Reflecting on Raindance.

I write this as I head into London for the UK Premiere of Learning to Breathe on a sunny evening in September.

What a journey its been with this film!

Shot two years ago on the beautifully untouched Island of Tobago. A small team of dedicated filmmakers battled power cuts, water shortages and blistering heat to shoot a script that I’d written from the heart. And then some.

It was a gruelling month of shooting, with the crew going above and beyond the call of duty to make a film that really had no right to be made in those kind of intense conditions.

Incredible to reflect on that period and wonder how we actually did it.

One thing is for sure. There were friendships and bonds made during that time that will exist for all-time.

After a relatively peaceful couple of weeks shooting in London, the film went thru a lengthy post-production process and was delivered almost a year ago to the incredibly supportive sales agents - Shoreline Entertainment.

Sadly, it was around this time that I had to take a major step away from filmmaking and the film was only entered into less than a handful of festivals.

How gratifying then, that the film should be selected by Raindance, the biggest Independent Film Festival in Europe.

Gratifying, because I carry a certain amount of guilt about not being able to properly support the film after its completion, and give it the send off it deserved.

I can now watch with immense pride as those who worked on the film can bask in the accolade of being selected for such a respected film festival.

They really deserve it.

For my part, I’m pleased the film has got this kind of recognition.

It was a troublesome film, when all is said and done, and the fact its emerged unscathed is worthy of celebration in itself!

Right now, I raise a glass to Anna, Alice, Jamie, Ruthie, Laura, Rich, Jane, Piers, Mark, Phil, Morris, and all our friends in Tobago and London who made the film possible.

Enjoy!

The Last Spoiler Fighter

The word geek has become something of an everyday term.

You can buy T-shirts with it on, proudly telling other people you are one.

Big Bang Theory is a good example of how the term geek has been taken, packaged and sucked into popular culture as a kind of identifier for anything ranging from those who collect tea leaves to those who name their first born Dr Lazarus.

It wasn’t always so.

Growing up being a geek got you (at worst) a punch in the face or (at best) a sneer and a snigger.

One thing was very certain.  Being a geek wasn’t cool. It was actually the opposite of cool.

Being a geek was to be a square, smelly guy who played in his bedroom with Star Trek toys and had never kissed a girl.  (Those Star Trek toys were all I needed OKAY?)

We sci-fi fans used to own the word geek.  

It was our little badge.

Then, when our backs were turned, everyone stole it, and it somehow went mainstream.

First Joss Whedon (Head Geek of the Universe) took Buffy onto prime time and was quickly followed by Gillian Anderson (STILL not my wife) appearing in GQ magazine.

Holy moly!

Our geek Gods were becoming popular to (lets name them) the NORMS.

Before we knew it, Doctor Who was running around in Converse and a cool quiff.

Hang on a minute….

Our brief joy at seeing all the things we love being validated, turned into full-on mainstream acceptance.

It burns. It burns!

Now everyone wants to be called a geek.

Well. Newsflash. I’m sorry. Many of you are not.

You’d like to be, I get that.

But have you earned the right?  I don’t think so..

Have you queued up at a DVD store at midnight to get a signed DVD of something thats being broadcast anyway the following day?

Have you not slept with someone dressed in the same alien costume as you, because if you did it would break the code of convention established by that alien race you’re both dressed in? (DOH!)

Have you gone round a friends house to watch something with him, because you NEED to tell him exactly when to look away from the onscreen credits because there’s a spoiler that would be better as a surprise?

THAT’S being a geek.

Which brings us to spoilers.

The last bastian of the geek.

If you know a friend is about to watch a boxset of a series, then its your God given duty to Geek-buddy her/him to make sure they stay spoiler free.

Thus preserving all those essential WTF moments.

Similarly, you must offer your services by being there on the end of a phone/text/message for those important moments where they just HAVE to talk to someone about what just happened.

Or they may need counselling after a particularly shocking character death.

Its like being on 24-hour geek duty.

Now here’s the thing…

A geek will seek to watch a show as soon as its released. preferably even before.

And of course, we can’t wait to share what we see.

But…

The true act of a geek is the poker face when asked what happened.

Example:

HIM:  “Hey dude! Who died?”

YOU:  Not even a flicker.

Our niche as geeks may be diminished by the appropriation by popular culture.

But we remain loyal to the cause.

For we are the silent guardians of the spoiler.

Preserving it for our geek-buddies, across all platforms. (we don’t actually speak to each other you know)

When “Geek” goes out of fashion, we will still be here.  And we shall STILL not tell you what happened in last nights episode.

Not ever.

Growing up with Prince

People die all the time and it's painful.
Sometimes there are people who touch us deeply who we may never meet.
Those people are called heroes.
Prince was my hero, but more than that he was the person who led me through love and sex and music and identity and style and so much more.  As a teenager I was obsessed by him.

Rewind to 1984 and I am bought a copy of Purple Rain on vinyl, as a gift.
Probably the most life changing gift someone can get for a shy teenager in a small village.
I was a late developer, truth be told, but Purple Rain had it all.  The intensity of being in love. The thrill of sex. It had funk and rock and pop and swagger.
And lyrics that I couldn't play too loud at home.

At this time Prince was a total enigma. He never spoke and often covered his face in public.  It made you want to know more.

After the album came the movie.  Wow.  Talk about formative.
Shy young man struggling to be understood. He gets the girl and the glory.
It was like a roadmap for millions of boys like me, no doubt!

From this point it was complete immersion. I worked backwards. Snapping up all the albums that came before.  My favourite was Controversy.
Pared down funk that veered between all-out smut and world politics.

My obsession never wavered and Prince always delivered.
Around the World in a Day and Parade were stunning and took me in other directions. Jazz, psychedelic, gospel and so much more.
I also feverish consumed everything else Prince-related.
Tracking down related artists like The Time, Sheila E, Vanity 6, The Family...

Even the b-sides beat everyone else hands-down.

That was Prince. Unstoppable. So much talent that it was unleashed in all directions.
When there was a hit record you often had to check if Prince had written it - Manic Monday, Nothing Compares to You, I Feel for You.

Then came Sign Of The Times, The Black Album (discovered as a bootleg in a record market) and Batman.

After this it was a bit hit and miss. But there were always treasures and in recent years there have been some super albums. My favourite The Rainbow Children I was lucky enough to see played live at a small gig at Hammersmith.  My favourite gig of all time.

I saw Prince live so many times. And every time it was an event.
I often saw him with people who were non fans going in.  That changed when they left.

Prince worked hard. So hard.
He played all the instruments.
He produced so much material (39 albums).
And he never compromised.

Most of all he was special and different.
He challenged our notions of gender and he took us on so many musical adventures.

His music was fresh and always surprising and his lyrics "Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam..." Were delicious and playful.

It hurts that it ended so soon.

Hooked on magic

I usually blog about being a filmmaker but I also infrequently blog about being a film fan.

This blog is all about the film that (like it did for many others) changed my life, and left me wanting to tell stories myself.

In 1977 I saw Star Wars at the Colchester Odeon cinema.
But, back in 1977, it wasn't as simple as it is today.

So, rewind back to the months leading up to the film and I was pretty excited to see it.

At that time publicity was limited to a few magazines and television features. No internet and no movie hype.

When the movie finally opened in the UK I was like a coiled spring. Unable to contain myself.
I'd started collecting the comics and was desperate to see the film.
I poured over every picture in the comics imagining how it would be.
I also collected bubblegum stickers of Star Wars that I saved up my pocket money for.
The hours I spent looking at those!!

My Dad, who used to catch me out by surprising me, casually announced we would go to see the film.

I can still remember trying to get my coat on in a frenzy of anticipation. I was beside myself.
It's just as well he played it so cool, because if I'd have been told any earlier I imagine I would have been absolutely unbearable!

So we drove down to the town.... (and here is where people under 30 will look puzzled)
The queue was so big for the film that we had to go back home.
I was distraught.

You see back then, a cinema only had one screen, or maybe 3, at a push.
And you couldn't book in advance!

The trick was, if the queue, that stretched from the front door of the cinema, went beyond the bus stop then you knew you'd never get in.

I think we tried a few more times. I think we even joined the queue on one occasion to be told it was full as we approached the front doors.

Thankfully my Dad was persistent (he's a sci-fi fan as well) and we made it inside those hallowed doors.

As we got to the front, I can recall staring at the lobby cards on the way in and my eyes devouring every detail. Photos from movies back then were difficult to come by, and I stared and stared. Wishing it could move.

Finally we were inside.
And when that Star Destroyer flew over the top of the screen I was hooked for life.
Even today, that moment makes my heart thump and tears come to my eyes. It's a reaction that can't be controlled.
That 8 year old boy remains inside me to this day.

Oddly, I've never wanted to make a film like that. I'd much rather be a fan. I never want to destroy that magic. And it IS magic to me.

And one day I hope that magic will light up another pair of eyes.

Learning to Breathe. Very nearly there.

We locked the picture for the film this week, which means that the film's narrative is now set in stone. No more tweaking. Its a big milestone.

There was a time when I used to tinker until the very last minute, but there actually comes a point where you just have to say "thats enough" and sign-off on the fact that this is the film that people will get to watch.
No other version, except this one.




So now we enter the wonderful world of sound, and I mean wonderful, because its one of my favourite parts of the process.

In film we treat the picture and the sound elements as completely separate entities in post-production, coming together at the end to create a whole film.
But for now, foley, ADR, sound design, music composition and song writing and recording, and the final sound mix will be on the agenda for the next month.

We have songs from the UK, USA and Trinidad to include in the film, and I'm very happy to be sprinkling in a few tracks from exciting new talent, as well as more established talent.

Music will be provided by the super-talented Laura Rossi, who is one of more all-time favourite collaborators.  Laura always watches the film and immediately knows the right kind of vibe thats needed.  When Laura's tracks start appearing over the next few weeks it will be one of the very best periods of creativity, and I am always thrilled to check my emails (ordinarily I greet incoming emails with a sense of dread)

Then late in April we will bring it all together in 5.1 Dolby surround, and put it together with the graded picture.

I shall then go and have a long lie down before I jump into 1953, and my next film.

Learning to Breathe - A labour of love

Its nearly March 2015, and we shot the film back in July through to September 2014.  Thats a long time!

The post-production journey of this film has been a little more complicated than most, but I'm happy to say that the end is very much in sight, and the film will be finished within the next two months.

As I write this update (something Ive not done for a while) I am about to watch the new cut of the film.
I was lucky enough to be able to hand over editing duties to the editor of my last feature film, whom I trust implicitly with my material.
I approach the viewing with some trepidation, but mostly excitement to see what he has done with the material.
Earlier cuts of the film revealed that we did indeed have something special on our hands, but I was really happy to be passing the film to someone who I knew would bring that extra bit of magic to the film, taking it to another level.

The coming weeks will be all about refining the film.  Finalising the soundtrack, including the composed music by Laura Rossi, and a collection of songs from musicians from UK, USA and Trinidad!   Our wonderful actors will be recording songs too, and polishing off some of their dialogue. Foley will be recorded, sound effects created and it will all be mixed to create a unique world that we have all created.

Whilst all the sound elements are being refined, the picture will be graded, taking our lush Caribbean landscapes and making them pop on the screen, and making our principle characters look even more gorgeous!

Along the way there will be a test screening, which will help answer any clarity issues with the story.
Its not my favorite part of the process, by any means, but its an essential one, because everyone involved in the production either knows the script/the personnel or even just "likes" us.  So, its important to strip that away and have a theatre full of people not connected to the production who know nothing about what they are about to watch, to view the film "cold".
Only then, can you objectively say that the film makes sense!  Or at least gauge whether its working.

I can't wait to show everyone the film!

The best crew

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm not given to being terribly demonstrative online or in public.
I tend to keep my communications personal, preferring to talk in person.  Somehow, it feels more heartfelt to me, and besides... I'm a private sort of person.

The reflective blogs Ive written these last few days have been the result of an outpouring inspired by the incredible shooting experience of Learning to Breathe.

This last one, for a while, finishes a series of blogs with something very dear to my heart.  The crew.

I've worked with all sizes of crew over the years, with varying degrees of experience.  but, hand on heart, I have never felt so connected to a crew as I have done with this film.

Many of them are people I have known for sometime.

I began putting together my core crew who came to Tobago with me back in February.
These were people who I trusted, loved and wanted around me during a shoot I envisaged as being intense both physically and mentally.

I didn't ask around.  I wanted these people, and I was beyond lucky that they came straight onboard and understood exactly what I was trying to do.

In some cases the crew were stepping way outside their comfort zones, in a professional sense, but not once did they falter.

When we arrived in Tobago, the family atmosphere, I had hoped to foster, was immediately evident, and a strong unit was quickly formed that seemed utterly unbreakable.

Being in a somewhat undeveloped country it wasn't all plain sailing.  loss of electricity and water plagued our days, but not once did I hear a complaint or a lack of enthusiasm for the job.  Extraordinary.

My own relationship with each of these wonderful people is already known to them, so I won't go into this private area, but suffice to say I owe each of these people a debt i can never hope to repay. Although I will give it a bloody good go!

A month later we were back in London, and the core crew were joined by a larger group of people, adding to the skills and expertise onset.

Every single person on that set was either selected by me or recommended by a trusted source.
Every single on of those crew rocked very very hard.

In to the mix were a contingent of students who were seeking experience on-set.
I can say with certainty that ALL of these students will be bright shining stars of the future.
their professionalism and enthusiasm was extraordinary, and I will be keeping tabs on each and every one of them!

So, this reflection on working with an amazing crew, ends this current set of blogs, as I head into post-production on the film.

My next film looms large, and with a substantially bigger budget and bigger canvas to play in, I would have no hesitation in recommending every single one of my Learning to Breathe crew to the producer.

If you are a production manager or line producer and you are looking for brilliant crew members get in touch.  I have some gems for you!