So, March has been and gone with many nights I found myself working away on a variety of projects. Planning short films, editing corporate videos and meeting awesome people. It was great to see people at Kino Manchester on 14th March and hearing some success stories. Also, would like to add that the quality of films now being produced in the Manchester area is quickly progressing on to the next level. Unsure whether this is down to the cameras or the people but really good to see and very motivating for myself.  

As the Summer slowly creeps up towards us, it is time to start putting ‘Sophie’s Fortune’ back into motion. We unfortunately ran out of time last year with the weather and people’s availability but we’re ready to finish off this substantial ‘Summer Blockbuster’ of a film. This week we will be filming small scenes in the run up of the more meaty, action-packed elements which requires fully formed green leaves.

 We are proud to announce that ‘Ante’ will be part of the official selection of the ‘Manchester Film Festival’. It will be screened at the Zion Centre on Sunday 15th April 2012 between 10am and 2pm. If you fancy grabbing a drink and having a chat with myself, Chris or our crew please drop by. ‘Ante’ was also submitted to the Youtube festival called ‘Your Festival’ which is in partnership with Sir Ridley Scott. Submissions closed a few days ago unfortunately and only just scraped it ourselves.

As you will probably be well aware of already, our film ‘Hail of Bullets’ is currently up for the People’s Choice award in the ‘180 Microcinema Festival’. This is an online film festival where people can vote for their favourite short films. We would really appreciate any support that you can give this film through voting, sharing the link, asking people or what ever you can do. There is a nice prize that would really improve our next film that we make.

You can vote by clicking on this link and following the instructions below:

180 Microcinema – http://180cinema.net/2012/films/hail-of-bullets/

• Click the link
• Register via Facebook
• VOTE for Hail of Bullets

And finally, the behind the scenes video for the ‘Darktown Jubilee’ music video ‘Breakdown’ has been released online. The filmmaker who filmed and edited this together is Ben Mottershead, a talented guy who did a fantastic job. He is someone to look out for in the future. The link to the Music video & the behind the scenes can be seen below:

Music Video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPWt0MIIlYw

Behind the scenes – http://vimeo.com/39527717

Thanks for reading!

Phil

We finished filming the ‘Darktown Jubilee’ music video in January and it has now been fully edited. I am very impressed with everyone on set and what was achieved by the talented people involved. It was a real difficult production and post-production to complete the realistic, ‘defying-gravity’ shots that we wanted but through the skills of Jack Grundy and the post-production help, it became a reality. If you want, check out his website at: http://www.jack-grundy.com He is a great lad and a good special effects editor.

Our film ‘Hail of Bullets’ is now in the competition called ‘180 Microcinema Festival’ and is up for voting. Yes, another film that we would love for you to vote for. If you are interested in watching the film itself then please click this LINK which will take you to the ‘180’ website. If you enjoyed it then please take this small amount of time to register through Facebook, sign in and click ‘vote for film’. This could be a life changing opportunity for ourselves as filmmakers and the crew that we work with so would really appreciate any support that comes our way.

> > > HAIL OF BULLETS – 180  < < < 

We are now heavy into pre-production for ‘Sophie’s Fortune’ and we plan to create some ‘epic’ scenes of awesome action but everything is under wraps until the film comes out in the hopeful release date of July. I truly do love working with the visionary director Chris Cronin and the hard-working, problem-solving assistant director Kyle Breary. It’s a good triangle that for some reason is working really well currently and long may it continue.

Phil Meachem

So, I have bitten the bullet and I’m now a full-time freelancer. This was a scary decision but all the signs pointed towards filmmaking-with my part-time employment getting in the way, some paid work is lined up working with some really talented people. With this, I throw myself into the deep end and so far I’m swimming. There will be difficulties, of course, but I have the determination to hopefully keep myself floating.  

January was a busy month with managing to help produce a music video for Jason Wingard and Gino Evans for the band “Darktown Jubilee”. This was a great project to be involved with, as we had to create a dystopian world of violence and rage with a fantasy twist to it. The video stars Steve Evets as we see him viewing the world’s destructive path that it is creating for itself. He stands his ground in between an angry mob and the police as he performs a moment of magic that would silence the crowds.

I also managed to work with Jason on his BBC project called “The Sweet Stall” which was  a comedy TV show. My position on this one had a little less responsibilities from the music video but never the less was an enjoyable experience and met some great people through that. We filmed in a Manchester shopping centre and I felt like I was living there by the end of the 2-day shoot with the hours that we were filming. Jason did another great job directing with a sharp focus with his experience as a comedy director really shining through.

“Sophie’s Fortune” is a short film, in the style of a Summer Blockbuster, that we started to film last year before the weather set in, and the leaves fell off the trees. This film needed sunny days and green-leaved trees to portray the story that we wanted but eventually the rain started to come down and we really fought against it throughout the last days of filming. We had to abandon it until this year but now with the Summer not that far away  we can get back to planning. We want to make this film and make it well, so we will be having a few more days of production to make sure we do.

Our latest film, “What Stares Back’, was part of a film competition called “2.8 Days later” where you have to write, record and edit the entire film in just three days. This itself was a hard challenge that we really embraced and was a real pleasure seeing our crew stick with us through the sleepless nights. The competition is now over and we did not win but we did achieve a very respectable second place in the public voting, which is great! We really could not have done it without these people: Sam Cronin, Andrew Layfield, James Rackham, Joel Catchatoor, Greg kelly, Mick Bahler, Cheryl Hughes, Anna Bailey, Cameron Prudames, Louise Fairclough, Jon Hartley and Vivien Powell. You guys are awesome and you should be proud of yourselves, here is to 2012 and how great YOU will make it.

     10 Source Code

“An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.”

This is a sci fi/action film that really took me by surprise. I walked into the cinema without knowing anything about this film and as soon as the film started, I was transfixed with the story, concept and set design. The twists that happens I could not figure out, maybe due to me being slow that day, but I remember being impressed at how they added another element to the story with just a single line of dialogue of shot. If you want to watch something similar to “Ground Hog Day”  with a great action kick, try and watch this film.

     9 Monsters

“Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.”

The story to “Monsters” is nothing original apart from using the concept of, “What if alien creatures came from no where and became permanent residents on earth after a few years”. What really had be hooked was the blend of character development and special effects. I heard that it was an independent film made on next-to-nothing and after watching it on Blu-Ray, the quality really shined through. It also made my top ten as I watched it with a filmmaker friend of mine and it really gave hope to us little people. We do understand that this only happens once in every thousandth independent film but was still good to see.

     8 Life in a Day of

“A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.”

This film is a documentary that filled me with wonder and amazement at how diverse humanity can be. Made by the people of the world through the medium of Youtube and home videos. You get to see lives in Japan, the culture of Africa, the events in Italy and what people do in Peru. It truly is a look at people’s culture and what humanity is capable of.

     7 Midnight in Paris

“A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.”

This is the second film in the top 10 that I went to watch in the cinema without knowing anything about it. It was an adventure through time where a depressingly unadventurous guy who is born at the wrong time manages to meet the great artists of the early 19th century. It is a film about personal discovery and the arrogant characters around him that force him to find escapism.

     6 Fright Night

“A teenager suspects that his new neighbor is a vampire.”

I remember not having any interest in this film and waving away my friend’s obsession with it. He raved about it and was overly giddy when we went to the cinemas to watch it. I had not watched any of the trailers or heard anything about it. It was just another remake for me but after watching the first 30 minutes I was hooked. Colin Farrell played such a compelling vampire called “Gerry” that goes after this next door neighbor once he finds out that he isn’t human. The film itself was well crafted, had great tension moments through some interesting vampire elements that I have never seen before in film. I loved seeing David Tennant breaking into Hollywood by playing a crazy, off the wall Las Vegas showman who is a collector of religious artifacts. This films is worth watching just for him in my eyes. It was a good popcorn film and worth watching if you get a chance.

     5 Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

“Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker.”

The original “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Niels Arden Oplev was a stunning film and when I heard that Hollywood decided to remake it for the dimwitted audience who can’t read whilst watching a film, I was outraged. I wanted to hate the film and avoid it like the plague. Then I heard David Fincher was announced as director and my attention slowly turned to it.

I was still not convinced until I watched the teaser trailer and the rumours of Fincher telling Hollywood to “fuck off”. I heard down the grape vine that the producers told him that he needed to tone down the rape scene and to cut down the length of the almost 3 hours long film. What I heard was Fincher told him he will make it the way HE wants and they have to live with it.

After watching the remake, I loved it. So many elements I enjoyed but mainly the visuals by Jeff Cronenweth and musical score by Trent Reznor. Just like the original, I loved the character Lisbeth Salander and how she rejects social behaviour, gets kicked down hard but always fights back with twice as much ferocity. Truly the “feel bad film of Christmas”.

     4 Biutiful

“This is the story of Uxbal, a man living in this world, but able to see his death, which guides his every move.”

This film I loved solely down to Javier Bardem’s performance. He creates a genuine, honest and complex character that intrigues you into following his story. It reminds me of films such as “The Sixth Sense” and “Babel” in it’s approach but I loved the subtle ways it includes the ghosts that haunt his character. They are very much in the background and almost missable which gives it that much more interest feel as they are always in the corner of your eye as they are to the main character. By far one of the best Spanish films I have ever watched.

     3 Beginners

“A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer, and that he has a young male lover.”

“Beginners” managed to creep into my top three due to it’s complex relationships between characters, unique story telling techniques and visuals. I personally enjoyed Ewan McGregor’s character’s journey, the boy meets girl approach to the film and Christopher Plummer’s outstanding performance as a gay father.  The relationship between Ewan and his pet dog is also something that stood out for me and makes me smile just thinking about it. It captures the way we all speak to our own pets perfectly. If you want a film that will make you smile and gives you a feel-good factor, this if the film for you.

     2 Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy

“In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6′s echelons.”

Now, I usually get obsessed with one film at a time where I look into it, study the trailers and try to find out the inside story before it comes out. “Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy” was one of these after I watched the teaser. It looked so well shot with an incredible British cast. It looked to be a British heavy weight and it did not disappoint. What I loved about it was the minimalism it portrays throughout the entire film with Gary Oldman’s character, Smiley, barely speaking a full sentence for the duration. You end up studying his character and his habits as he investigates his co-workers in an absorbing storyline that gets you thinking ‘who done it’. With a cast like Mark Strong, John Hurt, Gary Oldman, Toby Jones, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy, you shouldn’t miss this!

1 Adventures of Tintin

“Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock’s ancestor. But someone else is in search of the ship.”

So, I could be a little biased over this film as I am a huge fan of the Herge character from being a small boy. I remember waking up at 7am every morning, turning on the TV whilst eating my cornflakes and being amazed by the Tinitin cartoon and all the adventures he got himself into. As I grew up I forgot about him until I sat down in the cinemas and the opening sequence started. I was enthralled and amazed all the way through the film remembering characters, moments and the feelings I had back when I was younger.

The film has one of the best action sequences I have ever seen and the animation was so good I had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t live action. My only problem is that the “one shot action sequence” is so good that the ending is just a little disappointing compared. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson have truly made an amazing film and I am hoping that they make the trilogy that they have promised. This film is a typical Spielberg film that will entertain you in every way possible. I can say now that I will be buying this on Blu-Ray.

OVERWHELMED

This was my own first professional film since leaving university as a director/producer and was developed and filmed over one weekend through an inspired collaboration with my friend, Jordan Dawes. The film stars Joe O’Byrne who delivers a stunning performance of emotional subtleties. It was a real pleasure to work with someone as talented and dedicated as him. Between this film and Ante was the development of our core team that we have worked with throughout the rest of 2011.

ANTE

Ante is a stylish thriller directed by Chris Cronin who really did create something special and visually unique. This film was something that I was not involved with from the start as I came on board a few days before filming. I helped out where I could on set before helping to promote the film itself after post-production. This was the first step towards working as a producer for Chris Cronin and the rest of his films in 2011.

HAIL OF BULLETS

This short film derives from a one day tester as we where developing an action feature film  which has been put on hold due to funding. For myself, this was the first test of being solely a producer and working with Chris Cronin as a partnership. It was a great test for everyone involved as it was an intense action scene with stunts, difficult set ups and shots with less than a minimal crew. We only consisted of three people for all camera, lighting and technical set ups for this film. We had Andrew Layfield and James Rackham on the sound as well as Anna Bailey doing make up. This was the set where we learnt how to work with each other and what to alter on for the following films.

SOPHIE’S FORTUNE

When Chris approached me with the impossible task of making an “Indiana Jones” style film which must be a Summer blockbuster style film, shot in rainy England and have as many bullets and explosions as possible, I only had one answer for it. “Hell yes” and “The script is outrageous… We have try and make this”. Both of us looked into some interesting locations that had an ‘epic’ and derelict feel to it. After a few nights of google searches we found a good list of locations and went about investigating to find the right people to talk to. With a polite manner, honest approach and confident tone we managed to obtain a lot of great locations rather quickly.

Then it came to casting, Chris managed to find a good selection of talented actors who where more than excited to be involved with a film of this kind. Also, it made us expand our crew into areas that we have never worked with before such as CGI, prop makers and armourers. It was a great experience and something which hopefully will be of great interest once completed.

WHAT STARES BACK

After suggesting to Chris that he should network more in Leeds, he entered himself into a 3 day film competition called “2.8 Days later”. This competition was put on by Left Eye Blind, Hebe Media and Trinity Leeds. It was a great opportunity to meet some interesting and creative people who are acknowledged within the film industry. The competition ended up being a great bonding experience for us and our crew as we had to really knuckle down and complete an entire film in such a short time scale. (That’s write, film and edit a full film). Everyone did an exceptional job  in pulling this film off but I just wanted to say a special thanks to Paul Thomas for creating a script as good as it was in under 5 hours, Joel Catchatoor for being able to produce another stunning musical score, Mick Bahler for jumping on board with the CGI and the sound guys for sticking with us through another tight deadline. We were all sleep deprived and exhausted by the end of it but I loved seeing the commitment people put into actually get it completed on time. It was a pleasure working with people who are willing to do the same as you.

So, that was our 2011 and we already have plans to make 2012 a highly productive and successful year for ourselves. We hope that it is a great year for all and that we can all help to bring back the British film industry which, in my opinion, is slowly fading away. I also want to thank everyone who has worked with us so far and to let you know that you are invaluable to us. Without you, we would not be able to make the films we want to.

As a new director, I really wanted to throw myself into a rehearsal/script breakdown with some motivated actors to really explore the script. I wanted to listen to the actors ideas and problems that they might have had with the story, characters or actions. We managed to get some very interesting actors involved and it was a real pleasure to work with them.

We explored the story’s depths and connections of it’s emotions with some nice thoughts shining through. We broke the character’s down and really studied why these people are the way they are. It was great to see Max, Victoria and Derek chat about their opinions.

We then went into blocking the first scene and working out it’s beats to find the physical life of the story. All actors took direction well and added their own little touches to the character which allowed them to be humanised. It was a great process to see as we explored the story even further by adding layers of emotion.

I understand that in rehearsals you should never try to find a ‘finished result’ but really wanted to test these actors and see how they absorbed my guidance. We finished off by allowing them to improvise the scene now knowing that they have to get from point A to point B. This was a pleasurable practice to see with the actors really having to work with each other, not fully knowing what they will say or do.

The actors that collaborated on this workshop were:

Max Calandrew

I have recently graduated from Manchester School of Theatre and I’m looking to work within the world of TV, Film and Theatre. I pride myself on working hard for the opportunities I get as well as putting a huge amount of work into each character I play. If you wish to see material of me performing please click the link below. The material is scenes from a filmed version of a production of Stags and Hens that was performed at my Drama School. Please note that the Liverpool accent is a character trait and is not my native accent.

http://vimeo.com/28463341

Victoria Connett

I studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York City. I have done roles in Coronation Street, The Royal, Doctors, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, along with others. Will be on ITV’s Christmas film ‘Just Henry’ this Sunday.

IMDb link http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0175234/ 

Follow Victoria on Twitter #victoriaconnett

Derek Lawson

Derek started his career in London in the early ‘80s and appeared in several plays there such as Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen), Major Barbara (George Bernard Shaw) and Amadeus (Peter Shaffer). He made his London debut as a Director with Educating Rita (Willy Russell) and followed that up with Middle Aged Spread (Roger Hall).

During his absence from the theatre, Derek has appeared in many film and television roles. Most recently he has been viewed at the Cannes Film Festival in the short film, Dark Solitude. He has also played parts in the cinema versions of Ghosts, Sherlock Holmes, and Across The Universe.

http://www.castingcallpro.com/uk/view.php?uid=46944

So, our latest short film is now online for you all to see…

We entered a film competition where you have to make a film in 3 days and we did it, even if we ran out of time. The film is called ‘What Stares Back’ and is a supernatural suspense horror that follows a thief taking the opportunity of robbing an empty house. What he doesn’t know is that he is being watched by something that isn’t at all human.

You can see the film through this LINK here and we’d really appreciate your support by clicking LIKE on the film. It goes towards the audience award put together by Trinity Leeds and 2.8 Days Later. The film itself is unfinished but we now have the finished piece which will be screened tonight at Kino Shorts 20. If you are interested it seeing this film or meeting the people that made it, get down and enjoy the event

Phil Meachem

We decided to get involved with 2.8 Days Later where you make a film within 3 days to really test ourselves on a high pressure shoot. The competition was set up by Left Eye Blind, Trinity Leeds and Leeds City Council with around 150 filmmakers getting involved. People that got involved included independent filmmakers, graduates from film schools and amateurs, a real mix of people. I love the idea of these competition’s and have always wanted to get involved as it just looks so much fun. Everyone involved at Left Eye Blind all seemed to be really helpful and friendly towards the people who participated. They even set themselves up as mentors to help give advice and guidance where needed, it was really good to see.

The theme for this 2.8 Days Later was REFLECTIONS and was given to us on Friday morning as the weekend of filmmaking began. As soon as we were told, myself and Chris Cronin got on with developing the film. Chris instantly rang the scriptwriter Paul Thomas and told him the idea as I went about trying to find a location. We searched through Leeds trying to find the right location ringing random companies, hotels and business buildings with some successful possibilities and a lot of rejections. After a few hours of looking we found a location which over looked the Trinity Leeds in construction but the room itself was unfortunately not what we wanted. This drove us to a back up idea/plan which we ended up using a house and public streets. (not exactly an impressive location but allowed us to combine location and base unit together).

We had to film on the first night of the competition due to the equipment we managed to get our hands on which was only available for that night and that night alone. It really was a high pressure film shoot where we delved into it with nothing fully planned. It was a scary situation but that is what the competition is all about, it see if you CAN create something worth watching in just 3 days. For us it did get to the point of confirming cast whilst we were driving to the location itself, it is something I wouldn’t like to recommend to people as we had our hearts in our mouths. We had everything confirmed by the time we got to the location and received the script via email from paul. We then had a good look over it and off we went to plan it all. The cast came and had all the crew prepped ready to start filming.

The filming went very well and had the majority of the footage but finished at around 7am due to tiredness and having to let our crew get some rest. We went back to Chris’ to start editing and planning for a second nights filming. (We found out once we had finished the first night that there would be a possibility of filming for the second). For the second night we had to confirm a few more cast and try to storyboard/list exactly what we needed to film. The second night came around and we got on with it. This lasted around 6 hours compared to the previous nights filming of 11. I have to take my hat off to Sam Cronin who worked on two film sets that weekend with literally no sleep at all. I have the up most  respect for him to be able to pull off something like that and still get some good shots.

When it came to the editing for this film, we had a very enjoyable yet energy sapping job ahead of us. We simultaneously had to co-ordinate the sound design, music composer and VFX whilst trying to edit the visuals to get the film completed before the deadline of Monday morning 10am. The team worked really hard to get this done and loved to see the dedicated that shined through. We all stayed up through Sunday night to try and get the film finished. Inevitably though we simply just ran out of time and have to export without even looking at the full film to hand in before the deadline. The export was awful to watch, as the time ticked away we saw the export percentage slowly climb. As soon as it have finished it’s export we all jumped in the car and drove like there was no tomorrow to get it in before the 10am deadline. Traffic held us up and we just did not know if we would make it. We got to the Left Eye Blind offices and ran up to stairs to hand in our film with just 6 minutes to spare!

This film and the competition itself was a great experience but with ourselves handing in an unfinished film it truly goes to show that organisation and quick decisions are utmost key to having a finished, high quality film on your hands. I would just like to thank everyone who helped us with our film, our mentor Adam Lyons and Left Eye Blind & Trinity Leeds for putting on this competition. We are excited to see what everyone else has been able to produce and hope to meet people at the screening.

Phil Meachem

Duration: 25 Minutes

Year: 2012

Genre: Action/Adventure

Description:

Brendan gets involved in a ‘Fathers only’ treasure hunt for the sake of his 9 year old niece Sophie. But what Brendan begins to realise is that the parents imagination may have gotten the better of them and it might not be so easy bringing home Sophie’s Fortune.

Directors Notes:

Coming Soon

“Sophie’s Fortune” is an action/adventure film that follows Brendan who gets involved in a ‘Fathers only’ treasure hunt for the sake of his 9 year old niece Sophie. But what Brendan begins to realise is that the parents imagination may have gotten the better of them by taking the treasure hunt far too seriously. The film stars Simon Hardwick, George McCluskey (Front Man), Steve McTigue (Dragon Crusaders), Cameron Prudames, Adam Baroni (Making Gods Bleed), Christopher Faith, David-Edward Robertson (Shameless), Greg Walsh, Russel Baines, Noel Ross, Victoria Delaney and Verity Rushworth (Sound of Music). The film itself is in post-production and should be completed early next year as there are a lot of heavy CGI shots which take time to complete. We feel proud to have worked with such talented people on this film and look forward to our future projects with them. It really is becoming an exciting time for us and our crew.

NEW SOPHIE’S FORTUNE TRAILER HERE! 

I have been sinking my teeth back into my own short film, “Love & Light”, this week with having some great conversations with the writers, developing the characters and resolving some technical set up difficulties. Dean Lines and Ray Bogdanovich, the writers, have been doing a great job so far and we should have the final draft in the next couple of days. This excites me no end as I know i will be able to really knuckle down with that script in my hands. I will be setting up a rehearsal day with some actors to see if the dialogue and actions work within the context of the story. This will allow us to play around and really make it work. It will be a great day for doing what we love so look out for posts about that. (The actors I choose won’t be confirmed for the roles but will be considered). I’m wanting three actors from the Manchester area.

Also, my friend Rebecca-Claire Evans has been doing an amazing job with her film “The Zombie King” and I have been told that she will be announcing a big name signing for the talent next week. Keep your eyes peeled and join this page.