2019-2020 NEWSLETTER
11/03/2020 Carl gave a comprehensive presentation of the things that are involved with the production of a film and its associated script. After the tea break, Carl had a Q&A session with a number of interesting questions from members.
04/03/2020 Two greenscreen sessions were set up to record different scripts in the two halls.
26/02/2020 Eight entries for the 1-Minute Caversham Cup and 2 emtries for the Burke Trophy competitions. Eric and Andy gave a critique on each film and they decided that none merited a nomination for the Stan Olman award. A speeded up film of the group shoot in the church on Saturday was screened after the mini shields were presented, a tie for two films winning the 1-minute competition. Summary stills are available.
The group shoot finished filming in the church on Saturday.
12/02/2020 Alex gave a very interesting talk about the problems of filming helicopter medical incidents in the cramped space of the helicopter, audio and consent among many. He screened one incident called impaled in which the doctor didn't have a gopro camera while the battery was being changed after the preceding incident. Therefore there were none of the gory close up bits. Alex gave commentary and answered the many audience questions during pauses in the screening. A very different sort of filming experience not many of us have to cope with.
05/02/2020 Four entries for the holiday competition. Mike Hammond and new member Nick Long gave a critique on each film but made no nomination for the Stan Olman award. Summary stills are available.
29/01/2020 Ex member Gabi gave us a technical presentation on light and various camera settings for temperature etc. The big hall was used to manage the equipment Gabi used in her talk. She finished early so there was plenty of time to socialise in the extended tea break, particularly as several members who haven't attended meetings recently were present including a new member's first visit.
22/01/2020
Last night two teams tried copying shots from movies, Dan and Eric set up a special lighting scene while Leon and Jordan using tracking on Chas at a table. Leon used flashing lights for atmosphere.
On Friday Tony helped ex-member David film the Twyford panto The Jungle Book and on Saturday Pete helped Tony film the Datchet panto Babes in the Wood. This suffered from a variety of technical and human failings which will give Tony an editing challenge.
15/01/2020 Only three entries for the documentary competition. In Oli's absence Anne ran the meeting and Brian had to do the honours of presenting the mini shield as Anne's film won. Alan and Jordan did the critique after tea. No nominations were made for the Stan Olman trophy. Summary stills are available. Film makers were asked to talk about the problems they had while making the films. Sophy and Eric talked about the walk with Buster, Chris talked about the London Christmas lights, and Anne, Jonathan , Pete, Eric talked about the cycling club Breeze. Audience comments made suggestions for improvements.
08/01/2020 Andy had the actors talk through the dialogue explaining the scene aspects. Leon then projected various storyboard sketches. Audience comments highlighted aspects of the mystery or suggestions for variations for the absence of gravestones at the church. The filming will be done in daytime, and adjusted for night time which poses an interesting challenge.
18/12/2019 Oli, David Salisbury and Chas entertained four teams of members with some quizes. In previous years the questions have been projected onto the screen, but this year only David's audio clips used the system, so anyone with poor hearing had to rely on team-mates to understand the questions and answers. There were plenty of food contributions and some drinks which were consumed between each quiz. Chas distributed some 'prizes' to the winning team. Copious leftovers were taken home so no wastage.
11/12/2019 Several advert films from the earlier practical were screened, and then the 6 entries for the summer project competition which made for a late tea break. Summary stills are available. David Salisbury and Jonathan gave a critique of all the films, and made no nomination for the Stan Olman award. Anne had to go to Scotland for family reasons so wasn't available to recieve the mini shield.
04/12/2019 Alan gave an interesting presentation about 4 years of his career with the BBC with amusing anecdotes illustrated with photos and a few video clips from the 1980s. He had to cope with the complexities of transmission of outside broadcasts using the technologies of the day more than the recording of the action. He was proud to be involved in the production of an Irving Berlin musical and a Wogan TV show.
28/11/2019 Seven entries for the Currie Cup competition. Two films made at an earlier practical were screened - THE NECKLACE by Anne, and CHESS by Oli. Brian and Chris Grace gave a critique on all the films and nominated Leon's 1000 MILES music video for the Stan Olman award for technical excellence. Summary stills are available. Sophia was asked to look after the Gateway trophy till next October as hers was one of the films which help us win.
20/11/2019 Richard gave a very interesting presentation about his filming career involving weddings and corporate work. He started with camcorders and finally moved to DSLR cameras. He slowly built up his supporting accessories with tripods, a slider, gimbal and a crane, plus a variety of quality lens and lights. He has yet to master a drone! His many screened clips exemplified his talent for cinematography especially with his films of behind the scenes for weddings and other events.
13/11/2019 At least three groups were involved in filming their advert.
06/11/2019 The large hall was used for script presentations and discussions. Andy, David Salisbury, Leon, Anne and Oli were the chosen few to talk. After an early tea break, Andy's idea was voted the one to shoot. Discussions for the Film an Advert next week took place. Oli announced that the item must be in a bottle.
30/10/2019 With about 10 visitors and several course members becoming full members, we all squeezed into the small hall for the Gateway competition. Roadworks in Reading caused several people to arrive late. All nine films were screen, the 3 for the open category were screened after a tea break with some extra cupcakes. Oli and Anne put the judges scores onto the flip chart to discover Reading had won the competition. Anne as previous chair presented the trophy to Oli who then invited comments about the various films. Tim explained the judging system and gave a vote of thanks for the refreshments and hospitality.
| CATEGORY | CLUB | MOVIE TITLE | STAINES | READING | BOURNE END | TOTAL |
| STORYLINE | STAINES | The Last Unicorn - 7 mins | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| READING | Stagestruck - 6 mins | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| BOURNE END | Save that Tree - 2 mins | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||
| DOCUMENTARY | STAINES | Surrey Canoe Club - 3 mins | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| READING | The Longest Village in the Country - 10 mins | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| BOURNE END | Isle of Man TT Races 2019 - 9 mins | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||
| OPEN | STAINES | Mount Pilatus - 6 mins | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| READING | Dog Days - 2 mins | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| BOURNE END | Bobbin' around in the Chilterns - 6 mins | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| STAINES | READING | BOURNE END | |
| STORYLINE | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| DOCUMENTARY | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| OPEN | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| TOTALS | 15 | 16 | 14 |
| JUDGES | Anne Massey Brian Hibbitt |
23/10/2019 Four groups practiced shooting scenes/sequences in the halls. The frequent laughter suggested a lot of fun.
16/10/2019 Dan demonstrated directing tips by filming several takes of a short fiction scene involving two people. With camera on a dolly track he started with a full scene view, then after tea did some close ups.
09/10/2019 Dan presented useful information about scripts and script-writing in the small hall. After the tea break the audience was put in groups to suggest a story using a character and situation on a pair of cards he handed out. Some of the groups outlined their stories to the audience.
02/10/2019 Again we were oblidged to use the big hall to allow another group to use the small hall. Daniel gave an interesting presentation on lighting for an interview using a camera feed to a TV and the projector, which also had a feed from his laptop. Oli and a few members went to view the church next door for script ideas for the group shoot. After tea break, Dan discussed audio capture.
25/09/2019 To accomodate the church arrangements with a different group, we set up kit in the main hall so they could use the small hall. Dan continued with the course, discussing cameras and their controls. After the tea break, students practiced using their cameras.
18/09/2019 An encouraging start to our new season last night with Oli in the chair. It was wonderful to see so many returning members after our long summer break, and a special welcome to our new members who joined us for the start of the 6 week "Film Making" course. Many thanks to member Daniel Brant who talked us through a really interesting presentation which involved filming a short documentary of Andy as a writter, with the camera images being projected on the screen and a TV. Daniel covered The Production Process ie script planning to shot list planning, then shooting and edit. After the break, Daniel then demonstrated the edit process, and by the end of the evening a short film was complete. Looking forward to part 2 next week.
The session began with Anne receiving a tankard for her stint as Chair and Programme coordinator. Her film came 3rd in the SoCo Top of the Clubs. Brian's 1 minute film "How Smart are You?" won the SoCo Baby Dolphin competition, with Oli's Cupboard film coming 3rd.
