Lecture - University of Lincoln - 3rd Year Media Production

In January I was asked if I would like to return to the university at which I studied my undergraduate degre
e, to deliver a two part lecture to the third year Media Production students. The first hour was to be on the subject on forming and running a company in the media, and the second part on making films and how this links into our overall business plan.

The sight of the cathedral was always a welcoming site when returning to Lincoln as a student, and this has not changed. Viewing it, all lit up from the train through the freezing rain still instantly put me at ease.

Waking up the next morning, a cold that had been slowly trying to take hold for the previous few days finally broke through, stealing my voice and giving me a running nose. With the prospect of talking to a full lecture theatre, the nerves started to kick in the for the first time, as I contemplated that my ability to talk could disappear completely over the course of the two hours.

Meeting Head of Media Production, Issie Sleight, in the Atrium building, my nerves started to settle. She was very laid back and briefed me that I should try to show that our company works with people across all disciplines taught on the course such as photographers, sound designers and web skills.

I was seriously impressed with the level and enthusiasm of the questions posed by the students afterwards. Even when the lights went up, a large number of students came forward to ask about subjects ranging from how to produce a project from nothing through to market research before starting a business. We decided to take this discussion to The Shed (a bar near the lecture theatres) to continue with answering all I could.

The next day, I was greeted by a number of very complimentary e-mails and tweets about the lecture, which considering the cold, I was over the moon to hear. The students seriously impressed me with their level of knowledge and passion for their subjects. I hope to be able to return again one day to do another lecture.

It has now been confirmed that I will get to deliver a lecture on making short films to the MA Producing Film and TV course at Royal Holloway, University of London on 24th February this year.

'Lolotte'

At present we are in post production on a short film called 'Lolotte'. This is a French language drama, shot on location in Brittany. It is our second co-production with Buffalo Picture House from New York, after we worked together on 'The Third One This Week' back in 2010. We love working with these guys, as they have a fantastically talented core production team.
The crew came from the UK, New York, Paris and Brittany for the project, which was a new experience, but also a fantastic one that I would repeat again.

There will be more updates on 'Lolotte' coming soon, as a very rough first assembly is expected before the end of February.

Short Film: Womble

We are currently deep in post production on our short comedy 'Womble'.

A tale of old boys with old grudges, this project was written by Robert Pirouet and John Henry Falle, who are currently working on a TV sitcom for our company.

It is expected to wrap in December before being screened for cast and crew in January. We will also be sending work in progress copies of the film to South by South West (SXSW) and TriBeCa ahead of their late deadlines.

Making shorts to make a career

As I write this, we are currently well into pre-production on our next short film 'Lolotte'.

Here is a brief history of how our short film making got us here:

In 2010 we worked in conjunction with New York based production company Buffalo Picture House to make a microbudge short called 'The Third One This Week'. It was written and directed by Felix Thompson and It was shot and edited for under £1000 and went on to make the Official Selections for SXSW and Hamptons International Film Festival, as well as taking the third jury prize at the Cergy Pontoise International Student Film Festival.

Next up we produced comedy/ drama 'Meeting Daddy' written and directed by Rebecca Rycroft. This is currently being mailed out to festival programmers for next years circuit.

Currently we are in post production on comedy 'Womble' which was written by John Henry Falle and Robert Pirouet, as well as being directed by Robert. We expect to be complete before Christmas.

It's been a while...

It has been a very long time since my last blog post!

Many things have happened in the subsequent two years, such as completing a masters at Royal Holloway, forming a production company, making three short films and attending many festivals.

I have decided to restart my blog, as it is a chance to share my development from movie/ TV obsessed geek to producer. Also, I'm pretty sure I will be sharing my thoughts on a few industry discussions along the way.

Relocated...and the story so far

After finishing a job working for the Students' Union in Lincoln I decided to get back on the long and difficult road to working in film and television. After examining options, I decided to do a Masters in producing. This resulted in a 12 month move back to rural Worcestershire to live with the parents for a year in an attempt to save some money.

Things came together relatively quickly, I snapped up a job in PR and started to save the money to cover postgrad fees. But after a couple of months things did not seem so great. The job turned into the worst kind of corporate hell, so bad that even Ricky Gervais could not have realised it when poking fun at the suited classes in The Office. I eventually felt driven to leave.

There was also the loneliness. My girlfriend has moved to London to work, which meant limited time to see each other. I also went through the realisation that everyone that I have known throughout school or before had moved on to pastures new.

But, after a year of plugging away, the date finally arrived. I put all my things into boxes, loaded the car and headed down to a flat in Stratford, East London. Over the last two weeks I have felt more determined to do things than I have the rest of the year. Scripts are getting written, work and placements are being chased and networking events are being attended.

Tonight is a screening event with a collaborative film company called OTT Films. I will blog about it more when I have had chance to meet the people involved.

So heres to a new flat, fresh start and new found enthusiasm for everything.

Studying at Royal Holloway, University of London from September

Last week I attended an interview at the National Film and Television School for a place on a Masters studying Producing. It had always been the plan to apply for two fantastic courses and if both were offered, to make a decision based on career prospects, student experience and financial implications.

It was also likely a possibility that one or niether of the courses would offer me a place. A couple of months go, Royal Holloway offered me a place and last week I received a letter from NFTS inviting me to an interview.

The interview was with a panel, made up of 3 people, including the Head of the course, an experienced producer and the current Head of Film London. I felt it went OK, a little nervouse to start perhaps but it soon relaxed and a good conversation was had. In all honesty, when you walk into an interview situation, it seems to go well during but little can be remembered specifically from the time spent in the room.


Yesterday I received my answer and it is a no. Well, more accurately, it is a no to a place in the final 16, but a yes to be a reserve incase one of those people drops out.

Of course, being told no for anything is disappointing, but in a large way, I am also happy. It has made removed the difficult decision about where to go extremely easy, it has meant that I can plan to start September (NFTS runs academic years Jan to Dec) and it also means I can budget for costs incurred by attending Royal Holloway.

When I visited the campus back in November last year, I was impressed with its location to Soho, its syllabus for teaching and the Head of Course who took the time to speak to me.

So the plans can begin, starting with a move to East London on the 24th July.