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.

UPDATE: NFTS

On Friday I was sent a letter in an enevelope marked with the stamp of the National Film and Television School. I instantly thought it was a letter informing me that my application had been unsuccessful.

To my surprise, the letter was offering me an interview for a place on the Producing Masters.

The demand is so great for the courses run at NFTS, that this first interview is conducted with a panel of people from the school. After this, 16 successful candidates will be invited to come to the school for a week, to work on a series of challenges. From this week, the final eight will be selected. It all sounds like something from a reality show like The Apprentice, but the process is genuinely exciting.

On the 3rd July 11am, I will enter a room and walk into the unknown. I don't know who the panel is or what I will be asked, but this seems to add to the excitment. I just need to be prepared to answer any questions on television and film with relation to the career and achievements I want.

The Hangover that feels good!

For someone who wants to work in film, my cinema attendance has been at an all time low of late. This Wednesday I set about changing this with a trip to see comedy The Hangover.

Firstly, this would not have been my first choice film as I have not yet seen Star Trek or Terminator: Salvation, but the person I was going with had already seen these.

With Todd Phillips at the helm, who was the director on 2003's Old School, I thought I knew what to expect. Old School was a fairly standard frat boy comedy vehicle for Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn. It had some funny moments but it was nothing out of the ordinary. With The Hangover being set against the backdrop of a stag weekend, or batchelor party as our trans-Atlantic friends would call it, I was expecting much of the same from Phillips.

And twenty minutes in, true to form, it was panning out that way. But, once into the film, things became interesting. The morning after the night before arrives, with the groom missing, one of the party missing a tooth, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the wardrobe and the father of the bride's prize Mercedes missing (replaced by a stolen Vegas police car). The first device that sets this film apart is the fact that we as an audience are kept in the dark about what happened along with the guys, we are not offered clues or flashbacks, so we discover as they do.

Don't get me wrong, this still has gross out moments but its the banter between the group that draws the biggest laughs. Thw writers have got the characterisation of a group of guys on a 'wild' weekend just perfect.

The Hangover is the best comedy that I have seen in a while, and has set the standard for laughs so far this year.