A Ray of Light II - Behind The Scenes Films

A pic from my time in Palma

I've just got back to the UK from five weeks in Palma on a commercial film shoot for a plastic pollution educational film, not only that, it was also the premiere for A Ray of Light II which was a huge success. If you're wondering where the film is, it will be out in the next few weeks and I can't wait for you all to see it, those who have, all seem to have very passionate feelings about it, or at least various aspects and it certainly created a lot of discussion about its content, to the degree where it wasn't unusual to hear the film being discussed in the bars of Palma by people completely unaware that people responsible for it were within earshot and totally unable to avoid listening in! That was a pretty weird experience for me!

The filming process for part II was much longer, much more complex and a more intense experience, I knew it would be beforehand so enlisted the help of the newest addition to the Scarlet View Media team, Lachlan Stewart-Baker, or as he's better known, "Lockie".

Lockie is new to Film-Making but he's super passionate, enthusiastic and a great person to have on set. For  a big project like this with a lot of expectation attached, it would have been much easier, maybe even more sensible to take someone with experience but Lockie's biggest attribute is his attitude and willingness to get involved and learn.

To help Lockie gain experience in both shooting and editing, alongside helping with the shooting of the film itself, I asked him to make a Behind The Scenes film of the process. I think BTS featurettes are great, they are an excellent promotional tool and really help a viewer engage with the people involved in the production and thus, hopefully, the story in the film itself.

I'm really happy to say that Lockie has now finished his BTS film, which he has split into two parts and I think he's done a great job!

They films feature footage from A Ray of Light II and also, of course, some BTS stuff and both are based around an interview I did with Lockie for which he had total control over the content. I offered advice here and there when asked but these are without doubt, Lockie's own work and he should receive all the credit for their creation. So, here they are!

Part 1:

 

Part 2:






Let us know what you think and if you like them, please share them on your social media groups and pages, not only do they give an insight into the film itself, but also highlights the massive amount of effort which went into making it and if you're in Palma, Lockie owns Mojo Bar so pop in, buy a beer and say hello!

Great stuff Lockie!

Calling UK Film-Makers - I have an opportunity for you!!

I WANT YOU! (That's not me in the pic though, sorry)

Recently I mentioned planning something pretty cool to preempt the release of "Of Shark and Man," for a very good reason. When the film is out, that doesn't mean you will be able to see it immediately, the first call for the film will be a premiere screening then the festival circuit, at which time I will also be looking to organise screenings around the UK whilst trying to secure the holy grail that is global distribution.

There will be a very small number of extremely limited edition DVDs and Blu-Rays available as a perk with the crowd-funding campaign for which I am toying with doing something pretty cool making them a bit of a collector's item and ultra personalised but as far as seeing the film as soon as it's out, you're gonna be looking at a screening or a perk from the crowd-funding campaign. 

However...

I have been toying around with an idea to announce the film's arrival in an interesting way and to also involve you in the release and came up with this, I want a talented film-maker to put together a "Behind the Scenes," pre-release, featurette which will not only be released and heavily promoted online before the film gets its official release, you will also be invited to attend the premiere screening and not only that, your film will be on the DVD/Blu-Ray release as the main bonus feature.

The idea with this is to give a talented film-maker the platform to get their talent out to an established and rapidly growing audience and to also give them access to the warts and all story behind the making, and release, of this film. Not only will you have a retrospective look at how this all came together, taken from an interview with me and footage from the film provided, you will also be expected to follow elements of the story of the release and film them as they happen, test-screenings, promotional interviews (if we get them) etc. The idea is not for me to tell you what to do, but give you the basic idea of what I think would be cool and let you run with it, with full access to pretty much anything you want.

If you have a production company, this will be a *insert name* production in conjunction with Scarlet View Media. This would be ideal for a film-maker or group of film-makers looking for a project to help them get off the ground and get their work out to a large audience. This blog has attracted well over 150,000 unique hits since 2010, averaging now, about 5,500 per month, each trailer has done about 3000 views each in the first week of their release with new views from around the world every single day and of course, with this short film being the main driver of the promotion of the film's release, it will be seen by and hopefully shared, by various news and media outlets.

So who would be the ideal candidate?

Ideally you need an interest in this film and the story behind it, you'll have an inquisitive mind and want to know all the details and have a passion for storytelling. You'll have some experience ideally of both filming and editing and own your own camera (minimum DSLR,) sound recording equipment and Editing software and computer. You need to be self reliant and at least of the capability where I can simply hand filming and production over to you, at all points, I would be more than happy to help with advice if you need it but I also want you to feel ownership of what you are doing. A full driving license and transport is also a must.

The perfect candidate would already be producing their own videos and short films and have examples of work to hand, a positive attitude, friendly and enthusiastic nature and generally be a cool person to be around with a solid idea of what they want to achieve.

I'll make sure any travelling is kept to a minimum and make things as easy for you as possible, you'll get access to the footage you need from the film and of course, be able to use your film for your own portfolio. Outside of this, I also always look to work with talented, positive people with a good attitude on a repeat basis so with Scarlet View Media, it could mean future paid work as well.

As with everything I do, I don't want to make fluff, a sanitised yawn-fest designed to serve no other purpose than to be a vanity piece so if we shoot a test screening, we record the reactions regardless of whether people think it sucks or not, you might be interested to know the gory details of all the stuff which wasn't so fun and capture the ups and downs, basically what interests you about this whole journey, that's what I want you to capture.

Hopefully by now, the right kind of people have read this and thought, "yes, that sounds like a cool, fun project to get my teeth into," so you'll be wanting to get in touch and talk to me about it. You can do so by emailing me at david@officetoocean.com or by visiting the Scarlet View Media website and using the contact sheet there.

Please put "Behind The Scenes Film" as the title of your correspondence, I can't stress this enough, I get an awful lot of junk email and I don't want to delete yours by mistake because of an ambiguous title.

So, what are you waiting for? :)

An obsessive and fascinating look at JAWS

Durr duh...Durr duh....Durr duh....

I love obsessive people, I am one in fact, people who don't just like things, they love them, they immerse themselves in every single detail and aspect of something and strive to uncover the minutiae of their obsession. Obsessive creatives are great, I can relate to it personally, why do you think "Of Shark and Man" is taking so long? It has to be perfect, the nuances must be just right, each colour and sound must have a reason. I don't do rush jobs...

Nor by the looks of it does Jamie Benning, someone who makes my own obsessive personality seem positively lackadaisical. Jamie researches his favourite films with a passion and dedication few others could hope to match (seriously, check out his vimeo page linked in his name above...)

Jamie has just released a sixteen month long project on JAWS which I watched the other night and thoroughly enjoyed. I am also a JAWS obsessed nerd, I've seen the film well over 300 times, easily over 400 and likely nearing 500, I know pretty much everything about it after seeing pretty much everything ever made about it but Jamie has managed to squeeze a little more juice out of the JAWS orange that was new to me which is in itself an impressive feat.

What Jamie does is essentially play you the film with narrative overdubs from the people involved discussing what you are seeing but also, and for me most pleasingly, the real fan-boy, minuscule details that only the most ardent fan of the movie will notice or think about. Very much like a "Director's Commentary" feature so common on modern DVD and Blu-Ray releases, it really fleshes out lots of fascinating details about the making of the film, includes some great stills and provides insights from people you almost certainly have never heard from since their involvement in the film, including a generous contribution from Kevin Pike who was a labourer on the film and even input from people who played the tiniest roles in the backgrounds of certain shots.

This is not really for the casual observer, this is very much a film for the most dedicated JAWS fan and as such, I loved it!

Please bear this in mind...Jamie put in 16 months of work on this and has released it for free, yes, totally gratis! I would have paid for it, so should you really but you don't have to. This kind of dedication to something done purely for the love should be admired and applauded.

If you are a JAWS freak then you will have seen or heard much of this in the superb "The Shark is Still Working" and on the bonus featurettes on the multiple different DVD and Blu-Ray releases over the years alongside Carl Gottlieb's brilliant "The Jaws Log" but this is still well worth a look for the stuff those other works didn't include.

Jamie, this is a great piece of work and I salute you, "...here's to swimmin' with bow legged women!..."

If you watch and enjoy it, please make sure to add your comment and thank him for taking the time to make this.

Inside Jaws, A Filmumentary by @jamieswb (2013) from Jamie Benning on Vimeo.

First day of filming done!!!

On Tuesday, I was exceptionally lucky to be able to film some underwater segments of a dream type sequence for the film, at an underwater stage with the brilliant Hugh Fairs.

An early, 8am start meant that I was up and about at 5am which hasn't happened for a very long time! When I'm away on diving trips in wonderful, exciting foreign lands, these types of pre-dawn starts are pretty much the norm but when the cold, wind and rain is what awaits you, it's a lot harder to muster the enthusiasm to alight from a comfy, warm bed! In this instance, the prospect of actually getting some film "in the can" was all the encouragement I needed and from the second Megadeth startled me out of my slumber, I was buzzing with excitement about the day ahead.

My good friend and talented film-maker, Liam from Banter Media was helping me document the day on both film and photos so when he arrived at 6am, I was more than a little relieved that he too had managed the early morning start. The drive itself was a doddle and we arrived pretty much dead on time to find Hugh already starting the arduous task of setting up the camera he was using for the day, "The Phantom."

Hugh was there to do some aerodynamic testing on the housing he designed for use with this camera for a filming job he has coming up. The biggest benefit of this camera is the enormous frame rate at which it shoots, meaning slow motion looks phenomenal, think of the BBC footage of the Great White's breaching at Dyer Island that was featured in the Blue Planet, that sort of stuff. It doesn't come cheap though, £100,000 at last valuation! As he was there doing a testing session, I was able to help him out and also get some footage filmed so the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone was too good to pass up.

 

The concept behind the segment I was shooting is really, pretty simple, an underwater sequence but dressed in your typical office wear, it might not make a huge amount of sense now but you'll have to wait and see the finished result when it definitely will! This meant jumping into the tank several times, with weighted ankles and getting various angles of these jumps, plus a couple of longer, underwater swimming shots. 

 

One of the most exciting parts of the whole process was watching the footage back, it really did look absolutely stunning and actually being able to direct the action and get the images in my head onto a screen was a hugely fulfilling experience and what was actually a long day flew by in no time. If this is what the film-making process is really like, sign me up right now! I have to give a huge amount of thanks to Hugh, Neil, Lawrence and Liam for their help and I am delighted with how it all went.

The rather crudely edited video at the top of the page is a bit of behind the scenes footage from the day, shot on my Canon 7D as my outdoor, maneuverable filming rig is now almost complete. There's a bit of work to be done on it yet but it's all looking good. The footage was captured using a Canon 15-85mm lens with a UV filter and the camera settings set to completely flat, as per the recommendations of none other than the incredible Phillip Bloom.

With regards to progress, things are going very well, I met with Canon again on Monday at the Focus on Imaging show at the NEC in Birmingham, to discuss a number of exciting propositions moving forward. I have also been in discussions with a Salford based company called Future Artists, who specialise in the production, distribution and marketing of film and television across a wide section of media platforms. Their last documentary was the Oscar nominated "Restrepo" and feedback so far about "From the Office to the Ocean" has been nothing short of exceptional. Keep an eye out for progress on that front!

For all you facebook fiends out there, I have made a new, more manageable group which allows me to keep in contact with you all on there in a much more efficient manner so if you haven't already, join up here, simply click "like" and hey presto, you're sorted!

There are some incredibly exciting things in the pipeline at the moment which I'm working on that could have a hugely positive effect on localised shark conservation efforts, at this stage, I have to keep them under my hat for various reasons but rest assured, you will know about them as soon as I am able.

Finally, well done to Guam for passing it's legislation regarding shark conservation, it seems as the weeks go by, more and more nations are making efforts to help the world's declining shark populations. Of course, we are still a million miles away from where we need to be but every step is a step in the right direction.

I hope you are all well, as always, please feel free to get in touch with any comments, questions and suggestions, I love hearing from you all.

Thanks for all your continuing support!

www.officetoocean.com