Orpington Video and Film Makers
Amateur Film Makers since 1958 Based in Orpington, Kent, UK
Congrats to our very own Professor Mike Shaw and his partners in Footprints Productions for their recent big win at this year’s SERIAC Film Festival .
The film in question was Enid Blyton – The Beckenham Years , a seven year labour of love for Mike and his collaborators from Spring Park which received a record four awards!
You can read the full story on the Orpington Community Website HERE
Once again our congratulations to Mike and everyone on the Footprints Productions team!
This week’s meeting is a little different for OVFM as it has nothing to do with us!
Okay that is a little glib but on this occasion we are playing host to the 2014 Triangle competition, while three other clubs will put their films up for judging while drinking our tea and eating our biscuits!
The Triangle competition, for those who don’t know, is contested between four clubs (yes I know that would make it a square but bear with me) – OVFM, Epsom Movie Makers, Shooters Hill Camcorder Club and Spring Park – and each year one club takes it in turn to host the actual competition screening of the films from the other three. Again, it’s still technically a square but only three clubs submit a 30 minute programme of their films for judging on an annual basis while one sits back and put their feet up. This year it is OVFM’s turn to sit back and put our feet up. Sort of.
At stake is the Triangle Trophy which is awards to the club who provides the best programme of the evening while a second trophy is awards to Best Film which doesn’t have to be a part of the club’s main programme of films. Last year Spring Park won both awards – can they win again this year (since we’re not competing)?
As hosts we are obliged to provide judges so Reg “Bomber” Lancaster, Sam “Choo Choo” Brown and Brenda “Spot The Ball” Wheatley have stepped up to take on this role on our behalf. Also there will be a raffle on the night too.
Because the expected size of the turnout is larger than normal this meeting will be held once again at All Saints Church in Orpington (home to the AGM on the 1st April).
We hope you will all be there to welcome our visitors and don’t forget to bring some rotten fruit and veg to throw at anyone who makes a bad film – not that they will of course… 😉
“Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends”
A new year means a new start for the annual Top Ten competition aka the “Barbara Darby Hands Off That’s Mine” award!
Once again the names of all OVFM club members have been put into the hat belonging to our competitions organiser Brenda Wheatley and drawn in random to make up the participants for each of the five rounds that will take place between now and the end of the year, leading to the final in January 2015.
Remember that each film has a 20 minute time limit but can be on any subject and in any style. 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.
The breakdown of the rounds and the selected members for each date is thus:
ROUND 1 – 27th May
Colin Jones
Bob Wyeth
John Bunce
Ann & John Epton
Peggy Parmenter
Peter Mitchell
Frank Hyde
Mike & Jo Coad
Barbara Darby
Alan Smith
ROUND 2 – 8th July
Mike Shaw
Richard & Jess Pugh
Sylvia Snipp
Malcolm Goodwin
Mike Bishop
Anna Littler
Pat Palmer
Basil Doody
Brian Pfeiffer
John Alford
ROUND 3 – 19th August
Tony Faller
Bob Vine
Jenny Tucker
Roger & Brenda Wheatley
Tony Keable
Nellie Caseley
Freddy Beard
Reg Lancaster
Cherie Hamlet-Smith
Chris Coulson
ROUND 4 – 16th September
Nick Kasper
Andy & Marian Watson
Mo & Peter Lodge
Sam Brown
Jim Morton Robertson
Hugh Darrington
Harold & Maisie Trill
Simon Earwicker
Lee Relph
Barbara Walker
ROUND 5 – 14th October
Annabelle Lancaster
Mike Graham
Leo Staggs
David Laker
John Ransley
Pamela Webb
Ian Menage
Susan Ward
Barbara J. Darby
As ever if you can’t make your designated round be sure to let Brenda know ahead of time or you have a film ready early, please bring it along as chances are it will be welcomed for screening time permitting.
So, get filming and we look forward to seeing what gems you have in store for us in 2014.
Hello and welcome to the annual OVFM Oscars Results report.
The 2014 OVFM Oscars took place in front of a bored audience at the Barnard Room, St Augustine’s Church on a somewhat chilly night but that didn’t stop them dressing up in their best glad rags for the events. Actually it did stop a few of them – names have been noted and the lads will be round later to “have a word”….
We were fortunate enough to be joined by two of the judges from Haywards Heath Movie Makers Ron Prosser and David Fenn while third judge Rod Willerton clearly had something better to do. Hope those toenails are now nice and neat Rod! Ron and David seemed to enjoy themselves – assuming banging your head against the wall screaming “get me out of here” is a Haywards Heath way of expressing pleasure that is!
As is the case in many awards ceremony one film or filmmaker will often dominate the voting usually leading to commensurate rewards. This year it was our chairman Simon “Snapper” Earwicker who was the big winner, taking home almost every award except for Best Hair, Best Costume, Best Use Of A Pineapple and Best Film Not In The Martian Language.
So onto the results which look like this, starting with the awards as voted for by us lot at OVFM:
Kath Jones Cup (Joke film under five minutes)–Winner: ATM Wobbler by John Bunce
Vic Treen Cup (Film set to music) – Winner: Sundays Down The Lane by Basil Doody
Mike Turner Plate (Film under sixty seconds) – Winner: Stop Motion by Simon Earwicker
The 2013 Top Ten Competition – Runner Up: The Artist by Mike Shaw
Winner: The Village Mosaic by Barbara Darby
We then moved onto the Annual Competition Awards as judged by Hayward’s Heath Movie Makers.
Jubilee Shield (Film under five minutes) – Winner: Two Little Words by Lee Relph
Raasay Trophy (No special category) – Winner: Stop Motion by Simon Earwicker
Alice Howe Trophy (Documentary) – Winner: Cakes And Onions by Ann & John Epton
Reg Lancaster Trophy (Funniest Film) – Winner: The Artist by Mike Shaw
Heyfield Trophy (Sound) – Winner: Stop Motion by Simon Earwicker
Rene Morris Penguin Plate (Photography) – Winner: Memories Of Costa Rica by Barbara Darby
Vincent Pons Shield (Fiction) – Winner: Power Corrupts by David Laker
Priory Trophy (Editing) – Winner: Love And War by Simon Earwicker
Arthur Woolhead Trophy (Animation or Visual Effects) – Winner: Stop Motion by Simon Earwicker
Orpington Trophy (Best Film Runner Up): Love And War by Simon Earwicker
Ian Dunbar Cup (Best film) – Winner: Cakes And Onions by Ann & John Epton
High Commendations: Campdowne by David Laker
Killer Hand by Barbara Walker
Commendations: High Street Fun by Ann & John Epton
I’m Not A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here” by Hugh Darrington
And that is it for another year. Congratulations to all the nominees and the winners and we’ll be doing it all again in 2015 to see who will reap the rewards for the next twelve months of film making
Thank you and good night!
“They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway”
Well they have nothing compared to the luminescence of the OVFM Oscars, especially those Yanks who are trying to steal our thunder by hosting their thrupenny bit knockoff version two days before ours!
The biggest event in the OVFM calendar arrives on March 4th where the hard work and creativity of OVFM club members are rewarded with fetching little trinkets that have had a load of names and dates scratched into them. With bated breath (or fresh breath if you use mouth wash) many of use are on tenterhooks wondering if our names will be added to those which have already caused a huge devaluation to the resell worth of said trophies!
As ever we have many awards being contested including:
Ian Dunbar Cup
Orpington Trophy
Jubilee Shield
Vincent Pons Trophy
Mike Turner Plate
Kath Jones Cup
Peggy Parmenter Knife & Fork
We’ll also find out who has come second to Barbara “Cakes” Darby in the 2013 Top Ten competition.
This year we are thankful to Rod Willerton, Ron Prosser and David Fenn of Haywards Heath Movie Makers for kindly judging the films on our behalf and we believe Messers Prosser and Fenn might be joining on the night, so we can thank them personally (or beat them up if we don’t anything).
And of course it wouldn’t be an award ceremony without the display of high fashion and glamour so members are encouraged to expel the mothballs from their Sunday finest and dress up for the occasion, or if you are so inclined you can indulge in a bit of fancy dress. Last year long time member John Alford came dressed as an empty chair but was devastated when no-one noticed. The moral of this tale? Choose your costume wisely!
Last year’s big winner was Colin “Colin” Jones who took home seven awards although he only actually won five, followed by Mrs. “Cakes” Darby who won three. Who will be the triumphant winner(s) this year?
The only way to find out is to join us this Tuesday March 4th at the Barnard Room, St Augustine’s Church for the 2014 OVFM Oscars!!
Hope to see you all then!
The annual SERIAC film festival is soon upon us with this year’s event taking place on April 5th 2014 at Oast Theatre Tonbridge!
The closing date for entries is January 31st and the entry form can be downloaded from HERE!
For further information on SERIAC and other film festivals visit their website : http://www.seriac.org.uk/festivals.html
Good luck to all who enter a film!
Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you’ve all got the festive cheer and associated indulgences out of your systems as we get ready to kick off the New Year here at OVFM.
Our first order of business is to settle some unfinished business from 2013 – namely the Top Ten competition. Our first club meeting of 2014 is the long awaited final of our annual in house competition. The ten finalists have been notified via e-mail from competition officer Brenda Wheatley and should have completed the final adjustments (if needed) to their films based on the feedback from previous rounds, ready for their final screening for judgement by your peers.
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The results of this concluding round will determine the winner of the 2013 Top ten, which will be revealed at this year’s Oscars on March 4th!
Also this meeting is the closing date for entries for the Annual Competition so please make sure you don’t miss out and get your films, entry forms and £2 entry fee to Brenda. More details and links to download the entry form are found HERE
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So good luck to all the finalists and we look forward to seeing all of you on Tuesday for our first gathering of the New Year!!
The Grand Final of the North v South Competition took place on Sunday 24th November in the South at its usual venue of the Village Hall in Farnborough, Kent.
A 5 hour show which included all 25 films entered into the competition were shown to an appreciative audience. Several people commented after the show about the high standard of the finalists this year.
Around 75 people attended the event and we were particularly delighted to welcome Jill Lampert and Gordon Hunt of Sutton Coldfield Movie Makers and John Gibb of Nuneaton Moviemakers who all made the journey down from the Midlands.
Our judges for the Southern entries were Scarlett Mills and Khalid Nasser of the University of Sussex Film Appreciation Society and for the final judging, Garth Hope, Editor of ‘Film & Video Maker’ magazine.
Following the showing of the films, the audience were asked to fill in their voting slips. ‘On the Rails’ by Bourne End Video Makers won the audience vote although it didn’t feature in the judges top 3. Some things never change!
Audience Vote
1st On the Rails Bourne End Video Makers
2nd Revolution Chesterfield Film Makers
3rd Revolution Nuneaton Moviemakers
Official Result
1st Revolution Chesterfield Film Makers
2nd The Turning of the Screw Reading Film & Video Makers
3rd Frequency Hertz Surrey Border Movie Makers
Needless to say, nobody in the audience matched the judge’s decision but Graham Sinden of Shooters Hill Camcorder Club was closest and took the ‘Audience Vote’ prize. He obviously has the knack as he also won it last year.
Our ‘Guess the Theme’ competition was won by Gordon Hunt of Sutton Coldfield Movie Makers who correctly guessed that the theme for 2014 is………
‘IF’
Thanks to everyone who attended for their support.
Mike Coad
on behalf of Orpington Video & Film Makers
Hasn’t time flown by? It seems like only a year ago we were making this very same announcement about the impending Annual Competition! Yes folks it is that time again where we hand over the masterpieces we’ve slaved over this year to a panel of outsiders who will view and judge them en route to the Oscars in March 2014!
Last year’s competition – the complete list of winners can be found HERE – was dominated by Colin Jones who won five awards although it was Barbara “Cakes” Darby who claimed the Best film prize. Can they do it again this year or will someone else step up to be bathed in glory?
Below you will find links to the entry forms which you can download and print off and bring to any of the future club meetings while the closing date is January 7th 2014.
As always the entrance fee is £2.00 per person but you can enter as many films as you like. All monies are non-refundable as we have to bribe the judges somehow.
To download the Entry form as an MS Word document click HERE
To download the Entry form as a PDF document click HERE
Good luck to every who enters and remember closing date for your entry forms is TUESDAY JANUARY 7th 2014!