation against “NWNW” and that his readership would still be under the belief we were involved, until or unless he publicly cleared our name with a clarifying statement. We explained repeatedly that deleting the original comments is not the same as a public correction or retraction.

We were still waiting 8 days later, when we got this completely inadequate comment added to the end of one of our clarification requests. His comments and our request on the Future Artists page have since been deleted.

More than a full week has now passed and Mark Ashmore is still yet to clarify and clear us here at www.northwestnewwave.org.uk from his statements. He is also yet to provide proof of the dossiers existence itself, or at least that it’s owner was indeed impersonating NWNW as he claimed.

To protect our own reputation, because of the way we have been ignored and with no action taken by Future Artists to fully clarify the details of their original claim, we have been forced to attempt to clear our own names publicly with this statement, as Future Artist have utterly failed to quickly and amicably settle this situation, which was of their own making.

This statement serves three purposes.

1) To categorically state that Chris Lane, Colin Warhurst and www.northwestnewwave.org.uk have not created, compiled or commissioned any documents of any kind into the practises at Future Artists. We are filmmakers, not journalists. We are entirely innocent in this whole affair.

2) If Mark Ashmore’s claims are true, and a dossier does exist, then we are of course concerned that someone is masquerading as “us” here at www.northwestnewwave.org.uk – If a dossier does exist, we would ask that it’s creators to please act as yourselves and leave NWNW or any other film-makers out of it. Deal with Future Artists yourselves. (If the dossier exists, we would still like to see it please to find our impersonator and clarify the phrasing of the alleged NWNW ‘authorship’).

3) To express our utter disappointment with the way Future Artists MD Mark Ashmore has completely failed to conduct himself, for insinuating us in his claims, and not providing clarification for a statement he made which had the potential to cause lasting damage to our reputations.

As the aggrieved party, we felt we acted politely, diplomatically, trying (but failing) to settle this quickly and amicably out of the public eye. As time progressed, we had to attempt a prompt in the public eye to motivate Mark Ashmore to clarify his statements, which at that time are/were still out there, remaining un-corrected to the Future Artists readership.

We do wish to acknowledge that the actions and failure to act of Mark Ashmore, MD of Future Artists, does not reflect on, nor is meant to implicate, the members of the Future Artists Co-op and we wholly acknowledge they have nothing to do with situation or Mark Ashmore’s statements. We continue to wish them, and all other film-makers, the best of luck and our continued support.

We regret having to go this far just to clear our own names and to prove what Mark Ashmore has failed to do. We do feel that we have the right to defend our own reputations from allegations such as this, and it is a shame Future Artists did not clarify this themselves, which would have prevented us form having to go the trouble of crafting such a necessarily lengthy defence of ourselves and our work here at www.northwestnewwave.org.uk.

Based on his utter lack of responsibility in dealing with us, his actions, the evidence of his apathy from the past 10 days, and that at the time of writing we have been waiting over nine days and counting to have our names cleared, both Chris and I can prove something about Future Artists based on our experiences this week that does not need 4 pages in an anonymous dossier, only 5 direct words from us based on what has occurred this week.

Future Artists have acted unprofessionally.

At the time of writing, we are still waiting for a clarification to his readership.

To stop this post being entirely doom and gloom, and to help further clarify that www.northwestnewwave.org.uk is not about compiling reports into other film-makers, here is the video from our first NWNW event, the HD-DSLR film club.

Hopefully this shows a little about what we are about. Filmmaking.

Our second event will be announced soon, we hope you’ll attend and share your film-making tips and adventures with each other.

Many thanks for your understanding, Colin Warhurst (& Chris Lane as Editors, www.northwestnewwave.org.uk).

Though special thanks must go to our friends at ZB Films as we believe, typically, at a camera event they were the only ones to publish any photographs of a CAMERA meet up online!

If you have any more folks, please let us know, but with kind permission here are the only available snaps we could find of the event! (ZB Films Flickr)

Great fun was had by all. We had short films and feature film previews, trailers and test footage, animations and music videos, documentaries and even a Kino Kabaret film.

Everyone loved the huge 7-foot-odd screen we put on, and it did indeed achieve what we set out to do; show off DSLR type footage in all it’s glory. We hope everyone saw something rather special in their footage on the big screen that you don’t always get on a PC, Mac or smartphone monitor.

Movies are meant to be seen on the BIG screen, so we’re glad we could help.

But looking ahead, to our NEXT event…

You talked, we listened, and so we hope to put on another HD-DSLR film club AND some tuition classes in basic and intermediate film topics such as lighting, sound, exposure and editing.

We are in talks with venues and hopefully another GINORMOUS screen to pull this off, but we are working hard in the background to make it happen; we hope to see you there and keep our events FREE.

Until next time folks, keep your eyes peeled for announcements.

http://www.facebook.com/northwestnewwave

twitter.com/nwnewwave

@NWNewwave

Buzz Dish follows three hapless lads living in Cumbria, frustrated by the lack of opportunity they embark on a series of hairbrained schemes to make cash quick!

The Making of Buzz Dish was shot and edited by Helen Rathbone and the film itself, directed by Dave Spikey, is to premiere at the The Cofilmic Comedy Film Festival on Tuesday 1st November at Manchester’s Comedy Store.

Tickets for the screening can be purchased in advance here.

Interviews by John Robb and Jason Wingard.

GINGER
Dir/Prod/Writ, James Raynard, Prod, Megan Kavangh, 7 mins (Bury 2011)
Student film from Edge Hill University. Once upon a time a girl called Wendy was baking a batch of ginger bread men but by a strange turn of events, she baked a real boy to life.

FAR FROM HOME
Dir/Writ, Sophie Broadgate; Prod, Claire Watkinson, 10m16s (Manchester 2011)
Student film from Manchester Metropolitan University. The film follows two brothers as they try to survive whilst the world above them is destroyed.

BARE STAGE
Dir/Prod/Writ, Samantha Deas; Prod, Jamie Coles; Writ, Richard Addlesee, 9m, (Bury 2011)
Student film from Bolton University, A theatre cleaner, overlooked by everyone who meets him, shares with us his hidden talent and opens up for the first time.

KISS
Dir/Writ, Mat Johns; Prod, Kate Murphy, 11mins, (Manchester 2011)
Kiss follows Rob and Charlotte, two characters who are on different paths that cross and separate in the blink of an eye. It’s a story about not knowing, a story about having to get on with your day when no one else knows what you’ve been through.

CONTINUITY
Dir/Prod/Writ, George Makin. 19m 20s, (Manchester 2011)
A man struggling to comes to terms with his wife’s death Jacob discovers a diary written in his own hand describing memories he’s never had happening in places he’s never been. The film takes us along Jacob’s journey to discover the truth.

We have been inundated (thank you!) with responses, beyond our expectations and have unfortunately reached capacity at our venue.

Unless you have a confirmation email directly from us YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED INTO THE EVENT

We are very sorry about this, we did not expect to hit our capacity, but the BBC Club has strict rules around numbers, and we have reached that limit.

We will endeaovur to hold another club ASAP and find a bigger venue (finding a HD screen maybe tricky…) to accomodate us.

Apologies for those who found out too late or did not email in time. But to re-iterate;

IF YOU ARE NOT ON THE LIST AND HAVE RECEIVED AND HAVE RECIEVED AN EMAIL FROM US, SECURITY WILL NOT ALLOW YOU IN.

—Original post——-

Howdy everyone,

We’ve decided to roll out our first ever official North West New Wave event. What we hope will be the first of many HD-DSLR Film Club nights. It’s happening this FRIDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER.

The creative explosion that HD-DSLR cameras such as the Canon 5Dmk2, 550D and others is well known, and the evidence is all over the Internet. What isn’t as well known, is how well footage from these cameras stand up on a BIG HD screen.

So, we’ve teamed up with the BBC Club in Manchester and are aiming to use their full HD projector to showcase these cameras. Even better, this event will be FREE to attend (we just need an email with your names in advance for security purposes)

So, we would love it if you could attend as a viewer, or as a contributor. We hope to screen from Blu-Ray, Mac or the cameras themselves if needs be!

• - FREE to attend, but you MUST email in advance

• - We’ll start at 7pm, finish at 10pm

• - If you want to show content, simply bring it to the event with you

• - Please keep content under 10 mins (email us for longer requests)

• - We’re screening in HD so please provide files (USB, hard drive, DVD-Data) or playable Blu-Ray

• - Content DOESN’T have to be a finished film; it’s a DSLR club and so you could show test footage, rushes, trailers & rough cuts

• - You DON’T have to show content to attend, you just have to be interested!

We can show full films (old or new) taking in ALL the detail offered by the giant screen, a world apart from viewing your films on a computer monitor.

If you don’t have any full films ready to go, maybe you want to bring trailers or scenes from your upcoming projects, or even test footage you want to share with others, or even ask the knowledge of the rest of the attendees to help find the best settings, practises or lenses for your next shoot.

The bar will stocked, the agenda loose, and the screen full of DSLR movies. Whether you are new or old to HD-DSLR film-making, we hope to provide something for everyone.

To attend and/or submit content, please email:

info@northwestnewwave.org.uk

FRIDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER, FREE
BBC CLUB, OXFORD ROAD, MANCHESTER, M60 7HB

!!! Remember, we MUST have your names in advance, or we cannot admit you on the night !!!

Desperate Measures is Chris’s first feature film as both Writer & Producer. It is directed by Steve Looker and stars Salford-born Stephen Lord and tough guy actor Ricci Harnett, as well and Max Beasley Snr.

Ricci Harnett and Stephen Lord in Desperate Measures.

Congratulations on having made your first feature film, excited?

It comes in waves, some days I’m sick of the sight of the film, and other days I get proper giddy about seeing it on the shelves in my local supermarket. But yeah, when the DVD’s were delivered to the office last week, I did get a bit excited.

What is the film about and what was your inspiration behind the film?

It’s a kidnap story, inspired by a newspaper item I saw about a mother who handcuffed her heroin addicted daughter to a radiator in her bedroom while she went cold turkey in a last ditch attempt to get the girl off drugs.

You made three short films before Desperate Measures. Do you think it’s important to learn your craft on such projects before embarking on a feature film? What were the benefits of making these short films?

I do think its important, especially for the producing side of things as pulling together cast and crew for a short is difficult and it gives you some idea of what that task will be when you’re looking to make a feature that requites ten times as many people, more locations, accommodation etc.. That said though, I dived into Desperate Measures without really understanding the magnitude of the task that I was undertaking, which is probably a good thing really as my bottle would have gone and I would have backed out.

The film was made in association with Lion Eyes TV and in the past you have written for BBC3, SKY1 and CH4. Do you approach the writing process any differently when writing for film rather than television?

I feel I am able to express myself far more when writing for film and I think this is why I’m only concentrating on features at the moment. TV is far more prescriptive and the formats are a lot more rigid. I tend to visualise the scenes in a cinematic way, and so I enjoy the process of writing those scenes more than I would for say Coronation Street. You are able to let your imagination run away with you when writing for film, budget permitting of course!

Desperate Measures features some great actors. What do you admire about their acting and how did you approach them to be in your film?

I knew Stephen Lord through a mutual friend as I’m a Salford boy and so is he and we wanted the lead character to be from Salford so it seemed a nice fit. When we approached him I didn’t realise exactly how good Stephen was until I saw him on that first day of filming. He’s a great TV actor, but for me I believe his greatest successes will come in film. He is brilliant as Ross in our film. I met Ricci Harnett at a screening of a short film in Soho and as I was already a fan having seen him in Rise of the Footsoldier I approached him and said I would like to write a part for him and he said he would read it. I didn’t think he would come on board, and I remember myself and Steve Looker being really excited when he rang me and said he wanted to play the part of Jack. Max Beesley Snr was recommended to me by a producer friend of mine and although there was a bit of early confusion as Max thought the script I sent was for his son Max Jnr the Mad Dogs actor, we got there eventually and he is great as George, just great.

Salford-born Stephen Lord.

The film was shot on the RED Camera. What were the advantages and disadvantages of shooting on such a format?

I’m not an expert on cameras’ but I knew that shooting on Red would be a lot cheaper than shooting on 35mm! I took advice from our director Steve Looker on this as he was very confident that we could get a lovely looking film shooting on this format. So we advertised on Shooting People and the very talented David Read came on board as our Director of Photography.

What was the total budget for the film and how did you ensure that you stuck to it, do you have any top money saving tips?

The budget started at £25,000 but I quickly realised that this wasn’t going to be enough; in fact it was a bit naïve of me to think that we could make the film for this amount. It eventually ended up at just over £40,000 which is still ridiculously low. We saved money basically by asking a lot of our crew to work for nothing which they did in return for the chance to work on their first feature. This was fantastic bonus to the film and everyone who worked on it was amazing.

Desperate Measure is your first feature film but certainly not your last. What else do you have in the pipeline?

It’s probably my first & last film as a producer, as although I managed to do it, I don’t think its one of my strengths, or perhaps that should be I don’t think I enjoy it as much as writing. I’m hoping to direct my next script ‘Justified’ which is a dark vigilante story about a man who targets and castrates paedophiles. I like to think its Harry Brown meets Leon in scope. I’m currently looking for a producer who can bring in funds to enable me to do this and I’ve already got a great young actor on board to play the lead. I also have another couple of features in development purely as a screenwriter, one is a road movie on Mod scooters and the other is a comedy caper about two guys who impersonate police officers.

The film is being distributed by Scanbox Entertainment. Have you ever thought about distributing your films online, or would you consider doing so at some point in the future?

I think it will happen more in the future, and although I might not be producing films I will be open to having my work online, most definitely.

Where do you hope to see yourself in ten years?

Blue skies? I’d like to still be working in the industry, hopefully as a writer & director on big budget features.

How would you describe the film “scene” where you live, and what advice do you have for anyone interested in pursuing a film career in the North West?

Obviously with the BBC boys & girls moving up to Salford, I think the scene is developing and will be quite exciting. Already, the scene is quite vibrant and everybody seems to know anybody else, which is an advantage as there is a rich source of film making talent and some great actors in the Manchester area. As far as pursuing a career in the North West goes, I don’t think there has been a better time to do it and the kids in our schools should be encouraged to aim for a career in TV or film if it’s something they aspire to do.

Desperate Measures is released today on DVD and available to purchase online at Amazon, HMV, Play.com and at ASDA.

Kinofilm is currently fundraising for the next European Short Film Festival in Manchester and have launched a campaign to raise funds on IndieGoGo.

You can help Kinofilm continue by donating here.

Since 1995, Kinofilm has delivered festivals and events in Manchester, supporting over 3000 filmmakers, screening short films from over 20,000 international submissions.

The festival has provided a platform to emerging filmmakers, many of which have gone on to become some of the UK’s top independent filmmakers, including; Neil Marshall (The Descent, Dog Soldiers), Damien O’Donnell (Inside I’m Dancing, East is East) and Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar).

The film, which is set in Preston, will be shot on location between 12th and 31st July 2011, and Dawood is inviting people who will be available during this time to audition for supporting roles in two key scenes of the film.

Casting for these roles will take place from 12pm – 6pm on Friday 1st July in the Guild Hall shopping arcade. To apply for a role, drop in during these times, or e-mail info@incertainplaces.org for more information.

The roles are unpaid, but offer an exciting and unique opportunity to be involved in the first feature film set in Preston! The film will be shown internationally and at a special public screening as part of the Preston Guild celebrations in 2012.

In Certain Places is a joint initiative between the Harris Museum & Art Gallery and the University of Central Lancashire, which explores the role of art within the city. For more information, please visit www.incertainplaces.org

Basically, the idea for a resource like this website has been mooted for well over a year now, and this weekend Chris Lane and I began the hard work needed to get the thing up and running. However, the design of the blog is only as small part, as a blog needs content to survive and thrive. As such, there are only four (old) posts from my old blog that are editorially good to go on this website.

In essence, if you are reading this now, thanks, but you are a bit early to the party! The rest of the guests arrive shortly and the music will get louder as the night goes on.

But for now, please enjoy what we have got uploaded, and let us know what sort of things YOU want from this website. We have tutorials, interviews, news, blank forms such as contracts, timetables, call sheets and more all on the way. If we forget anything, you want to help write content for the site, or have a news story you want to promote then it is easy, simply send us an email – tips@northwestnewwave.org.uk

We do all this in our spare time (who doesn't in independent film?) and so it's taking a while, but we have made a strong positive start. Let's see what we can do…

Synopsis:
The film follows two friends drinking a pint as they are interrupted by a group of highly trained ex-military mercenaries.

Genre:
Action

Director:
Chris Cronin

Cast:
Michael Collin
Danny Stewart
Lawrence Larkin
George McCluskey

Writer:
Paul Thomas

Links:
Facebook

Synopsis:
Halloween in Paradise Heights.
A little girl sits by her bedroom window, scared by ‘the man’ outside as Jack a loving family man, begins his nightly lonely vigil, protecting his family…
Marek, a night shift driver for Lucky Cabs, begins a shift he will never forget…
Loan shark Frank Morgan roams the streets, still trying to forget a night from his past…
And one house on Athlone Avenue holds secrets that will haunt all of them.

Genre:
Drama

Director:
Joe O’Byrne

Cast:
Ian Curley
Joe O’Byrne
David Edward-Robertson
Stephen John Myott
Hannah Green
Sarah Meadows

Writer:
Joe O’Byrne

Links:
Facebook
Twitter

Usual disclaimer stuff, this isn’t meant as a definitive guide, but rather a list of sensible things to do with regards to filming with weapons in a public area; including toys, fakes or props from a qualified weapons master. It doesn’t matter on the type of gun if any member of the public can potentially be scared by a replica of any type.

1 – Inform police and only proceed with their permission. Doesn’t matter on the size of your crew, film or shoot at all. Even the lowest lo-fi film or student short should ALWAYS notify Police of where they will be and what they will be doing.

2 – Put signs up! If in a busy area, try to find ways to notify passers by that what is going on is a film, and there is no reason to panic. Assuming you followed step one, you could mention that the Police have been informed and consent given etc; but don’t lie!

3 – Consider taking a large(r) crew and have all non actors wearing high vis jackets. The public are less inclined to think the guns are real if they see plenty of you in high vis gear, which will also draw attention to cameras and identify the proceedings as a film shoot.

4 – Do ALL gun sfx afterwards (no gunshots!)

5 – Have the gun visible or in use as little as possible. Do you need to have your lead actor running around with it in the air at all times, or only draw it out for a close up?

6 – Notify local businesses or residents For example, a leaflet through the door a few days early, with an email or phone number for them to call with concerns. Consider the “neighbours” or owners of the area, you are on their patch or a piece of public shared land; respect that at all times and if needs be… find another location.

7 – If possible hang a curtain behind the camera/across the scene. Use extra crew or poles and rigs. If you can hide the action, but still make it clear that a film is going on, you maybe left alone a little more.

8 – Get as much permission as possible. If you can’t… move on.

9 – Consider quieter areas such as industrial estates or Car parks. Consider less busy filming times. You still need police and local permissions for these places, but you may be more likely to get those permissions by creating the scene out of the way of the general public as much as possible.

10 – Be sensible. It only takes one badly run Film, or one idiot Director or Actor to ruin the reputation of the hundred’s of Creatives out there who want to get it right. Yes, indie low budget film maybe tough, and you may not have access to professional gear or resources (i.e. shutting down a street) but ACTING PROFESSIONAL COSTS NOTHING. Make sure you do. If something doesn’t ring right, you make the call, call it a day and re-schedule.

Have fun, be safe and if you have any more ideas, let me know and I can add them to this informal list. Hope this has been of use. Col

Original Post

“These are not glorious times for the British Film Industry. That was the narrowly reached verdict of a debate chaired by Stewart Till at London’s Goldsmith College on 3 February.

During the debate Screen International reported that Paul Trijbits, who for several years was Head of the UKFC’s New Cinema Fund, cited a recent study by Oxford Economics which found that the total value of film to the UK economy was £4.5bn, but of that, independent British films only represent 1.3%.

…independent British films only represent 1.3% [of the total UK Film Economy of £4.5 Billion]…

There you have it. That’s just how bad things are for UK independent film-makers: 1.3%. That’s just how much of an American cultural colony we are. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if even French films have a bigger share than we do.

Oh yes – in France 10% of the turnover of every single broadcaster has to be spent on French film production and film acquisition.”

http://jw48.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/independent-british-film-perhaps-the-most-shocking-statistic-of-all/