Month: June 2012

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday July 3rd 2012

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

Another OVFM annual tradition supplants our regular club meetings this week in the form of the annual barbecue – or in this case a Garden Party.

Why a garden party? Well, the event this year will be held in the stately home of Colin and Mrs Colin Jones (you know where to look for the address; if not how the hell did you get onto this website?) and they have some shrubs that need digging up and can’t be arsed to do it themselves. So anyone foolish enough to show up with a shovel and wheelbarrow to unleash their inner Titchmarsh will be reward with some food. Possibly.

In following on from last year’s event held at Mike Shaw’s palatial abode, the menu will be another feast of fish and chips style sustenance. Hopefully you all should have filled in the form passed around at the recent club meetings stating whether you were attending and what food you would like to eat. If you didn’t then I’m afraid you’re going to starve.

As before you need to make sure you bring your own chairs, tables, drinks, glasses, cutlery, plates, condiments, washing up liquid, toilet, books, TV, computers, music, oxygen, and as it’s summer, your raincoats, umbrellas, snorkels, towels, change of clothes etc. and, if you’ve got room left in the car, yourselves.

Colin will be opening his doors at 6:30pm then shutting them again as his wife says it lets the cold in. You will of course need the password to gain entrance into the Jones residence and that password can be found wherever you last left it. If you have any trouble parking then you might need to practice more.

It should be a fun evening.*

 

 

 

*Should be but I’m making no promises.

Rob Knox Film Festival 2012 Report

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

 

Rob Knox Film Festival 2012 Report

by

Charlie Caseley

 

This years Rob Knox Film Festival was for me as good as it gets. The entries were first class, and that included those entries that did not make the final show at the Cineworld, because a number of films are shown around the Borough of Bexley at venues such as schools and church halls.

This situation is different from most festivals we attend, Kent and the SERIAC for instance the films are shown in one location, in fact the only festivals that would have their movies shown on a number of screens would possibly be BIAFF and UNICA, but even then it would be in one building. Nellie and I went to one of the preliminary screenings and saw Eco, a Borderline film we had seen at BIAFF and SERIC, and a movie made by a fifteen year old lad that we had seen at BIAFF in a group of films made by young people that was introduced by our very own Sam Brown.

On the final night at the Cineworld Reg and Annabelle, Freddie and some members from Shooters Hill came along with Nellie and I and enjoyed a feast of not just good films but outstanding films. The winning movie was a Russian entry called Ambitious. I have changed my opinion of Russians being completely with out humour this film did not need subtitles to make you laugh, a joy to watch.

In addition to the shows there was the masterclasses hosted by people from the film industry and I am pleased a number of local film makers took advantage of them.

Blitz & Bananas New Screening

Posted on by Lee Relph

Blitz & Bananas New Screening

WW2 drama film Blitz & Bananas is being shown again on Sun 8 July at 3pm, Darrick Wood Hall, Lovibonds Avenue, Orpington, BR6 8ER.

Again we have a group booking deal – buy 10 and get the 11th free.

Also if you can sell tickets for us and/or help us on the day, you are welcome to a free ticket. Free also to cast and crew and any previous helpers.

There will be wartime entertainment afterwards too!

Doors open at 2.30pm.

I do hope you can join us for another great day out for all ages! If you can sell any tickets or spread the word, you’ll make my day and more!

Download printable version of the flyer in PDF format HERE

There are also photos, blogs and reviews on www.blitzandbananas.com

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday June 19th 2012

Posted on by Lee Relph

It’s time for OVFM to re-enact the American civil War. Sort of.

The annual North vs South competition is looming again (that’s pretty much how annual events work) and our inestimable chairman Chris “Cats” Coulson has decreed that OVFM as a club (that means ALL of us and not just the same old faces) will make and enter a film in this year’s comp. And win it. (Stop laughing at the back!)

Rather than follow the usual of a selection of random films thrown in for judging, a theme is selected to make things just that bit more interesting. This year’s theme is “No Way Back”. What can that mean? Well that is what we are going to discuss at this week’s club meeting.

So any ideas you may have, be it a title suggestion, a plot outline or even a finished script, bring them along to the meeting and share them with us all so we can debate, deliberate and defenestrate to lay the foundation for what will eventually become OVFM’s 2012 North vs South winning entry! Yay! Go Us!

See you on Tuesday!

OVFM Top 10 Competition 2012 Results

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

OVFM Top 10 Competition 2012 Results

 

Here are the ongoing results of the 2012 Top Ten competition.

Round One – Held May 22nd 2012

1. “More Than Steam And Smoke” by Sam Brown 55.10

2. “Eco” by Bob Vine 52.35

3. “Looking for Dave” by Lee Relph 51.21

4. “Colours of the Caribbean” by Jane Oliver 51.20

5. “Switzerland Glacier Express” by Bob Wyeth 47.60

 

Round Two – Held July 17th 2012

1.“ Master craftsman Martin Matthews” by Barbara Darby 57.00

2. “History of Santa Barbara” by David Laker 49.40

3. “My Mate Ralph” by Derek Allen 48.94

 

Round Three – Held August 28th 2012

1. “Eastbourne (Empress of the South)” by Mike & Jo Coad 52.65

2. “Masai Miracle” by Andy & Marian Watson 52.41

3. “Autumn in Greenwich Park” by Colin Jones 49.68

4. “Supermarket” by John Bunce 41.96

 

Round Four – Held September 25th 2012

1. “Mud Mad” by Reg Lancaster 53.52

2. “Feel the Thrill” by Brian Pfeiffer 53.03

3. “Look Mum a Swan” by Alan Smith 49.94

4. “Kew Gardens” by John Ransley 47.74

5. “Up our Street” by John & Ann Epton 43.94

 

Round Five – Held October 23rd 2012

1. “Fun With The Ancestors” by Annabelle of Lancaster 53.87

2. “The Second Day” by Chris Coulson 48.30

3.

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“The Sixth Legion” by Jim Morten-Robertson 40.93

 

Bonus “Last Chance” Round – Held December 4th 2012

1. “Blackbird – A Short Nature Story” by Ian Menage 52.16

2. “Village Secrets” by Sue Ward 52.08

3. “Arrhythmic Discord” by Simon Earwicker 51.31

4. “Mr Punch Goes to London” by Ann Perrin 49.97

5. “A Little Gem” by Harold Trill 47.56

6. “Send Me Roses” by Craig Robinson 38.03

 

Tips for Film Students

Posted on by Chris Coulson

Tips for Film Students

I’ve chatted with a few media students this month, and ‘m not sure how to feel, I’m either disappointed or confused.. I’m always saddened by people and The Media when they run down Media Studies as a subject. It’s not necessarily a useless subject, and teaches relevant skills. Sadly I think the problem might be some of the students themselves, rather than the course. Maybe they join it hoping for an easy ride, and then spoil it for the genuine ones who actually want to learn?

I spoke to three separate 16-18 year olds this month who were studying film and media studies, and of course this got me very excited! “What’s your YouTube channel name?”, I asked, hoping to see some talented amateur films. “I haven’t got one”, came the rather damp reply.  “Not to worry”, I said maintaining my excitement “What sort of films do you like to make?” “I haven’t really made any yet, I don’t have a good enough camera”, they said, looking expectantly at their parent standing nearby.

Unusually, I bite my lip at this point, and say “Ahh, I see” cheerfully, but subconsciously burying my head in my hands.

This lad clearly wanted to leave school and land a job as James Cameron’s right hand man, and won’t need a camera as a brand new 3D camera will be thrust into his expectant hands.

Job Interviews

Unfortunately, the industry doesn’t work like that – surprisingly, there are hundreds of thousands of other school leavers that also want to land a job directing Johnny Depp too! If you’re not passionate enough to make films with your phone or your mums rubbish camcorder just for the love of it, it’s not going to give a very good impression at any job interview! Any employer will jump at someone that’s passionate about film making, over someone who just wants a cool job. When I was recruiting, I would always go for someone with passion and skills over someone who just had good exam results.

This is why video clubs are SUCH a great idea! If anyone has an idea how we can get this into students’ heads please let us know!

Viral Videos on YouTube

I don’t know if anyone at the club has realised, but I’m quite interested in cats. The film I made a while ago “When Freya met Teego” about a kitten meeting an older cat, has been having an exciting ride this month. I posted it on YouTube fairly soon after releasing it, and it gained a respectable 40,000 views in two years.

Then at the start of this month, I noticed the views were picking up and in a couple of weeks, the number of views had doubled! This was extraordinary – I’d never had a film get more than around 50,000 views before, and at 80,000, this had blown my previous record out of the water!

Front Page of reddit.com

Then last week, I went out for the day and when I got back I was surprised to see I had over 50 comments in my inbox from that film. This was very unusual, as I only get 1-3 a day at best from all my films! I couldn’t wait to get home to see what had happened. Arriving home, I saw that my film had received about 80,000 views that day! This was really shocking, and I was in quite a daze that evening. After a lot of research and tracing of where the viewers had come from, I finally discovered that my film had been featured on the front page of reddit.com – one of the top sites on the internet for the sharing of “interesting pages”

This single feature had been worth 110,000 views of my film in 24 hours, and currently that one film has now had over 260,000 views!

Most of my films have had no more than 500 views, but every now and then, you’ll get a lovely surprise! So if you’ve been wavering, why not give it a try – You can’t beat the lovely feeling of a complete stranger from the other side of the world, saying how much they’ve enjoyed your film!

If you’d like any help or advice, please let me know and I’d love to help encourage another fellow YouTuber!