As you all should be aware by now, Cap’n Chris Coulson stepped down as Chairman of OVFM after three years in the position and ten years on the committee. Thus the AGM held on Tuesday April 16th 2013 was a pivotal one for the club as we saw the committee – aka the Legion Of Doom – receive its biggest shake up in quite some time.
Over the past few years the line-up of the committee has remained largely unchanged but with the sad passing of Vice-Chairman Mike Turner in September 2012, necessity brought about this first stage of change followed by Chris’s decision to stand down. As per the protocol of the election, every member of the committee, from top to bottom, was obliged to vacate their positions until the votes had been counted so no-one was guaranteed their seat until the votes were counted. With two nominees for the vacant key seats already accepted by incumbent committee members, a position was now available for ordinary member leaving the field open for anyone to put themselves forward for nomination.
With the winds of change now sweeping through the club the votes were counted and the new committee announced. Going forward, here are the people who make up the new OVFM committee:
Chairman – Simon Earwicker
Vice Chairman – Sam Brown
Treasurer – David Laker
Secretary – Freddy Beard
Competitions Officer – Brenda Wheatley
Press Officer – Annabelle Lancaster *
Ordinary Members:
Reg Lancaster
Ian Menage
Lee Relph
Andy Watson
* Annabelle has agreed to remain as press officer but only for a short time until a replacement can be found either within the current committee or if someone else should wish to take on the role.
Our congratulations go to Simon “Snapper” Earwicker as he becomes the latest person to steer the good ship OVFM onwards and upwards through whatever choppy seas await us. I’m sure he’ll do a good job in following in the rather large footsteps Chris has left behind and of course we offer our thanks to Chris for his leadership and contribution as chairman over the past three years.
Please give Simon and the committee your full support and remember, they are there to make sure the club continues to remain a successful and active concern for all of us. If you have any queries, ideas, suggestions or concerns about the club feel free to let any of the above know so they can raise it on your behalf at the committee meetings.
Cassius Clay is now known as Muhammad Ali. Ceylon is now known as Sri Lanka. Marathon chocolate bars are now known as Snickers. For a small group of brave (or foolhardy, take your pick) members from OVFM Good Friday is now known as Freezing Friday!
On March 29th 2013 when most people were safely tucked up in doors in the warmth, lasciviously eyeing the Easter eggs they were told not to open until Sunday, the intrepid quartet of Reg “Bomber” Lancaster, Lady Annabelle, Simon “Snapper” Earwicker and yours truly, along with my loyal chauffeur and father Tony, tackled the chilling winds and inclement temperatures head on in the name of film making. The production in question was my film Two Little Words, my entry into the Two Words project, the results of which will screen to the rest of the club at the meeting on April 30th.
Yup, Lee was back in town to make another film…
Naturally, I hadn’t intended on shooting on such a cold day but when I began to set the wheel in motion for this project the settlement on the date for everyone involved was paramount and the only date upon which we were ALL agreed was Good Friday. There is also the small matter of not being in a position to have any control over the weather; if I had that there wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately for me and the shoot, 2013 was proving to be a VERY unpredictable year weather wise, with two bouts of snow already under our belts and the pre-Spring tease of lighter skies and less chilly temperatures that usually peeps it head out from behind the frosty clouds in early March was presumably staying in bed to keep warm.
When the temperatures remained low and the snow was refusing to let up with the threat of more coming to Orpington on Friday, I was rather apprehensive that things wouldn’t work out for the shoot. Thankfully everyone agreed that the weather be damned and the shoot should go ahead. This warmed my heart tremendously.
The brave (and very cold) cast & crew of “Two Little Words”
However twenty four hours before the shoot, not only did it start snowing again but I still didn’t have a key prop, a rosette for one character. Now, I had the chance to buy a set of rosettes from E-bay the week before but I believed everyone when they told me I could get one in a number of shops. Was this true? Was it hell! Not ONE single shop I tried had them! Really! Card shops, hobby shops, joke shops, costume shops, trophy makers, even a saddlery didn’t have one. In the end I found some “Small cheap “Birthday boy” ones which had to be sewn together and patched up to become more akin to what I needed. Thankfully it came out all right.
Then the e-mails started coming in.
Urge to kill…rising….
The partner of my leading lady, the talented writer and actress Vanessa Chapman, was due to take one of the roles but when their son became ill, he opted to stay home and look after him, leaving me an actor down. Thankfully Vanessa offered to fix this by asking someone she knew who was going to be in Orpington for a while and agreed to help out, Rob Bushell, son of legendary TV critique Gary Bushell who was a fixture on Saturday night TV back in the 80’s. However he was out driving and we had to wait for a reply. This was about 22:30pm!! Then there was some confusion about the directions to my house when one person got the house number wrong! Then one person asked if they could be gone by four as they had an engagement in Whistable at 7:00pm! Now she tells me! Finally, being so engrossed in getting the actors, I forgot to acquire my crew and at this late stage I was unable to secure any further help. As it turned out, we managed with the four of us.
Even Simon couldn’t muster his usual enthusiasm…
I knew something like this would happen but I didn’t expect it all happen with the space of the same half hour. I seriously expected to look out the window and see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse hovering outside with Pestilence saying, with a gleeful twinkle in his eye “See you in the morning!”
With no edition of Question Time on TV it was my nerves that kept me awake this particular Thursday night rather than my usual residual anger at the sanctimonious, ignorant bile spewed forth on said panel debate show. With the temperature having taken a noticeable drop I feared this would be prescient to more snow overnight. No matter how often I turned my body in my bed, I could not find a comfortable enough spot or position that would tempt my cognisant senses that shutting down for a few hours would be not just a great idea but a prudent one.
During this restless period my mind was buzzing with a paranoia I’m sure many a filmmaker has experienced the night before a shoot. Will the weather hold up? Will the cast show up? With they be good? Will they be lousy? What if we overrun so badly that we end up rushing crucial scenes or forget and fall short on others? What if the camera breaks down? What if the outdoor filming is hampered due to people trying to ruin the shots? What if a giant atomic fish headed chicken bodied hybrid beast that can shoot lasers from its eyes and lay toxic egg bombs were to rise from the ground and eviscerate Orpington to the point that it is completely uninhabitable? You can laugh but cameras do break you know!
Remember, it’s not stalking if you film it…
Eventually I must of have dropped off (I don’t remember, I was asleep) because I woke up fresh and early (well, early). I was chuffed to mint balls to pull back my curtains to see that the God had not spilled any more of his Columbian nose powder across the garden and that the faint glimmer of light was present in the sky. It actually gave me a sliver of hope that we may have a successful day after all, but I am a pessimist by nature thus I’m not in the nature of hatching any chickens before the I’s have been crossed and Peter has been robbed so the pounds can look after their oysters.
So how would the actual shoot go down? Find in Part Two.
This week is the one time we get serious here at OVFM as we hold our annual AGM.
This is the even where the club members elected to fulfil the major positions of the club’s committee (aka the Legion of Doom) sit before us and conduct the session in which YOU are given the opportunity to make your voice heard.
To download the agenda in full for the meeting please click HERE.
The most important matter to be addressed this year is the election of the committee members which has been discussed at great length HERE. As you already know our incumbent Chairman Cap’n Chris Coulson is stepping down from this position after three years thus we will be electing in a new chairman. Our current vice chairman Simon “Snapper” Earwicker has agreed to put himself up for election for this spot while ordinary member Sam Brown is willing to fill the Vice Chairman spot.
This leaves us with a number of vacant ordinary member positions to be filled so club members who wish to have a greater say in how the club is run could get their chance – if the votes swing their way. Remember this is a democratic process so NONE of the current committee members are guaranteed to resume their places until the votes are counted; we could end up with a completely new look committee once the night is over.
This is an important and pivotal night for OVFM so your presence in very much requested this Tuesday evening and your input and opinions are equally as vital. See you then.
Filmmaking is not as easy as it seems as I am sure we have all found out. It’s one of those areas where one never stops learning no matter how long they have been involved in it or how much they think they know. This is something that is recognised here at OVFM hence our annual Q&A Masterclass.
For our next club meeting a panel of experts – including such knowledgeable luminaries as Cap’n Chris Coulson”, Reg “Bomber” Lancaster and Professor Mike Shaw – will be on hand to share their years of expertise and experience top answer any questions you may have that is troubling you with regard to filmmaking. Shutter speed, exposure, aperture, sound levels, HD vs SD, key framing – whatever it is you can rest assured our panel will do their very best to provide an answer for you or they will publicly sing the greatest hits of Celine Dion on the roof of St Augustine’s while dressed in tutus!!
So, if you desperately need some advice or are just genuinely curious about something that this is your opportunity to put that right. And don’t be shy in asking something that may sound simple – we all have to start somewhere and chances are you’ll be doing someone else a favour too by asking!
Hope to see you all on Tuesday night and on behalf of the panel – bring it on!! 🙂
Every ship needs an engine to help drive it forward and for OVFM that would be the Committee – a select few who work diligently all year round to ensure the club has a purpose, a direction, and takes care of the administrative matters that keep OVFM alive. The Committee is also there to address any concerns members may have, be they personal matters or relating to the club itself.
Every club member no doubt has an opinion or idea as to how we could improve the club’s running, its fortunes, or has suggestions for projects, promotional ideas or other club related activities. The AGM is one way for people to put their ideas and opinions forward or, of course, committee members are always wiling to listen and put these proposals to the other committee members during the bi-monthly meetings for discussion.
Earlier the Committee was referred to as “a select few” but this seems to have caused some confusion for some members about how exactly the Committee is “selected”. Like all great organisations in the free world, OVFM is as much a democracy as anyone else, thus the Committee are voted in exactly as one would a Government or Board of Directors. This takes place at every AGM, although some intermediary appointments have been made for various reasons (most recently being the sad passing of our Vice Chairman) but to be considered a member of the Committee one has to stand up and be counted.
Every year prior to the AGM a form is made available to club members – either with the Viewfinder or (from now on) here on the website – with which the Committee members are voted in by YOU. ALL incumbent members are asked if they are willing to stand for re-election leaving every seat and position open – from chairman to treasurer to ordinary member – until the nominations and votes have been received. It seems over the past few years that the lack of response from OVFM club members has meant the Committee has remained largely the same. With nobody new standing for election the same committee members have automatically remained in place. This has caused some feeling among club members that the Committee is an autonomous collective who decide to retain their own positions on an annual basis.
Therefore this year’s AGM on April 16th will hopefully assuage those concerns and lay them to rest once and for all as two members of the current Committee are standing down from their positions with one not seeking re-election for their position. So, if you want to make a difference to OVFM and have ideas or concerns you want to raise, then now is the chance to make yourself known and join the Committee!
Simply download the form from the Viewfinder or from HERE then find another club member to nominate you and get that nomination seconded by someone else. Submit your form in by the next club meeting on April 2nd ahead of the AGM on the 16th where the final results will be revealed.
For the record the current Committee members who ARE standing for re-election are:
Simon Earwicker – Current Vice-Chairman standing for Chairman
Sam Brown – Current Ordinary Member standing for Vice Chairman
Annabelle Lancaster – Current Press Officer but standing as Ordinary Member *
Freddy Beard – Secretary
David Laker – Treasurer
Brenda Wheatley – Competitions Organiser
Reg Lancaster – Ordinary Member
Andy Watson – Ordinary Member
Lee Relph – Ordinary Member
Standing down and thus NOT seeking re-election is:
Chris Coulson – Current Chairman
* As noted above Annabelle Lancaster is standing down as Press Officer only
As you can see it is important that this year we do see a concerted interest from club members to step up and be counted, now that two vital roles are vacant. While we have a nominee for Chairman we will be needing a new Press Officer.
Remember the Committee is not a self serving entity but a group of people striving to make OVFM a continued success for ALL of its members, which relies on a self-perpetuating source of energy to allow that to happen. So if YOU want to make a difference to the club then find someone to nominate you and have that seconded, or nominate and second someone else. It all helps.
If you have any queries or comments please reply to this post below and we’ll do our best to respond to them for you.
On behalf of the Committee, thanks for reading and for your continued support of OVFM!
Nobody actually wants to be left alone on a desert island do they? Well, the way the government are going it might be a more preferable option….but I digress. In most cases people find themselves in this situation by accident but if this should happen, we would hope to have some kind of useful object or creature comfort with us to make the time a bit more sufferable. Which brings us to this week’s club meeting.
In absolutely no way at all ripped off from the legendary long running radio show Desert Island Discs (just in case the estate of Roy Plumley is reading) OVFM presents Desert Island Films!! In this session, our victim is the irredeemable Cherie Hamlet-Smith who will be sharing with us eight films that mean the most to her or reflect important moments in her short but illustrious life that would be the ones she would most want to have with her, should she be stuck on a desert island. Geddit?
So, what films mean the most to Cherie that she’d have rather have on a desert island instead of her husband Alan? Come to the meeting on Tuesday night and find out!!
The annual OVFM Top 10 Competition for 2013 is due to start soon and once again it will be contested over five rounds across the year. Last year 26 entries which was two up on 2011, while we also set a precedent by adding an extra date due to low turnout early – but don”t mistake kindness for weakness – the Legion of Doom may not be so forgiving this year!
Competition organiser Brenda Wheatley has released the line-ups for each round so please check to see in which group your name is included:
Round 1 (14th May)
Craig Robinson
Jane Oliver
Harold & Maisie Trill
Alan Whippy
Gwen Whippy
Mike & Jo Coad
Derek Allen
Susan Ward
Anna Littler
Ann Perrin
Mike Shaw
Round 2 ( 23rd July)
Barbara Walker
David Laker
Bob Wyeth
John Bunce
Jenny Tucker
Mo & Peter Lodge
Tony Faller
Mike Bishop
Barbara J. Darby
John Alford
Round 3 (20th August)
Reg Lancaster
Malcolm Goodwin
Lee Relph
Sylvia Snipp
Basil Doody
Cherie Hamlet-Smith
Frank Hyde
Ann and John Epton
Peter Mitchell
Chris Coulson
Round 4 (17th September)
Bob Vine
Annabelle Lancaster
Alan Smith
Jim Morton-Robertson
Sam Brown
Andy Watson
Brenda & Roger Wheatley
Pat Palmer
Brian Pfeiffer
Mike Graham
Round 5 (15th October)
Charlie & Nellie Caseley
Richard & Jess Pugh
Ian Menage
Freddy Beard
Simon Earwicker
Hugh Darrington
Peggy Parmenter
John Ransley
Colin Jones
It would be hugely appreciated by Brenda if you could all strive to get your films in on the dates you are listed on, but if for some reason you don’t have your film ready by the given date, please let her know via e-mail so that she can try to find someone else to fill the gap in the evening. If your film is ready early please bring it along on a top ten night and if there is time we will show it.
If you miss your given round you can bring your film along to a later one, but it will only be shown after those drawn for that round, if there is time.
Be sure to check the results page (once it is up) as the competition progresses.
Erm…doesn’t quite work does it? Anyway last night was the Oscars and a good time was had by most – specifically Colin “Fox Whisperer” Jones and Barbara “Cakes” Darby who took home five and three awards respectively. I didn’t win anything but I have the judges names, all I need now is their addresses….
Speaking of the judges the three men from Epsom Film Makers, to whom we are grateful for taking the time to watch, comment and grade our films, are Norman Bull, John Gannaway and Ron Everitt, who were also in attendance last night and presented the top two awards of the evening. So a big thank you to them.
Up first were the three awards voted for internally (i.e within the club).
Kath Jones Cup (Joke film under five minutes)–Winner: Legal Tangle by Colin Jones
Vic Treen Cup (Film set to music) – Winner: Finger Licking Good by Colin Jones
Mike Turner Plate (Film under sixty seconds) – Winner: Traditions by Harold Trill
The 2012 Top Ten Competition – Runner Up: More Than Steam by Sam Brown
Winner: Master Craftsman by Barbara Darby
We then moved onto the Annual Competition Awards as judged by Epsom Film Makers.
Jubilee Shield (Film under five minutes) – Winner: Village Secrets by Sue Ward
Raasay Trophy (No special category) – Winner: Autumn In Greenwich by Colin Jones
Alice Howe Trophy (Documentary) – Winner: Master Craftsman by Barbara Darby
Reg Lancaster Trophy (Funniest Film) – Winner: Legal Tangle by Colin Jones
Heyfield Trophy (Sound) – Winner: Fun With The Ancestors by Annabelle Lancaster
Rene Morris Penguin Plate (Photography) – Winner: Autumn In Greenwich by Colin Jones
Vincent Pons Shield (Fiction) – Winner: Why I Stopped Playing Golf by Hugh Darrington
Priory Trophy (Editing) –Winner: Fun With The Ancestors by Annabelle Lancaster
Arthur Woolhead Trophy (Animation or Visual Effects) – Winner: Wildfowl Waltz by Mike & Jo Coad
Orpington Trophy (Best Film Runner Up): More Than Steam by Sam Brown
Ian Dunbar Cup (Best film) – Winner: Master Craftsman by Barbara Darby
Commendations: Eastbourne by Mike & Jo Coad
The Second Day by Chris Coulson
So there you have it. Congratulations to all the winners and commiserations but a hearty pat on the back to everyone who was nominated or entered a film.
Thanks again to the guys from Epsom Film Makers and perhaps next year we can chose judges who aren’t members of Colin’s family! Just joking Colin! 😉 and of course to Brenda Wheatley for another excellent job as competitions organiser!
It’s time to raise the curtain on OVFM Oscars night
Once again the biggest event in the OVFM calendar is upon us as we hold our very own Oscars! Over the past twelve months we’ve all (well some of us have) been hard at work making films and improving our skills and this is the night where that hard work is recognised and rewarded.
The many trophies and awards contested include the Ian Dunbar Cup, the Orpington trophy, the Jubilee Shield and the Mike Turner Plate and judging by the quality of the films entered these will all be tightly contested categories. We shall also be announcing the winner of the top 10 for 2012, one of the few awards based on club member votes.
Last year Simon “Snapper” Earwicker swept the board with four prizes. Can he do it again this year or will we crown a new King or Queen of OVFM?
As always the Oscar night is meant to be a fun time for the club as much as it is an evening of celebration so members are encouraged to either put on their gladrags or be a bit creative and indulge in a bit of fancy dress. Who can forget last year when our beloved vice chairman Mike Turner dressed up as a banana to help promote Anna Littler’s Blitz & Bananas?
So, let’s hope no-one trips up when going up to receive their award or we don’t have to endure any embarrassing skits or songs about seeing certain parts of the female body as those pretenders in Hollywood did last week. This is the OVFM Oscars – about a classy as you can get (for Orpington anyway…)!!
For this week’s club meeting we look forward to seeing the results of your hard labour in creating a film that fits the theme of “Surprise Surprise”. If you should still need a reminder or what this entails the details can be found HERE Since you are all a creative and devious bunch I am sure we can expect a few unique treats to savour in lieu of the broad spectrum of possibilities this topic suggests.
As always we ask that those you who will be submitting a film to please reply to this post below saying as much so we have a rough idea of how the time allotment for this session will play out.
Also could you please include the following information with your submission:
Film Title
Your Name
Running Time
Aspect Ratio (4:3 or 16:9)
This simple act of cooperation makes all the difference for our archivists and programme compilers and is greatly appreciated.
