Get Your People

Donkeys trailer

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:14:08 +0000

Here is the trailer for the lauded and much anticipated Donkeys:

"Be aware you may be missing something of a minor classic"
The Herald

Donkeys will be on release in Scotland from 8th October. The first showings will be at GFT in Glasgow and it will then tour around the country. Stay tuned for more news. In the meatime, here's a little something to whet your appetite:

3D Beginner

Mon, 31 May 2010 14:51:56 +0000

I am a beginner when it comes to 3D, but I am interested and I like to teach myself about things. 3D is next on my list of things to explore.

I watched some of Avatar. Yawn, yawn, yawn, I hear you say, but, I only got to watch half of it because the projector broke down, the vivid colours made the animation look like Disney on acid, the trite metaphor for our planet abuse was dull and unsophisticated and blah blah blah. Despite it's faults - which would have killed any other film stone dead - it was the cinematic event of the decade and brought with it a kind of wonderment that I have not experienced since I first watched Bond movies as a kid, or Raiders of the Lost Ark or Superman. It was thrilling.

There are plenty of naysayers decrying the technological advances in 3D. Their misplaced snobbery aimed squarely at gimmickery and the studios ability to extract more money from the audience for a substandard experience. Now this may well be true of films not originated in 3D, but I have not seen any of those (e.g. Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans). But even Ice Age 3D - again, not my typical cinematic fare but I have a 5 year old - was amazing to my inexperienced eyes. It staggers me that I haven't heard even one of the detractors acknowledge the notion that this must be an exceptionally exciting development for filmmakers. That there could be another tool, or toy, in the box for the inventive, imaginative minds of the people responsible for making our entertainment to get their hands on.

The denigrators definitely have a point on some issues, but the lack of any consideration on their part for the interest of the people making films to me seems quite odd. It seems to go unnoticed that, in it's most recent incarnation, this technology is still in it's comparative infancy and requires a good deal more filmmakers to experiment and explore the potential of this likely invigoration of the old medium.

I am very keen to see a film with the elements of cinema that I traditionally enjoy but shot in 3D. I'd love to see what effect it can have on more atmospheric scenes and how it can be manipulated to make the stories more powerful, more affecting, more compelling. These are not qualities that I associate with watching Avatar which felt far more like the story was built for the medium rather than the other way round.

Probably the best way to do this is to just get on with it and do it myself; so that's what I'm going to do. I am going to shoot my next short film in 3D. Is it a gimmick? Well I guess in some way it is. Does it have the potential to enhance our stories? I'd like to at least try it out and see if it can be used for something other than action sequences.

Check out this badboy from Ikonskop. I've read some of the stuff they've published and it seems like a very interesting camera, if for no other reason than it's size.

It's only taken about 3 years!

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:47:17 +0000

Sometimes it is just unbelievable the joy one can get from overcoming a problem. I have been trying to get rid of the fucking cockerel on the homepage for this site for what feels like an eternity and today marks the glorious death of that utterly pointless image. Admittedly I have replaced it with something that feels a bit on the corporate side, but, at least people will now know where they are when they arrive at the site.

I almost feel like posting the cockerel here just to mark his departure, but I'm not going to, because I never want to see that bloody thing again.

Le coc symbolised everything that made me stop writing on this site. Trying to create the simplest thing was such an up hill struggle that it sapped all enthusiasm I had for the medium of blogging from my very core. I have since found a new platform to talk about my work however, you can visit by clicking the tattoo below or you can keep up with the fortunes of my new film via any of the other various gossip systems I use.

Enjoy!

I Love Luci

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:58:07 +0000

Things have stepped up a gear with the short film project I Love Luci.

The first major chunk of funding is secured so it's all hands on deck and moving forward to secure the rest of the finance.

This means that we are starting to cast and trying to firm up shoot dates and all the rest of the logistics that go with making a film.

Exciting times indeed.

To follow the progress of the filmmakers and their exploits go to the blog dedicated to the making of a short film.

EIFF

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:42:35 +0000

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (what a mouthful) is fast upon us. Even faster than usual this year as it's moved from August to June.

I have been going every year for about the last 7 years now so I will no doubt be heading over there for a 'wee peek' again this year. Of main interest to me at nearly all the festivals I've been to have been the shorts.

Having decided to embark on making a big short, if you can have such a thing, I am trying to watch as many of other peoples as I can.

That's largely what I'll be writing about from the festival this year. And hopefully I'll be writing a lot more than I did last year (pretty much totally preoccupied with all things party thanks to Hallam Foe and the general non-stop celebrating that accompanied it.)

The next post will have an idea of some stuff to look out for.

Mister Foe (aka Hallam Foe)

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:38:02 +0000

Mister (Hallam) Foe

Hallam Foe has emigrated to the States and is due for release in May.

This site is home to the film's blog - painstakingly, lovingly and loyally updated every day during the films production and intermittently while the film did the global festival circuit (notably Berlin, Cannes, Motovun and Edinburgh) garnering it's awards and plaudits.

Click the link to delve into the history of Mister Foe.

If you're new to the Hallam Foe Blog I suggest you start here, with a little 'top ten' of the stuff that happened to the filmmakers whilst out and about.

Goodbye Rooster

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:28:01 +0000

Finally I have managed to get rid of that bloody chicken. It's taken a while but we now have a rare still of Jamie Bell in Hallam Foe on the main page. I don't think this one has been released into the public domain before (correct me if I'm wrong) and it's a great shot. Also, it seems fitting to have something from Hallam to start off.

GYP Blogs

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:44:11 +0000

So we have our first blogs up and running: Sigma Films and I Love Luci.

We think we're off to a pretty good start, comments are coming in from the old faithfuls and the stats have big numbers in the columns - not totally sure what they mean but people in the know say it's good. So that's good. Apparently.