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

Mighty FM: Southport Arts Show – Sunday 30th June

Mighty FM is Southport’s newest Community Radio Station. It currently broadcasts online but from 1 July will be broadcasting on 87.7 FM.

This coming Sunday 30th June, Club member Paul Bagshaw will be interviewed as a guest on Mighty FM’s Southport Arts Show. Paul will be interviewed about the world of film-making in and around Southport, including Southport MovieMakers. Paul is a long-standing member of Southport MovieMakers and is an accomplished film-maker.

Paul will be interviewed by the well-known local actor David Lonsdale. David Lonsdale is best known for his 15 years playing the hapless David Stockwell in ITV’s long running and hugely popular ‘Heartbeat’.

More recently David has returned to the stage and has completed national tours of ‘The Titfield Thunderbolt’ and ‘You’re Only Young Twice’ with Melvyn Hayes. He has recently reappeared on ‘The Street’ as Kirsty Soames' violent Father Edwin.

David is a regular pantomime performer and an accomplished singer, and has appeared at the Albert Hall for three years running as a headliner in the TV Times' ‘Carols with the Stars’.

Always keen for a new challenge and a great lover of his home town – David is thrilled to be making his debut as a radio presenter with Mighty FM.

Tune in and listen to David Lonsdale interview 

Paul Bagshaw about film-making in Southport

Mighty FM’s Southport Arts Show

Sunday 30th June

10.20 – 10.40 a.m.

Blowing the Dust Off

This week, we are blowing the dust off are archives. Ashby Ball selects examples of the Society's work from the 64 years of our existence, including dramas and documentaries:

The evening's selection starts with the second film that Southport MovieMakers made, way back in 1950.  Titled “In the Bag”, it features a forger and his assistant, who are producing fake banknotes.  When the forger’s girlfriend accidentally leaves her handbag in the forger’s flat, there are unexpected consequences.

We were offered the script for “A Walk in the Park”, and initially thought it was not our cup of tea. A year on two later we had second thoughts and put it into production.  Vercoe the clown, with one of his unicycles, appears in this film, set in Southport’s Botanic Gardens, with many children taking part.

“One MoreTrophy” is the story of the late Wilf Blundell, proprietor of a large coach holiday firm, whose hobby was stock car racing.  He competed in events all over the country, with his team of followers.

“Beginner’s Luck” was said to be recommended viewing for all members of film-making clubs.  A beginner hopes to get advice on how to use his camera, but a sequence of disappointing events follows.

“Taking the Plunge” deals with that point in any romance when the boyfriend has to meet the girl’s parents.  Here things do not go smoothly.

“Southport” is a promotional film for the town, made by our Society, with a voice-over by BBC newsreader Alvar Liddell,  released in 1958.

Southport MovieMakers Awards Emerging Local Film-maker: Electron Trophy Winner - 2013

Southport MovieMakers is pleased to announce that this year’s winner of the Electron Trophy is Andy Harrison. The ELECTRON TROPHY is awarded each year by Southport MovieMakers for the best movie produced from its members during the course of the year.

The title of this year’s winning film is Goldfish. The idea for the film came quite simply from an original poem by the Greek poet Jim Ver, with whom Andy collaborated in making the film; Ver also wrote the music for the film.

The poem told of how goldfish lived their lives, i.e. in short bouts of time, having a very short memory, repeating experiences over and over. Andy concluded that the same applied to people suffering from illnesses such as dementia, in care homes, and there was a parallel between the two, “There is the parallel that whilst a goldfish is trapped in a bowl to swim in circles, a nursing home may work the same way for an old person, sort of like a never-ending loop. It seemed quite necessary that I mix the two together.”

Andy described this particular film as being “a departure from the things I have learnt and usually hone within my films. The poem required a film to be very restrained and subtle, which is far from my usual work. It is representative most of what I have learnt in directing actors on screen to create a character that is believable and emotive.”

Andy is one of the substantial group of young film-makers at Southport MovieMakers. However, for this production, the key character, played by Alan Beddows, is an elderly resident of care home. Andy acknowledged that he chose Alan for the role because they were on “very similar wavelengths”, adding that, “..it is always a good experience regardless of age.”

Although relatively prolific, Andy is very much learning with each successive project. What did he learn in making Goldfish? He confirmed his preference for “active filmmaking” rather than the somewhat subdued style of this project. Nevertheless, “....it is interesting to test out other genres and forms of filmmaking.” In terms of skills, his film-making has developed with regard to editing, “I have learnt that editing is very important to the pacing of a film, and is something I need to work on tightening up, putting the film’s pace before my own indulgence.”

Andy Harrison

Electron Trophy Winner - 2013

Interview with Andy Harrison

Alan Beddows

Key character in Goldfish

Andy's next project is a short film called “Black Out”, focusing on a man who suffers from an illness causing him to black-out and kill people, rendering his memory completely wiped when he wakes.

Read more about the film in our Film Catalogue

Premiere Evening

Club members have recently been involved in making new films, either as a Club Project or as individual’s productions. So that these films can have a significant viewing opportunity, we are planning a Premiere Evening on Thursday 16th May.

The films that will be presented on this evening are as follows:

JIM MORRIS:
Restoration of Rotten Row                    
Strolling in Sport                                        
Woad

MICKEY STEWART:
Professional Dust....
When the Sheriff's town is robbed, he relies on a man with no name to catch them.

MICHAEL ALLEY:
Circles

ARTHUR EMMETT:
Summertime and You
A father is asleep, dreaming of returning home late from work one Christmas Eve. He knows that his family is safe in bed. His wife has left him a note of things to do before he goes to bed.

ANDY HARRISON:
Einstein
A documentary about the life, times and eventual death of Albert Einstein.

LEWIS SIMPSON:
Choo Choo
Callum Hallthorne is one of You Tube's most revered and prolific train spottters, specialising in fulfilling the requests of other people. So when one request leads him to a non-steam train, he decides to find out who is setting him up and to set them right.

NIGEL MORAN:
Resident Evil: Hunk’s Story

SOUTHPORT MOVIEMAKERS:
One Night
An act of conspiracy following the chance meeting of two company reps needs to be unravelled.  


This Evening will also give us the opportunity to invite along family and friends, and those people who have provided us with venues. Wine and refreshments will be served after the films.

Day: Thursday 16 May

Time: 8 pm – 10.00 pm

Location: St James' Church Hall,

Lulworth Road, Southport, PR8 2BQ.

Eclectic Mix of Films from Orpington

This week we have an eclectic mix of films from Orpington Video & Film Makers to view.

Miracle of Altnahara
A Scot tells the tale of how a herd of cattle was saved from freezing to death by a mysterious lady.

The Yellow Eye Penguins
Observation of penguins in New Zealand.

Talk about the Things You’d Like to Do
Visuals accompany the song “Happy Talk” from “South Pacific”.

1977 & 2002 Jubilees
Archive footage transferred from cine film, including close-up footage of HM the Queen.

Scenes from the Seaside
Rowing races in the sea off a South coast beach.

Talk to my Cat
Conversation with a talking cat.

No More Alone
Maurice wanders around the streets, seeing builders busy at work. He has been sacked from his job because he has epileptic fits three or four times a year.

He is introduced to a club for epileptic people, who have socials, outings and amateur dramatics. These activities provide enjoyment and build confidence, so that, hopefully, people afflicted can gain employment again.

This film was transferred from cine film, and was probably made about 50 years ago.

Picture Picture
A man looks through his collection of framed pictures, stored in his garden shed. They are magical pictures. One appears to be an empty frame, but if he puts his hand through, the hand disappears from view. Another shows a man’s face, but the back of his head appears on the reverse side.

Gold Fever
A look at the site of Australia’s gold rush.

Greenland’s Ice-cold Beauty
The impressive landscape of ice floes.

Greenland 2007 – Greenland Bites
A journey by ship through Denmark Strait. We encounter stormy weather and the ship cuts through the ice.

Moon Song
Captivating images of the moon.

My Working Holiday
A refrigerator, clock and barrel are transformed.

Charles Henry Robinson
An American who saw military service in World War 1 enjoys the English countryside. Eventually he sees that Ihgtham Mote is on the market. This is a medieval moated manor with 638 acres of grounds. He is returning to the States and decides not to purchase it, as he is only in England for a few weeks each year.

However, eventually his family helps him to acquire it in 1953, and he moves to England to live there. Later he moves back to America, and on his death in 1985 leaves the house to the National Trust.

The maker of this film does his best to film railways etc. as they would be in the 1920’s or 1930’s.

Day: Thursday 7 March

Time: 8 pm – 10.00 pm

Location: St James' Church Hall,

Lulworth Road, Southport, PR8 2BQ.