Catching Up

LOCAL

OK! In my last post I was talking about finally getting a handle on the script for my final major project; now, a good seven weeks later, I’m happily able to report back that the film is done. Rolling in at the target time of 21 minutes, LOCAL (as it was ultimately called) has been met with a positive reaction so far, which is amazing considering the incredibly compressed schedule I was working to. There are still tweaks to be made to the audio and one specific cut I want to change before going public with it, but otherwise, we made it. It really couldn’t have happened without the amazing dedication of my talented cast, crew and producer to pull the whole thing together; hopefully they’ll be as pleased as I am with the end result…

Festival Season

The Damned

The above is a screenshot from the short horror film I wrote and produced at the start of the year, The Damned. The DP and myself both got an A for our edits, whilst the director earned himself a thoroughly deserved A*; as such we’re going to be taking his version ‘on the road’ for festivals, hoping to get as much exposure for our film and ElectroPOP Productions as possible.

HND is over. Time for the big leagues…

Drawing Words

Yesterday was the deadline for our 10-15 minute films, and whilst my rushed edit was perfunctory at best, our Director’s cut was nothing less than the best film my course has yet seen. Due to scheduling issues there was one scene we weren’t able to shoot in time for the deadline, but the film (just about) hangs together without it. Having a completed cut has allowed us to re-approach said scene to make it as powerful and fitting as it can possibly be, and it’s been a fun challenge to find a way to fit new material into a gap which has to barely advance the plot, whilst simultaneously making the whole stronger. I’m looking forward to shooting it and seeing if it works as intended!

Road Map

The picture above is from the planning stages of my Final Major Project, for which, true to form, I’ve elected to make a short fiction film. We had to pitch back in January and I rushed through a unfocused, sprawling mess of a script which I’ve spent every spare moment since trying to fix. I eventually went back to basics (via a drawn out time-travel story element, which I’ve thankfully dropped) and rebuilt the film from the ground up, finally finishing a treatment tonight that I’m far, far happier with. One of the key moments in working the story out came just over a week ago when, after writing pages of scrappy notes that asked more questions than they answered, I flipped my pad on the side and drew the poles of the story. I figured out each character’s position relative to where the story started and finished, and then was able to pick out the mid-point. I stopped looking at the story in terms of three acts and instead applied the Eight Sequences, which suggested events more directly, and ultimately led me to find the conclusion I needed. After the plot points were in place the act breaks fell naturally, and I was able to complete a vague treatment immediately.

Now, time is running out. I’ve made act breakdowns over the last two days, and tonight was able to write a full, scene-by-scene treatment that still revealed some pleasant surprises to me. After a solid night’s sleep I’m going to look at the story again, identify if anything needs fixing, and then get writing. My lovely Producer wants a script by Sunday; with how pumped I feel right now that’ll be no problem at all.

I probably love this part the most, but I can’t wait until the lights are up and the cameras start rolling either. Film-making, just, let me count the ways…

Columbia – How She Rolls

Well, it took the longest post-production of anything I’ve made yet, but here’s the music video myself and Alex Jones made for our HND. Music videos are amazing; you don’t have to record audio! Such a liberating experience…

Anyway, it’s not a perfect execution but I’m happy with it. I learned an awful lot, which I’ll need to keep in mind for my upcoming productions, and it was a blast to make. If you’re based in the UK (ideally the Midlands, but I’m flexible) and would like a music video making for yourself, get in touch with me at joseph.burden@gmail.com

Happy New Year!

This is ‘Stay Loose’, my entry into a cancelled Eagle Awards competition from 2011, and my first foray into digital lettering. The story is a bit ropey, but there are a few moments in here that I like. It seems that even my slice of life stories are fantastical; I think I may be incapable of telling a straightforward story…

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Thanks for looking; I wish a happy and prosperous 2013 to all!

A Lack of Routine

As you might be aware from the sporadic nature of my posts, routine is something I’ve not quite nailed down yet. Whilst I’m still a student I’m not going to beat myself up about it that much, but an organised workspace and set times for writing (or at the very least, challenging myself to write) are two things that I’m severely lacking right now, and I think it shows in my productivity. That it’s within my power to obtain both shows how desperately I need to give myself that final kick up the bum and become a writer, rather than a hobbyist.

I completed a feature film script this summer under panic of a deadline and with the freedom of the summer holiday. Next summer the script deadline will have to be self-imposed, and there’s no school to return to. Real life awaits; I need to be ready.

By the way, Paul Pope has nothing to do with routine, as far as I’m aware – it’s just that to get that burst of energy and inspiration, there’s really no better art to look at…

Recent Viewings

Skyfall: I left the cinema slightly underwhelmed with the action sequences, but impressed with the paradoxical way it fit back into Bond ‘continuity’. However it’s stayed with me, and despite my intial misgivings it’s a film I’m going to watch again, at least twice – once for a reappraisal, and another to fully appreciate how Bond has come full circle. And maybe once more after that to count all the instances of product placement…

Renew

I finally got Renew online! This is the third and final narrative film from the first year of my Film-Making course, and was one of those projects where the end result just about made the hardship worth it…

Still, this was an important film for my group to make when we made it, and it was an important story for me to write personally. It’s funny how it takes a bit of time and distance sometimes, but then you can look back and see certain feelings and emotions crystallised perfectly in a piece of work. Realising that in itself has been pretty liberating.

At the time this was the most ambitious project I’d attempted. The thing about ambition is, it’s addictive…

EPIC happy slap FAIL (NSFW)

 

A short film made for Halloween by some friends. I was runner, which meant tanking it across the park to the nearest shop to pick up a bottle of water (because fake blood tastes bad, apparently), and intercepting joggers from running across shot. I’m impressed with the results; I especially like seeing the crossover between make-up and VFX.

All in all, a good way to spend an hour or two on an autumn evening!