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

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