Come on weather!
Its been quite a frustrating week for video, but I managed to get some pictures that I am pleased with.
Caldbeck Fell
Lambrigg
Ben recording at Lambrigg
Birds over Whitbarrow
Rainbow over Kirkbarrow
Edgeland title
Keeping to the creative theme, I spent a couple of hours creating an Edgeland title the old school way. Using hand cut templates and moving lights, I’m very pleased with the results. Not gonna reveal the video just yet though!
Edgeland Shoot: Tree Harvester
The gradual collection of footage continues. Still on the industrial theme, I recently arranged to collect some footage of a tree harvester at work. I think it is one of the coolest machines I have ever seen, though alarmingly destructive I think you will agree!
Edgeland original score in production
I have been in talks recently with a number of producers in the hope of getting a music score written for Edgeland. I have settled on a very talented local sound designer called Ben Metsers and the score is underway and sounding amazing already. I’m so excited about this!
Here are some links to Ben’s work -
Recent work with Louise Mary Martin
Barrow Shoot
After a failed attempt to collect footage in Barrow (on a very windy day) I returned to pick up where I left off. I spent 12 hours filming in and around the town, capturing its industrial character and dramatic setting, and trying to convey some of the pride that the locals feel. Many people disregard Barrow as a place to visit but I have enjoyed every minute I have been there, the pride and community is evident at every turn and the landscape, with its mix of industry, mountainscape and seaside is incredibly dramatic. Here is a selection of photographs from the shoot.
Ocean Stores, South Walney
The Crab House
The 4×4 Capacities of this little baby didn’t quite cut it this time!
Peil Island from South Walney
South Walney Beach
Marine heritage
Red Brick tenements
BAE Systems
Community allotments
A foray into creative writing
Edgeland has been an ever changing process, it re-forms and mutates every time I pick up my camera or look back to the planning process. This is what I love about working within a creative industry, the ever changing nature of my work. I knew from the word go that this project was going to be multi-dimensional and not just focus on documentary filmmaking. I have been working on some poetry/spoken word for the opening sequence of the film, it is an unfamiliar medium but I have really enjoyed it and am confident that it will add a really emotive and creative element to the finished piece. All I need now is a deep, gravelly, gripping voice for the part, any ideas?
Cumbria’s Multi-Dimensional Landscape
Turbine’s, Bothel
Cumbria is looked upon fondly by many people as a dramatic and beautiful landscape of lush green hills and glacier carved valleys. All of these things are true, but having grown up in the county all of my life, I see a great deal more than just the idyllic beauty of the National Park. Cumbria also has a dramatic industrial past, from the steel and ship building factories in Barrow to the treacherous slate mines in the central Lakes. Although there is a boom in tourism, the landscape has been shaped by hill farming and quarrying and it’s history is multi-layered. One of the fascinating and sometimes shocking things about Cumbria is the diversity within it. Travelling along Windermere shore you can snatch glimpses of £2 million homes, whilst 20 miles away to the coast as the crow flies, people live in very real poverty in some of the most deprived wards in the UK. My intention with the Edgeland project is to capture all of these elements and show Cumbria as much more than just a swelling tourist destination.
Edgelands work begins
I have been hibernating for months over the winter as I have had two major film projects in the planning process, as well as a few little projects bubbling away too. I have also had a major house move to keep on top of but I am finally getting to a point where I can start filming scenes and sequences.
The Edgeland project is in full swing and I will be collecting footage and interviews all through the summer. I thought I would post a write up of the brief for those who are interested. I will also post little nuggets of progress as the project takes shape.
This is a hugely exciting project and is going to take me in many different directions, creatively and geographically . Here’s a little snapshot of whats happened so far!
