Tag: advice

OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22nd 2016

Posted on by Lee Relph

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We’ve now reached the last of the four qualifying rounds of the annual Top 10 Competition meaning this is the final opportunity club members have to enter their film ahead of the final on January 10th 2017.

The remaining listed club invited to submit a film for this round are as follows:

 

Charlie & Nellie Caseley

David Laker

Malcolm Goodwin

Basil Doody

Freddy Beard

Harold & Maisie Trill

Colin Jones

Lee Relph

John & Sylvia Greengrass

Peggy Parmenter

 

If, for whatever reason, you haven’t submitted a film for this year’s contest and still wish to do so, then this is also you last chance to enter.

As ever if you can’t make your designated round be sure to let either Brenda know ahead of time or reply to this post below, or you have a film ready early, please bring it along as chances are it will be welcomed for screening time permitting.

And if you are bringing a film this week then PLEASE REPLY TO THIS POST in the comments/reply section below, letting us know the film’s run time, format (DVD, Blu-ray) and picture ratio (4:3 or 16:9). This is a great help for us when planning the evening out and helping things run smoothly so if you could do us this courtesy it would be greatly appreciated.

The previous results in this year’s contest can be found HERE.

Thank you and good luck to everyone who enters a film!

OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY OCTOBER 25th 2016

Posted on by Lee Relph

ovfmbrains2

 

It’s been a while since we’ve held a session like this in OVFM but with a few new members now among our ranks, it’s time to one again open up the floor to our resident experts who are willing to share their wisdom and years of experience with the rest of us in the art of filmmaking.

The line-up has yet to be confirmed but we can hope that previous contributors club president Reg “Bomber” Lancaster and Professor Mike Shaw will be willing candidates to hold court and answer our questions as best they can.

Whatever the subject, be it editing, setting up the camera, framing, composition, getting the lighting, etc. if there is anything that has been bothering you, or you don’t quite understand or simply are on the look out for advice on your next filmmaking related purchase, do be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to get the answers and guidance you need.

So get your thinking caps on and we’ll see you on Tuesday with your questions!

OVFM CLUB MEETING – TUESDAY JULY 5th 2016

Posted on by Lee Relph

ovfm_Speaker_16

 

This week’s club meeting sees us welcoming a guest speaker to regale us with tales of their filmmaking career and hopefully share some advice too. Stepping up to the podium is Chris Woollard, an associate of our own John Alford.

Chris_W

Chris has an impressive CV in the film business – he entered the industry in the early 1990’s, working for an American chap named Steven Spielberg on a film about dinosaurs called Jurassic Park, which I am sure won’t be as good as our Dexter film! He then moved to Boston where he joined the now defunct computer manufacturer Thinking Machines Corporation, earning a Ph.D. in Computer Science.

A member of The British Kinematograph, Sound and Television Society (BKSTS) and British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) Chris has plenty of experience in both making films and teaching the subject to future generations of filmmakers.

Chris will be covering many topics in his talk with us as well as enlightening us on his extensive with the Iraq government, a key feature of his presentation which I am sure will make for a fascinating evening.

So be sure to come along this Tuesday night to hear the amazing stories Chris’s illustrious career!

OVFM CLUB MEETING – TUESDAY MAY 24th 2016

Posted on by Lee Relph

ovfm_workshop

 

Apologies in advance for the vagueness of this preview but while the theme of the next club meeting is a Workshop evening, where one of our knowledgeable members shares their expertise in a certain area of film making or post-production, I have little else to add to that.

I can tell you that our archivist and head projectionist Andy “Elementary My Dear” Watson will be demonstrating editing with Serif Movie Maker but I cannot share any specific details with you as Andy has sloped off on holiday and won’t be back until just before the meeting! I can only assume that Andy will take us through the basic set-up, explore a few features of the editor and share a few tricks with us he has learned but other than that, the content of his presentation is a mystery.

By the same token that makes the evening a little more enticing and gives it a sense of danger since we don’t know exactly what to expect!

Can you handle the tension until Tuesday?

OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY March 1st 2016

Posted on by Lee Relph

The guest speaker lined up for this week’s club meeting should be familiar to everyone at OVFM as it is our very own Professor Mike Shaw!

mike

Before he picked up the camera and became the club’s resident special effects whizz, Mike spent many years working in advertising and was responsible for masterminding a number of campaigns for many top name companies and businesses of the time.

So what does this have to do with filmmaking? Both films and adverts, or indeed any creative process, begin the same way – with an idea. Certainly there are differences in that ads need to be short, to the point and within a specific remit of the company or product requirements (and we at OVFM are not adverse to making short films under a minute either) but there needs to be a starting point and it is that common thread which will be one feature of Mike’s presentation.

Mike will be talking us through some of the campaigns he was responsible for, explaining the various stages of creative process and sharing the end results with us, which saw Mike rub shoulders with some the showbiz elite of the era – not that Mike is a name dropper so don’t expect to hear the name Sammy Davis Jr. mentioned at any time during the course of the evening!

It might be a different tact from our usual film related guest speakers but I’m sure it won’t be any less interesting to us as creative types. And who knows – we may see an ad campaign already familiar to us unaware it was actually one of Mike’s.

Only one way to find out and that is to join us this coming Tuesday evening where you are Shaw to be in for a fascinating evening!

Ahem. I’ll get my coat….

Meet Lily!

Posted on by Lee Relph

lily

Meet Lily!!

With Christmas coming up I’m sure your family is asking what you want for a present. Well, thanks to Ian Menage, we may have the answer right here! 😀

Lily is the world’s first throw-and-shoot camera. It lets anyone create cinematic footage previously reserved for professional filmmakers. Lily is waterproof, ultra-portable, and shoots stunning HD pictures and videos.

For more information visit their website their website https://www.lily.camera/

In the meantime take a look at this video of Lily in action:

 

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday November 10th 2015

Posted on by Lee Relph

ovfm coaching

 

This week’s club meeting is a two part coaching evening to help improve the filmmaking skills and knowledge of club members and familiarise them with the club equipment.

First there will be a demonstration of how to use the various supplementary bits of kit we have at our disposal  (full list is HERE), including the dolly track, wireless mic, steadycam and more.

The second part of the evening will be a Q and A session in which your questions will be answered by our ever knowledgeable panel of experts. So if something is nagging you about lighting, sound, editing, focusing, or you have trouble understanding terms like “aperture” or “backlight” then this is the perfect opportunity to ask someone who knows to explain it to you.

Remember there is no such thing as a silly question as we all had to start somewhere, so don’t be shy in asking for help if you need it.

We are a filmmaking club and we are just as effective working as a group unit as we are as individuals, so please make use of this session to help improve your understanding and knowledge of making films, or to share your knowledge with those who need it.

See you there!

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday October 13th 2015

Posted on by Lee Relph

speaker

 

For our next club meeting we invite another visitor to share with us his experiences and expert advice in the world of amateur filmmaking, albeit this time with a little twist.

(bio courtesy of Annabelle Lancaster)

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Our guest speaker, Mike Whyman FACI, had a very varied career from technical assistant at the BBC through to making around 400 video programmes for the National Coal Board.

From there he eventually went to JVC just as the Japanese company was launching VHS and, in so doing, bringing about a revolution in the way that TV is consumed. Mike’s role there was to offer advice, guidance and some video facilities to the public at the Video Information Centre in London and that, in turn, led to his involvement with the IAC and with affiliated clubs.

A keen amateur himself, starting with Standard 8 film, Mike has maintained his contacts with the IAC and is a regular visitor to BIAFF and the AGM weekends. He has also acted as a judge in a number of IAC competitions at club, regional and national levels.

He calls his talk “Video Formats I’ve known and loved.”

So make sure you come along this Tuesday to hear the wit and wisdom of Mike Whyman for yourself.

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday May 26th 2015

Posted on by Lee Relph

speaker

 

For our next club meeting we shall be inviting another member of the film making community to come to our humble meeting place to share their wisdom and advice with us.

The guest speaker this time is no stranger to OVFM having paid us a visit in the past. know for his technical expertise and for keeping his eye on the latest developments on the equipment side of the film making world, his columns can be read in the bi-monthly Film & Video News magazine.

I am referring of course to Tom Hardwick!

Tom Hardwick

 

Tom has a presentation ready for us which he says has “something for everyone” and with his years of experience and wealth of amassed knowledge you can be sure Tom will be true to his word on that front!

Filmmaking is an endeavour where one is always learning  and one of the best ways to learn is from others so make sure if you yearn to improve your knowledge, to be there for Tom’s presentation on Tuesday night and make  sure to give our guest a warm OVFM welcome!

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday March 31st 2015

Posted on by Lee Relph

project_special

Yes it is another project evening this time devoted to an old favourite – the Green Screen!

We’ve had some fun before exploring the wonders of filming before a green screen and messing about with fun backgrounds and other aspects this technique affords us to great effect so this night shouldn’t be any different.

Unfortunately I cannot give you any more information about what to expect as our Vice Chairman Sam “Choo Choo” Brown, who is organising the activities for the evening, hasn’t passed any details on to me. All I do know is that we are hoping to make a film in this evening or something we can put towards a possibly entry for the North vs South competition.

Just a reminder that, like the Oscars on the 17th, this meeting will be held once again at All Saints Church in Orpington.

Whatever Sam has in store for us it should be an eventful and hopefully productive evening!