The so Subtle Advert

On Thursday 12 December, Club member Les Thomas presents his view of the world of advertising.

In making our movies we know how challenging it can be to edit a film down to a certain time span, often to make it the length required for a competition entry. How amazing then to watch an advert that tells a story in just thirty or sixty seconds.

We are bombarded by advertising every waking minute. It can be very irritating, but it can also be very persuasive, and often so subtle, that we are not aware that we are being influenced.

In a broad sweep of commercial advertising, and particularly in our homes via television, we will see how the genre has changed through the years in an attempt to persuade us to "buy the dream".

It is worth remembering that advertising is, of course, a crucial source of funding of the pursuit of creative talent. Indeed, some famous film directors started off directing TV commercials, such as Ridley Scott and Alan Parker.

Some lessons to be learned, that may perhaps be applied later in the year in Project Three, making a short promotional film about the Club itself.

Day: Thursday 12 December

Time: 8 pm – 10.00 pm

Location: St James' Church Hall,

Lulworth Road, Southport, PR8 2BQ.

"Completing the Story" Première

A few weeks ago, with the commencement of the first project of the year, groups of film-makers in the Club started work on various projects all of which were united by their premise. Effectively, the scene had been set but as to how the story developed, that would be up to each individual group. Of course, this is where that wonderful thing called imagination comes into play to develop creatively the potential of the opening words of the storyline.

This week, as the main feature of the evening, we have the première of the first of the "Completing the Story" Project. This film is entitled Ransom. This film is directed by our highly-experienced member Nigel Barton. The title Ransom suggests a kidnapping but, in this scenario, who exactly is the criminal?

Other award-winning films made by Nigel being screened are:

Mr. Christmas

Who do you think you are Einstein?

Mummy's Boys

Sound Asleep

Rent-a-Mate

Production Photographs from the Filming of Ransom:

Photographs from the Other Films being Screened:

                                                                                     Mummy's Boys                                                                 

                                                                                           Rent-a-Mate

                                             

Day: Thursday 28 November

Time: 8 pm – 10.00 pm

Location: St James' Church Hall,

Lulworth Road, Southport, PR8 2BQ.

Read more about the film in our Film Catalogue

Artworks Première 2013

This Thursday, 21 November, Southport MovieMakers is pleased to present an evening of films produced by Artworks Pictures. Artworks Pictures are the films made by the highly-experienced film-maker and long-standing member of Southport MovieMakers, Paul Bagshaw. 

The programme for the evening is as follows:

‘Southport, A Classic Resort’ is on show as guests arrive

Artworks Picture Gallery

Extracts from Past Productions 

In Cambridge

Camera Interviews with visitors to the City 

This short documentary is one of three productions shot on a hand-held camera, the others being Broken and On the Streets.  It differs from most ‘holiday’ films in that it contains one-minute interviews with people chosen at random to explain why they had come to the City.  Surprisingly, no-one refused to speak to camera. 

Broken

Jake Bugg’s song with the back streets of Liverpool 

Broken is a music video that features a song of the same name, written and performed by 19-year-old Jake Bugg, a young musician who is now becoming increasingly popular.  The visuals are filmed in the back streets of the Liverpool city centre using a moving camera with a fish-eye lens. 

Changing the (Avant) Garde

Remember that all art was modern once 

The first section of this visual art documentary deals with the concepts of multiple viewpoint and hierarchy of scale, as seen in Egyptian art, in maps and in the drawings of children.  The second part focuses upon so-called ‘modern art’, and the reasons why it has been so frequently rejected by the majority of people, despite the fact that nearly all art was modern once.  It also addresses the anomaly that abstract visual art puzzles most people, whereas classical music, which is also abstract, does not.     

On the Streets

Liverpool, Southport, Oxford, Cambridge & London 

Street entertainers are now a more common part of urban living, and are not so often ‘moved on’ by the police as they used to be.  This film contains a wide variety of musical and other performances from thirty-four individuals and groups in London, Liverpool, Southport, Oxford and Cambridge.

Lost Opportunities

Youth Unemployment explained by those who experience it 

This film looks at one of society’s current problems of the number of unemployed young people in this country, as well as abroad.  There are some people who assume that, if you don’t work, it is because you don’t want to, but those in this film dispute this belief.   The film addresses the issue with contributions from five young people who want to work but have discovered that the finding of jobs, particularly in the North, is frustratingly difficult. Dr John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, answers some of their questions.    

Artworks Films planned for 2014

Artworks Films has more films planned for the coming year. See the trailers and hear more about productions that are in the pipeline.

Main Feature

Fork in the Road

The main feature of the evening is a film entitled Fork in the Road. This film film deals with how a 16-year-old copes with transferring from a bicycle to a wheelchair after undergoing a road accident, and what affect it has upon his state of mind and the action he takes.

Meet the Film-maker

Come to the Artworks Première 2013 hosted by Southport MovieMakers this Thursday. See the films and meet the film-maker himself and other members of Southport MovieMakers.

Artworks Première 2013
Hosted by Southport MovieMakers

Day: Thursday 21 November

Time: 7.45 for 8 pm – 10.00 pm

Location: St James' Church Hall,

Lulworth Road, Southport, PR8 2BQ.

Listen to Our Podcasts

Periodically at Southport MovieMakers, we conduct audio interviews with our film-makers and to date, these files have been downloadable as podcasts only. However, we recognise that the requirement to download a file can be off-putting to some site users. Therefore, we have installed an MP3 audio player, so that you can hear the audio directly from the site, without downloading the file. So far, we have two items on the site.
                                              

Interview with the cast of  Free Meal

                                         

Interview with Young Film-maker Andy Harrison

Listen to Our Podcasts

Let us know what you think

We are preparing more.

Films from Harrow

Recently, we did an exchange with Harrow Cine & Video Society and as a result we have a selection of films from their catalogue to screen at our next meeting. At this same meeting, we expect to be screening some of our members' very recent project productions. Therefore, limits on time may mean that only some of the following films may be screened:

The Squirrel
We show how a squirrel survives in the garden, feeding on the peanuts
specially supplied, and sadly each spring, on the tulip bulbs which were not
intended as his lunch.

Stopatome
A budget holiday.

Mysterious Island
Far away on the edge of the Arctic Circle is an island very different from
our own. Lying at the point where two continental plates meet, the constant
movement of the earth's crust creates an unusual and ever-changing
landscape.

Fearless Fred
A visitor to the garden enjoys a little sunshine.

Salesman
From a comedy sketch by Victoria Wood and filmed with her kind permission.

Code Breakers
The story of the breaking of the war time Enigma code at Bletchley Park.

Amiens & Notre Dame Cathedral
Amiens is one of the largest northern cities in the Somme province of
France.

The Art of Richard MacDonald
Warm, silvery and rare, the platinum patina of this distinctive series by
the artist creates a play of light; it's a limited edition. Got a spare $25,000?

Autumn
Film around Bentley Priory and cut to a musical accompaniment.

Sharm el Sheik
A video shot around the exotic location in the Sinia.

Cruising Down the Rhine
A brief look at the activities and scenery while travelling down the River,
set to a popular tune.

The Nearest We got to the Olympics
Our member went to see the Olympic flame leave Headstone Manor and travel
through the streets of Harrow. This would be the closest they got to the
Olympics.

Day: Thursday 31 October

Time: 8 pm – 10.00 pm

Location: St James' Church Hall,

Lulworth Road, Southport, PR8 2BQ.

New Year Starting 5 September

Southport MovieMakers is pleased to announce that the new year (2013/14) is starting this week on Thursday 5 September.

For all the details of the forthcoming year, go to:

http://www.southportmoviemakers.org.uk/meetings

What are the Roles of Film Production People?

On 4 July, we enjoyed a very interesting talk on what the roles are of the various people involved in producing a film from pre-production, actual shooting and through to post-production. If you'd like to find out more about this subject, please visit our:

NEW: Film-making Resources