Thoughts for the day

I Remember a Day

I was fourteen years old and we lived in a council house on the Nightingales in Greenham Common.  I was just finding my feet in life and working out exactly who I was.  After spending most of my school career being bullied by other children and worse still a number of the teachers including Mr. Barns and Mr. Thomas.  My life after school has been taken up mostly by watching the old black and whites that were shown on BBC2 around 4pm as I remember.  I’ts no clear now that I look back, but I regularly watched them.  I suspect it’s where my passion for Film Noir comes from. Real friends were being made and I had grown considerably over a short space of time, which gave me a new demeanor along with shedding my puppy fat.  I was fighting back and getting a sense of whom I really was.

Then something life changing happened

My brother Barrie was working or had been working at Tandy, and his room was kitted out with some of the very best kit, he had a 14 inch telly, a hi-fi and a stereo video player. I think it was a Saturday and he brought home a video rental, of what was to become my faverate film of all time - Highlander.  It had everything, I was blown away and decided that one day I would make films.  Even then I new it would take me years to reach the point where it would happen.  I just didn’t realise how long that would be.

Fast forward twenty one years 

I am again a chub, but a happy one in most ways.  I have a strong group of friends and professional contacts.  My path in doing what I want to do has been a little muddied at times, but it’s always been on my mind or there abouts.  Three years ago I gave up my well paid job, to pursue my love of films and film making.  The journey is not over, it’s relatively early on, though yesterday I realised that it is going to happen.  I am going to be a film maker.  It has taken a long, long time to get to this start point, but it really is about to start happening.

The Thing is 

It didn’t take me realising it.  I didn’t get excited as it built up, I certainly didn’t notice how close I was or am to my ambition.  No, it was my brother, his pride and his excitement that made me realise. It was some of the things he said.  But I don’t think he will every know or accept what a huge part he has played in this and throughout my life.  My career in sales was purely me wanting to follow in his footsteps.  Christ he worked in Tandy and I worked in Comet… Then there are all the others that are helping you only have to look at the team web page to know who some of them are.  There is trust and belief in me, that I may or may not deserve; something that I intend to repay to all that have or have had belief.

We are at the start of a new and exciting time

I for one am going to make the most of every minute, good or bad.

Laters,

Chalkster

Best of hard times

So I have now successfully come through working on my first feature, when I say mine I mean it in the sense that I worked on it.  My Official Title was second Camera Assistant.   Unlike Chop it was not the happiest of Shoots, though I did enjoy parts of it immensely.   I was for the first time in my life homesick, I missed my friends and my dog.  After about a week I was also tired of my tent, as nice as it is it was just to small for 18 days or more.  I can also walk away knowing that I have made some new and great friends and contacts that will see me good in t’ future.

Why so bad then? 

For me it was down to one person who did not like me, I didn’t like him either but I stayed professional whilst he was a dick.  A very talented and very obnoxious dick.   It was not just me that he pissed off, but i feel I got the brunt of it.  The show was also dragged on by his lack of organisation.  I could of course go on about this forever, but I shan’t.  Needless to say it made it a long, long shoot where I counted the days until I got home.

And the Good bits? 

I just learned so much and met so many people.  Most of the photography was beautifully set up and shot, very very impressive.  I am totally sold on RED and having a truly creative DoP [The search starts now].  I expect very high production values when the film is edited. That things did not run smoothly only helped me in the long term, I need to vet my team and make sure that if they don’t like each other they can stay professional in there dislike.  I know more about kit, dressing, catering, living in each others pocket, moral…. The list goes on.

And the big news? 

Is that I truly believe I’m ready to take the next step in film making, I think that we are ready to make a feature.  We will do Barrie’s short now [Letter to Jane], in Feb/March we will shoot ‘Dreaming of Sarah’ as a dry run, testing crew and some possible cast.  Then I think if I can get the money [And that looks to me to be hopeful in the very least] next summer we should be making a film.  I’m ridiculously excited.

And now sleep

I need it!

 Laters,

Chalkster

The Drive of your Life

Yesterday I did about 600 miles, Oxford to Leeds, Leeds to London, London to Oxford, all in a fucking great big van. Not even a Ford.  I learned a lot from it though.  Mostly seeing all sorts of fantastic kit, as we were picking up the equipment for the shoot.  I had no idea how heavy RED cam is.  Jesus it’s heavy!  The only thing that nagged more then the unexpected ‘London’ bit, was the non driver phoning people and telling them how tired he was being the passenger, get a license then actually drive it.  Then you WILL know.

My Round

One of the best things about my change of career and that my brother is supporting me, not only mentally but hugely on the financial front.  So it’s odd at the moment that he buys all the beers and all the food, something we have evenly split for years.  Not any more.  And tonight after we ate the chinese that he bought, I then bought a round.  But really he did, it really his money.  I don’t despair too much, as I would do the same thing for him.  I also have a plan to pay him back in many, many ways.

Laters,

Chalkster