Tag: amateur film making

OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 10TH

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

TIM JONES

A familiar face to OVFM club members old and new, we weclome Tim Jones, son of Colin, back for another stint as Guest Speaker.

 

Whilst newer club members will know Tim from his previous presentations, for the senior members Tim will be remembered as a fully paid up member of OVFM himself. In fact, Tim was making films before this as an unofficial member before he came of age to be admitted – the age restriction has since been reduced after Tim registered his protest as seen in this photo:

This put him in good stead for his future, making his first IAC international winning entry aged just 20. Since then Tim has become a senior lecturer in film and currently restores old 16mm films.

Tim is renowned for his stop motion animation works but for this session, he will be presenting a film about diabetes – some thing I had a brief scare with a couple of years back – which has been shown to various diabetes organisations and societies so it must be good. Well,  Colin thinks so… 😉

So, that is what we have in store for you this coming Tuesday so be sure you are there to check it out. See you then!

OVFM CLUB MEETING TUESDAY AUGUST 13TH

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

POEM

 

The time has arrived to share with us the fruits of your labours as we screen your films made to a poem. We announced this project a couple of months ago so you’ve had plenty of time to retrieve that dusty old book of sonnets from the back of the wardrobe, or look up your favourite limericks to get some inspiration for this project.

As usual we ask a little cooperation from everyone bringing a film to the meeting to PLEASE REPLY TO THIS POST in the comments/reply section below, letting us know the film’s run time, media format (DVD, Blu-ray, USB/Memory stick), file format if using the latter (MP4, MKV, AVI, etc.) 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.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing your films on Tuesday!

NEXT OVFM CLUB MEETING – Tuesday July 16th

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

Okay folks we are ready for the first round of the TOP TEN 2019 competition!

The Top Ten is open to everyone in OVFM to submit a film, no longer than 20 minutes on any subject, style or genre, which will be judged and graded by their peers. The ten films that have accrued the highest scores by the end of the five individual rounds will be entered into the final in January 2020 and the winner will be announced at the Oscars in March.

Due to the number of club members taking a slight drop over the last year due to ill-health and some unfortunate passings, the committee have decided to maximise the number of responses for this year’s competition by holding just two rounds, which means more entrants per round.

The scoring sheet has also undergone a change for this year, which you can read and download HERE.

Last year Sam Brown was our Top Ten winner with Beyond The Sunset making him our defending champion for this year’s competition. Will Sam reign supreme for a second year in a row or will someone else claim the trophy at next year’s Oscars?

Here are the club members who have been selected at random to participate in this opening round:

 

Ron Williams

Graham Sinden

Andy and Marian Watson

Jim and Fran Morton-Robertson 

Brenda and Roger Wheatley 

Trevor Rogers

Ian Ménage

Walter McKenna

Jane Oliver

Lee Relph

Mike Graham

Hugh Darrington

Anna  Littler

Laura Child

Maria Alexander 

John Bunce 

Harold Trill

 

Remember if you have a film ready and it is not your round yet please let us know below and bring it with you to the meeting – it will help make up any shortfall in submissions.

As always we ask you to PLEASE reply to this post in the comments below, if you have a film ready and letting us know the following important information :

 

Run time

Format (DVD, Blu-ray, USB)

Picture ratio (4:3 or 16:9).

 

Similarly please reply below if you can’t make this round and we’ll accommodate your film in a future round. It is very important and helpful to know these things ahead of time to ensure we have the right equipment for playing your films and so we know in advance how much time we have to discuss all the films shown if there is a huge response.  It’s a simple courtesy we are asking of you and it only takes a few seconds to comply.

And that is it. Join us on Tuesday for the opening round of the 2019 Top Ten!

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

NEXT OVFM CLUB MEETING – Tuesday July 2nd

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

I know for a fact that Jane has never been to Canada, so how on earth can she pull off an evening with this title?

Well, when dignitaries from Canada came to England, and more specifically to the London Borough of Bromley, some OVFM members were privileged to follow their every move (well almost) and so went on an ‘adventure’ with them to some interesting places. Much of their visit was filmed….

Hear more about it this coming Tuesday night!

FILM TO A THEME PROJECT – NOTICE

Posted on by Lee Relph

POEM

There’s been a slight break since our last Film To A Theme project to allow for the Top Ten competition and various practical evenings but that doesn’t mean we’ve given up on them.

As you can see, the theme for the next project is Poem.

Everyone likes a good rhyme, whether it is a witty limerick, an emotive haiku or a profound sonnet, and whilst it might not always be so obvious, the lyricism and inventive use of language found in a well written verse lends itself to any number of visual interpretations, which is where YOU come in.

We are asking that you get your cameras out and make a short film set to a poem, like you would with a film set to music but one that illustrates or interprets the text. Whether it is Shakespeare,  Wordsworth, Yeats, Hughes, Plath, Coleridge, Lear or Milligan we are spoiled for choice when it comes to picking the right title to bring to life, so spread your nets wide and let your imaginations run wild, and of course don’t forget you are welcome to hire a voiceover artist or actor friend to read the poem too!

Of course, your films can come in any style – live action, animation, photo slideshow, with or without music, whatever you can come up with will to provide us with an entertaining evening of films, all we ask that you adhere to the FIVE-MINUTE MAXIMUM time limit .

The deadline for this project is the screening date which is set for Tuesday August 13th so you have a bit of time to put something together, and we look forward to see what you have for us then!

Spring Park Film Screening – The Dewer Mystery July 4th

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

SPRING PARK FILM MAKERS

present

The Dewer Mystery

OVFM members are invited to join Spring Park Film Makers for a screening of their film The Dewer Mystery  on Thursday July 4th at the Griffiths-Jones Hall, Emmanuel Church, West Wickham, BR4 9JL.

 

This is the latest film from prolific Spring Park member Gerald Pecksen, but like its title implies, what it is about is a mystery. Such is the buzz about this film, Spring Park have arranged this extra club meeting to accommodate the premiere of its screening, along with a selection of films from their catalogue.

 

Therefore it is an honour that OVFM has been invited to share this special occasion with Spring Park, even if it does mean seeing the film that is likely to overshadow ours at future film competitions.

 

If anyone is interested in attending this event, please make this known by either replying to this post below or via e-mail to our Chair Jane Oliver.

 

Thanks for reading.

Spring Park Film Screening – SPITFIRE June 13th

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

SPRING PARK FILM MAKERS

present

SPITFIRE

 

OVFM members are invited to join Spring Park Film Makers for a screening of their film Spitfire  on June 13th. Here are the details of this event from Spring Park secretary Brenda Troughton:

 

Spring Park are showing the film ‘Spitfire’ on 13th June which was made for the 100th anniversary of the war. It is the story of an aeroplane that was the most famous fighter plane ever made.

With breath-taking aerial footage from the world’s top aviation photographer John Dibbs and rare digitally re-mastered, archive footage from the tumultuous days of the 1940’s, when her power in the skies was unrivalled; all combined with an incredible soundscape of the famous Merlin engine, pierced with gunfire, makes this a striking and poignant film.

Shown at the cinema last year for the 100th anniversary, we are now showing this at the club on 13th June for all those who were unable to see last year.

So we are writing to invite OVFM members to join us.  Perhaps you would be kind enough to let your members know – it would be good to get together for the evening.

 

If anyone is interested in attending this event, please make this known by either replying to this post below or via e-mail to our Chair Jane Oliver.

Thanks for reading.

NEXT OVFM CLUB MEETING – Tuesday June 4th

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

GREEN SCREEN

 

It’s time to get practical again with an old favourite, the green screen filming evening! We did a couple of these last year and they yielded some interesting responses from club members in using the clips in different settings, as well as earning some of the makers an award at this year’s OSCARS!

 

Whilst last time we ran with the restaurant theme, this year the reins have been loosened a bit to offer a wider scope of interpretations for the backgrounds any willing editors will wish to apply to the clips that will be based on script ideas from David Laker and Hugh Darrington – the latter bringing his own bus stop prop!

 

As ever we shall be looking for volunteers to fulfil both production and performance roles for this evening. I shall be bringing my clapperboard, but we’ll need camera operators, boom operator/sound recorder, actors, help in setting up the green screens, sets and pops , and additional scripts if we have time. 

 

Please let us know how you want to contribute by leaving a comment below – the more the merrier obviously, but we’d prefer not to have 20 people with cameras and no-one to hold the boom mic!

 

We hope everyone can join us for what looks to be another fun and productive evening at OVFM!

TOP TEN COMPETITION 2019

Posted on by Lee Relph

 

Here we go again with one of OVFM’s longest running and prominent annual competitions the Top Ten!

As you know by now, the Top 10 is when we get serious  with our filmmaking, as the gloves are off – there are no limitations on what the subject matter or style or genre of film is  – the only stipulation is that you try and keep your film to around 20 minutes in length at maximum!

The new ruling made by the Committee to reduce the rounds to just two may sound like less opportunity for people to get their films made in time but on a practical level, when it comes to the screening evenings, we end up with only three or four films at a time; by reducing the amount of rounds, it is hoped this will see an improved number of entrants  per screening for a fuller and more competitive evening.

Last year we received just 14 entries which is part of a downwards trend we’ve seen over the past few years regarding our competitions which really should be the lifeblood of our club in terms of producing the best content possible. Maybe this reduction in rounds will be galvanising enough to get those creative juices flowing again in club members?

One aspect of the Top Ten that differs from other competitions and projects is that every film is under a bit of scrutiny as the scoring is done by other club members  who are asked to proffer feedback on the individual elements of the film’s production and presentation. This isn’t intended to be cruel or an opportunity to belittle new filmmakers but to offer constructive criticism and maybe address certain area that might need adjustment or improving.

Should this sound too intimidating, anybody is welcome to request to be spared from receiving feedback.

Last year Sam Brown was our Top Ten winner with Beyond The Sunset. Can he do it again or will someone else steal his crown in 2019? That is down to you!

If you have a film from the past which has undergone a significant revamp (perhaps a new soundtrack, remixed sound, improved titling, tighter editing, extended or redacted cut etc. you are also welcome to re-submit these as your official entry. And you can team up with your fellow club members if you need help on the technical or casting front, it will be the author of the script/concept who gets the entry credit. Couples can enter either individually or together.

The draw for 2019 is thus:

 

Round One – To be held on July 16th

Ron Williams

Graham Sinden

Andy and Marian Watson

Jim and Fran Morton-Robertson 

Brenda and Roger Wheatley 

Trevor Rogers

Ian Ménage

Walter McKenna

Jane Oliver

Lee Relph

Mike Graham

Hugh Darrington

Anna  Littler

Laura Child

Maria Alexander 

John Bunce 

Harold Trill

 

Round Two – To be held on August 27th

Barbara Darby

John Alford

Ann and John Epton

Mike Shaw

Brian Pfeiffer

Peter Mitchell

Charley Caseley

Sam Brown

Barbara J. Darby

Colin Jones

Matt Swaby

William Child

Bob Vine

Kuldip Kaur

Barbara Walker

David Laker

Reg and Annabelle Lancaster

Horace Chan

 

 

Remember, if you have a film ready before your designated round you are welcome to submit it early but please let us know, preferably on this website, ahead of the particular session you will be entering it. This also applies if you are unable to provide a film in time for the first round and need to defer to the second round.

The final will take place on January 7th 2020 and the results will be revealed at the Oscars on March 17th 2020.

For the results of last year’s competition click HERE whilst a selection of the films entered, including the winner, can be viewed HERE (make sure you are logged in to see these films).

Members can find more details on the rules and guidelines along with a downloadable scoring form HERE.

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone who enters a film!

KENT FILM FESTIVAL 2019

Posted on by Lee Relph

The KFF is one of the longest running interclub competitions dating back to 1974 and returns for its 2019 iteration to be held on September 29th at Powell Theatre, Canterbury Christ Church University, North Holmes Road, Canterbury CT1 1QU.

OVFM has been a regular contributor to this event although we haven’t had a winning film for a couple of years now, so maybe this year we can reverse that trend. The closing dates for entry submissions is Wednesday July 24th and you can download an entry form HERE.

For further details, please visit the Kent Film Festival Website whilst please see our very own Ian Menage for tickets which will be available soon.