Starting 2011!

 

So it's finally come to it and I have now left my lovely City Centre apartment.

Back in July I knew that it was extremely likely that I would have to sacrifice the place where I had really enjoyed living since moving in the previous December, but there comes a time when big decisions need to be made in order to get to where you want to be and after leaving my job, this was the second biggest decision I have had to make in the last seven months.

As always, moving home is never a pleasurable experience and the stress that goes with it is certainly magnified when taking into account I have no idea what the future holds for me. There wasn't a new permanent address, a new job, the excitement of living in a different city or country or any of the other stuff which often comes as a result from moving home, instead, there is more uncertainty, more pressure and less a feeling of security and independence. However, more uncertainty and pressure can often mean more excitement, it is also testament to how seriously I am taking all this and instead of just talking the talk, I am indeed, walking the walk.

 

I was in London last week for a meeting with someone with whom I have been speaking for the last few months about "From the Office to the Ocean" and who's organisation has shown a great deal of enthusiasm and support since I first met with her colleague in October. This meeting was originally scheduled in for December last year but upon confirmation, within two days of the date being agreed, Britain was under the worst snow at that time of the year for something like a hundred years...Typical!

Anyway, we met at Bentley's in London which I have to say, was fantastic and a lot posher than I was expecting, so posh in fact that Samantha Cameron, wife of David Cameron, as in Prime Minister and scourge of the ordinary working man, David Cameron, was stuffing her face with the magnificent food on offer downstairs. I felt dreadfully under dressed as I was in jeans and a T-Shirt ("From the Office to the Ocean" branded naturally) and it was clear to all I was indeed under dressed as I stuck out like a sore thumb, however, the staff treated me no differently and were nothing other than thoroughly pleasant. The meeting itself was excellent and incredibly encouraging, I am not, at this stage, about to tell you with whom this meeting was so as not to jinx anything but the feedback was nothing short of amazing and I really feel I have taken huge steps towards getting confirmation of when we can start full production of this film so watch this space!

 

 

I finally got my hands on my Canon 7D at the weekend as well and have spent a fair bit of this last week getting to grips with it and what an amazing piece of kit it is! I haven't even started on film tests with it yet but will be assembling my movie shooting rig as soon as possible and absolutely cannot wait to start shooting some film with it and will hopefully have it in the water sooner rather than later. If you're a photographer/film-maker or like me, film-maker/photographer, I cannot recommend Canon's range of DSLRs enough.

The last couple of weeks has also included some very positive Skype chats with two wonderful people, Lesley Rochat in South Africa and my new Aussie mate, Brad Robertson in Majorca who, along with his partner Bea, runs a company called Ondine. What is so fulfilling about speaking to both Lesely and Brad is their enthusiasm and energy when it comes to sharks and innovative, exciting ways to aid shark conservation. I have a huge amount of pretty cool ideas and speaking with Lesley and Brad about them is a revelation, there is no negativity, no defeatist giving up before we have even started, instead it is positive, supportive and a wholly enjoyable experience and I can't wait to get stuck into working with both of them sooner rather than later.

The Indiegogo campaign has now finished and raised a fantastic $1000 towards helping with post-production of "Shark. My God." I want to give my wholehearted thanks and gratitude to everyone who was kind enough to contribute, that money will do a huge amount of good in the making of this film. 

At this current stage, I am essentially waiting for news on a couple of things which will hopefully give this film the full green light. A plan is in place for promotion both before and after production alongside some pretty cool ideas of how to get this film out to a wider audience. I am also storyboarding elements of the film and have had some great ideas regarding the music and artists I would like to approach to contribute their considerable talents to helping me realise my vision for the film's soundtrack so in regards to where we are in pre-production, I can say with confidence we are pretty much ready to go barring a couple of things which require the funding being in place first.

As always, thanks for the support, I am hoping we have some encouraging news coming through this month so cross everything for me! I have never been so confident that this film will be made and available in the short-term future...Let's hope so!

David

www.officetoocean.com

Edit: Thank you to my very good friend Kris Allen for pointing out that I had officially made the two headed beast that is the UK's coalition government, officially a singular element of corporate greed and oppressor of the great unwashed, by naming it "Nick Cameron." Ooops!