Hello!!
It's been far too long since I last did a blog to let you know what's going on in my world so here is a long overdue update...
Behind Blue Glass
Remember the film I shot in Mallorca about Great White Sharks and the flip side to shark/human interaction you normally see in the media? Things have been dragging a bit due to the "Of Shark and Man" shoot, post-production on that and some other projects that have come my way so as a way to refresh your memories, watch this ninety second trailer:
Full size version here
I know it says on the trailer it was due to be released in the summer but sometimes, things don't always go as quickly as you'd like. The good news however, is that this is almost ready for release, meaning you can buy a copy on DVD for yourself. I have pretty much confirmed a distributor and agreement, the film is being subtitled into Spanish and the behind the scenes bonus stuff, DVD packaging and authoring of menus is now being done. I am hoping it will be made available by the retailer online and when it is available, you will be the first to know!
Of Shark and Man
The editing of a film like "Of Shark and Man" is a pretty epic task, more so when you're doing it on your own, even more so when you're negotiating your way around various technical problems that are a product of putting something like this together in the way I have! However, if you saw the private teaser trailer then you will have a fair idea of how good this film is going to look and hopefully you will have also notice a refreshing change from the usual modern approach of treating an audience like idiots and titillating them with shark porn or boring them half to death, I'm trying to capture the excitement and adventure of the 70's and 80's heyday of shark film-making and to also tell a story that you don't already know. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, why? The only excuse you could have is that you don't have internet and if that's the case, you won't be reading this anyway. If you do want to see it and if you like sharks, you should, all you have to do is sign up to the mailing list here (scroll down), it takes about ten seconds and your details are secure and you will not be spammed. Because I'm nice, I'll be sending out the link and password in the next bit of news I send to subscribers and not just that, you might even be getting some more cool stuff to see before anyone else (more on that in "other projects"...)
If you don't already know, you don't just come back from a shoot and start putting everything in a timeline and voila, you have a film. What I have been doing since August is the very unglamourous but essential part of being a film-maker. Almost 3TB of footage needs to be painstakingly separated, catalogued, pre-edited, encoded/converted and logged so when it comes to the edit I have specific content and shots ready and easy to find so the best of the best is going into the film. To put it into perspective, there are folders like "Bull Sharks closeup swimming left to right," that means going through hours of footage to find scenes where Bull Sharks are closeup swimming left to right and for every left to right, there has to be a right to left, non-closeup, good viz, bad viz...You get the idea. In one five minute clip there could be shots that fit every criteria I need so that clip needs to be edited and catalogued over and over and over again. This takes a hell of a lot of time and effort but means when the edit starts it will be a much easier task.
I have also started shooting the UK scenes in my beloved Manchester in all its grey and overcrowded glory, the only things left now are storyboarded shots for the film's intro and a specific shot I want to open the film but I need to find somewhere which has what I need to film and will allow me access in private to do so.
I am really, really excited about this film and I hope you are too, I am confident it's going to be something pretty special!
Ongoing Projects
As well as everything to do with Behind Blue Glass and Of Shark and Man, I have been working on two other short videos in support of something I can't say anything about yet, but it's something about which I am very passionate. It's also not my story to tell but these two videos will help support the telling of this story and breaking of the news when hopefully, they (the amazing people in the thick of the action) are in a position to do so. The intention is that one will be used as an internet viral type PSA, the other for broadcast on national television.
It's early doors at the moment, nothing is 100% guaranteed but it's all positive so far, as usual, mailing list subscribers will be the first to know as, when and if I am able to break the news so go sign up because you don't want to miss this if it happens.
Cool Stuff
Finally, here's some cool stuff which I rather enjoyed, some shark related, some nothing to do with sharks but brilliant nonetheless, think of them as a bit of an apology for my enforced silence this last couple of weeks!
An epic and thoroughly justified rant
A dead cert for an OSCAR surely? Thanks to Mike for the heads up
Enjoy the cool stuff and I'll be back soon hopefully with yet more good news and delightful goodness for you!
