guest speaker – Page 2 – Orpington Video and Film Makers

OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY APRIL 18th 2017

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Lee Relph

For our next club meeting we once again hand the floor over to an outsider to delight us with handy hints, anecdotes or films from their own catalogue, although our guest speaker on this occasion is hardly that.

Tim Jones is a former OVFM member, now Senior Lecturer Christ Church College Canterbury in the Film and TV Department. He is also known to many as the son of our longest serving club member Colin “Colin” Jones, just in case you hadn’t spotted the connection already (you’re welcome, Colin). Tim has made many films over the years covering every genre and style, but has proven particularly adept at stop motion animation films.

For this session Tim will be presenting a programme entitled Amateur Film and Local History.

Among the films being screened will be one of Tim’s own works Seeking Sydney, alongside a selection of amateur films made in the Canterbury area over the years. Keeping things a bit more local will be a film shot at Crofton Junior School in Petts Wood in 1954, which should prove fascinating in depicting the changes over the past 63 years.

That’s all to look forward this coming Tuesday evening!

OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY MARCH 7th 2017

Posted on March 1, 2017January 5, 2022 by Lee Relph

For the first club meeting of March, the floor will be handed over to a guest speaker. This time it is someone who should be a familiar face to those who frequent the various events on the annual SERIAC circuit.

Ron Prosser (FACI) has a storied career in filmmaking spanning 60 years, cutting his teeth professionally with Hollybush Films in a number of roles, including the shooting, editing and presenting of corporate films. This has given Ron experience in using many extinct and moribund film formats including 8mm and 16mm, which held him in good stead since crossing over to simpler practices in his award winning amateur career, keeping up to date with the digital age.

Some of these films from Ron’s extensive catalogue will be shared with OVFM club member during this session, along with a few stories about the backgrounds and making of and Ron is willing to take questions as well if there is time. This should be an interesting and entertaining and hopefully those who already know Ron will make him welcome when he pays us a visit this Tuesday evening!

See you then!

OVFM CLUB MEETING – TUESDAY JULY 5th 2016

Posted on June 30, 2016January 5, 2022 by Lee Relph

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 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 March 1st 2016

Posted on February 23, 2016January 8, 2022 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!

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….

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday October 13th 2015

Posted on October 8, 2015January 5, 2022 by Lee Relph

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)

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 May 21, 2015January 5, 2022 by Lee Relph

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 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 September 30th 2014

Posted on September 25, 2014January 5, 2022 by Lee Relph

It’s that time were we once again hand over the reins of the club meeting to a guest speaker.

This week we will hear from Graham Kirkman who is an award winning dubbing mixer with 15 years experience currently employed by Halo Post, with a range of TV and film projects under his belt including Top Gear, The Apprentice, Made In Chelsea and Gladiators!

One of the common hurdles that has blighted the films of OVFM members is sound, and I am guilty as anyone in that, so perhaps Graham can provide us with some tips of the trade to help us improve our sound recording. Of course we don’t have the same hi-tech equipment as Graham does but the principle is still the same so this should prove to be an enlightening evening for us. For the record however Graham is sworn to secrecy as to the identity of The Stig!

For more info on Graham Kirkman visit his website HERE.

See you all on Tuesday!

OVFM Club Meeting Tuesday September 3rd 2013

Posted on August 27, 2013January 5, 2022 by Lee Relph

This week’s meeting sees us handing over the reigns to someone else as we welcome a guest speaker to share their wisdom and knowledge of filmmaking.

Stepping up to the plate is Tim Jones, who will be familiar to some of the longer tenured club members as he was once one of us.

Tim, son of Colin Jones, nephew of Thorvald Nlodvisson, the son of Gudleif, half brother of Thorgier, the priest of Ljosa water, who took to wife Thurunn, the mother of Thorkel Braggart, the slayer of Cudround the powerful, who knew Howal, son of Geernon, son of Erik from Valdalesc, son of Arval Gristlebeard, son of Harken, who killed Bjortguaard in Sochnadale in Norway over Cudreed, daughter of Thorkel Long, the son of Kettle-Trout, the half son of Harviyoun Half-troll, father of Ingbare the Brave, who with Isenbert of Gottenberg the daughter of Hangbard the Fierce, first joined OVFM when he was just a foetus and was making films before he could even walk. After graduating from nappies Tim won his first SERIAC award and became the one of the youngest members ever of the IAC to become a Fellow. Now able to walk by himself and earn his own pocket money, Tim is a senior lecturer at Christ Church College Canterbury in the Film and TV department, which is located round the back of the main building next to the dustbins.

Tim will be sharing with us memories of his time as an OVFM club member along with an illustrated talk on the origins of amateur film making. And if there is time perhaps we could encourage father and son to recreate their famous fan dance that won them second place in the “All Comers Humiliate Yourself For A Plastic Trophy Worth About 2 Pence” contest at Butlins in 1974 (narrowly beaten by Pinky the flatulent hamster).

You have been warned.