Thursday 4 April 2024

Road to Wembley: Quarter Final

Almost 4 weeks on from the match we attended for this round, I finally got round to editing my photos: ta-da! The match was Brighton & Hove Albion Women against Manchester United Women, with the hosts losing four goals to nothing. This was the second time seeing both clubs in this season's FA Cup and I feel the result was rather predictable...

Ten below as usual and you can view the full set HERE!










Sunday 31 March 2024

Latest Embroidery

My most recent creation out of thread:


This cute little Totoro: a birthday gift for my Mum. I'm extremely pleased with how this one turned out. I went for a pretty abstract background, because I didn't want to take the attention away from the character and feel this really focuses the piece on Totoro, without the background being too plain or empty. Absolutely loving embroidery at the moment!

Recent 35mm Photography

Last week, I got a couple of rolls of 35mm developed. One had been hanging around at 70% full since October, which I finally finished off earlier this month and the other, I managed to start and finish within about two weeks.

I tend to reserve my film camera for trips away/ holidays as I usually find more interesting things to photograph- or at least different to what I'm use to seeing day to day. And with the weather getting nicer and 'better' light, coupled with a two week holiday this month, it made for a perfect way to finish these 35mm rolls.

I'm really pleased with how a lot of these came out actually as I honestly wasn't too sure that they'd be any good. Film photography isn't exactly easy and using this camera has been a bit hit and miss, but in my opinion something seemed to have clicked of late and I'm not just talking about the shutter noise! Now I just need to buy some more film- let's hope it's a bit easier to purchase this time around...

Below are a few of my favourites, which I used Photoshop to enhance. A few needed cropping/ straightening, plus wanted to reduce some of the highlights/ fix the exposure and colours/ white balance.












Monday 18 March 2024

Feature Film: Set Back #1

As the title may suggest, I had my first set back in getting my feature film made. In November last year, I applied for the BFI Early Development Fund, which would give me the money to write a treatment for my film. I found out last week that my application was, unfortunately, rejected. I am not trying to garner sympathy in writing this, by the way: merely just describing the current landscape of film funding in England. And this recent rejection has just emphasised that applying for funding is essentially a lottery. The fund had over 900 applications and they stated they were only able to fund 3% of these. I’d be interested to know how many of these were animation.

I have applied for many film funds over the years and have been only successful on very few occasions (and often only for ‘micro commissions’ which rarely even cover the time spent creating). I am not unique in this: many of my cohort have also had little success with funding. It’s just that it’s so over subscribed. This recent rejection has really made me think carefully about my future career as a filmmaker: what if I keep applying for funding and am never successful? With my track record, I wouldn’t say that thought is as hyperbolic as it sounds and potentially a reality.

I am a filmmaker and want to make films. I do not want to wait months or even years for people to grant me permission to be able to do so (which is no guarantee). So, I have decided for the time being, I am going to ‘self fund’ my projects going forward. I am going to make stories which I can create within my means (both financial and creative skillset). I did this with my most recent film ‘Bear’ and much of my previous work, too. The results might not be as slick if there was funding behind my productions, but at least I’m making work, which is when I am happiest. In three years time I could still be waiting for a film fund to say ‘yes’, or in three years time I could potentially have a finished rotoscope feature film. I think I know which option I’d rather pick (spoiler alert: it’s the second).

So, I am going to make a feature film next (I feel the ‘right’ time for when you want to make your debut feature is when you feel you want to, rather than having completed x number of shorts or garnered x amount of festival/ industry recognition). Luckily I work in rotoscope animation, which perhaps gives me a little advantage than working fully in live action, because you can make the locations where you want them to be as everything gets drawn in post production. Audio can also be recorded at a later date. But then again, I still need to do hundreds and thousands of drawings, so perhaps I don’t actually have much of an advantage, but quite the opposite!

I am not going to use the idea I applied for funding with, because it does need a budget due to the sensitive nature of the content (themes of sexual assault and mental health) which I’m not going to go anywhere near without hiring an intimacy coordinator. So, instead, I have started outlining something I can make within my means. This will involve one lead actor and will be set using locations and scenes with props which I can easily get hold of. I am very excited about the prospect of making the film and can’t wait to get properly stuck in. When I’ve created all the visuals I might attempt to apply for some completion funds, so I can pay the voice cast, composer and sound design people, but that’s a bridge I’ll cross when I get to it.

I’m not under any illusion that it’ll be easy- I felt my eleven minute short film was difficult, so this one, being eight times as long, is likely going to be (at least) eight times harder! But I am so motivated and keen to make it, hopefully the fact that I’m making a feature film should push me through when the project feels too difficult. Either that, or it’ll scare me even more and cause me to give up! Though hopefully it’s the former…

Of course I’ll be keeping you updated on here of my progress as and when it feels necessary, so look out for those posts as they come. They’ll be on the ‘feature film’ tag on the side bar.

Think that’s all for now, wish me luck and here’s an unrelated picture of me on holiday!

Tuesday 5 March 2024

Feb/ March Update!

Hey hey! How's it going? Just a quick check in/ update post as I have not been blogging much lately (though I assure you normal service will resume in the not so distant future)!

So, what have I been up to? I have been busy- but it all feels like stuff that doesn’t especially merit a full blog post, hence this more ‘round up’ style one. So the big one: a little over two weeks ago my 16+ month contract finished on ‘The Rubbish World of Dave Spud’. I had a brilliant experience working on the show and worked with some genuinely lovely people. And I’m super proud to say my name is on the credits and I have contributed to such a fantastic show. There are currently 12 episodes up on ITVX of this series- go check them out! …And you can watch the trailer (if you haven’t already) here.

I am now more than ready for a well earned break- which I have been fully embracing! I have mostly been skateboarding, bowling, watching football and watching lots of films (though not simultaneously)- I actually treated myself to an unlimited cinema pass, so I’ve been getting to the cinema a lot recently. Which is really, really great. Honestly, there’s nothing nicer than a solo trip to the cinema in the afternoon! It all feels very indulgent, but in a good way. I’m trying to practise enjoying myself and not feel guilty about it. Some recent cinema highlights include ‘The Holdovers’, ‘All of Us Strangers’ and ‘The Zone of Interest’- all of which I expect will turn up on my end of year film recommendation list. We’ll see…

I have also been working on a couple more embroidery pieces, which I cannot share as yet as they’re gifts for people and do not want to ruin the surprise! Though as soon as I can, I will be posting them on here.

Football photography has slowed down, though not for lack of trying: a combination of poor weather and clubs not replying to emails kind of kills the vibe! Though as spring seems just around the corner, I’m hoping this will soon pick up. We have been going to some great games recently though and having some brilliant days out. I also reached my landmark 650th football ground on Sunday: ta-da!

Lastly, I have started working towards my feature film. Yes, you read that correctly. I often mention it in passing on here (and IRL), but to actually have started fleshing out my story idea has made it real. Since beginning this process it has felt extremely daunting (more so than what I had imagined), because as I’m writing scene ideas/ plot points, I can just see me never being able to obtain funding to make my vision a reality. I know that’s a very negative way to think about things, but like many, I have rarely been successful gaining funding for even short films, let alone something of this scale. I know it’s going to be a mountain to climb, but I am not going to give up. It might take longer to get the project off the ground than I hope, but I’m going to make it happen. It’s a project I’m extremely passionate about and a story I feel is important to tell. I’ll be blogging about the whole writing process in more detail as and when I complete each section and of course give updates on any production ups/ downs/ funding wins/ rejections etc! I’ll attempt to be as candid as possible on here about getting something like this made.

I think that’s about it for now- pretty sure that covers everything! See you next time, stay safe, stay hydrated xo

Saturday 17 February 2024

Road to Wembley Continues...

At this point my attempt at photographing a game from each round from the Women’s FA Cup is a distant memory, but my plan is still to attend a game from each round (something I have been keeping up with)! Admittedly, it’s pretty frustrating that clubs don’t answer their emails regarding photography requests. Though maybe I’ve just been unlucky and not had the correct email addresses or they aren’t checked very often. Whatever the reasons, my photo challenge will have to wait until next season then, eh? It’s something I still definitely want to do!

Attending a game from the Third Round Proper was looking like it might be where this journey would come to an end (due to other commitments/ location). BUT, the bad weather did its thing and actually enabled me to attend a fixture a week later: I would have been unable to make one from that round should any of the games not have been postponed.

So it was a trip to the ‘Easy Buy Stadium’ (home of men’s side Barton Town FC) to watch Hull City Ladies take on Wolverhampton Wanderers Women. The winners of this tie would go on to face Championship side Reading FC in the Fourth Round. Spoiler alert: this opportunity was gifted to Wolves who actually went on to win the game 2-1!

Hull, who play in the FAWNL Division One North, a tier below Wolves, who (at time of writing) sit 5th in the FAWNL North, were always going to be up against it playing a side in a division above. But this is the FA Cup and anything can happen (and sometimes does)! Unfortunately that wasn’t to be in this case and the game ended 4-1 to Wolves. There was a good crowd (229) who turned out for this one and overall, despite it not especially being that near Hull, there was a great atmosphere.


The next round (Fourth Round Proper) produced some excellent fixture choices, though the one which was most appealing to my partner and I was the lowest ranked side left in the cup: Luton Town Ladies, who were to face WSL (women’s top tier) side Brighton & Hove Albion Women. This is why the FA Cup is so exciting- matches like this don’t come around that often and it’s always great for the lower side to draw a team like this. Providing it doesn’t end up a cricket score, of course. I must admit, I was mega excited for this day in the lead up!

Luton Ladies play at Sharpenhoe Road, home of men’s side Barton Rovers: a 6.6 mile trip away from Kenilworth Road (Luton’s main stadium). And located in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Which to attend this fixture, you would have to make a bit of an effort. And that’s what exactly 1,234 spectators did. I love when there’s a big crowd and a buzz around matches like this and perhaps deep down no one really thought Luton would actually win this game (they didn’t: they lost 0-6), there was still some hope and belief- myself included. Luton played extremely well and didn’t make it easy for Brighton, but by 90 minutes it really came down to fitness/ strength. Regardless of the result, this day will live long in my memory.


And finally, to get us up to date: the Fifth Round Proper. The most appealing match in my opinion from this round was Women’s Championship side Southampton FC Women pitted against high flying WSL team Manchester United. At the time of writing, both sit 4th in their respective divisions. Yes Southampton is a bit of a trek from Sheffield (especially as a neutral), but as previously stated, there’s nothing quite like an exciting FA Cup tie, so we made a weekend of it!

I was fortunate enough to be back pitchside with my camera for this one: an absolutely unforgettable experience. Manchester United’s squad contains several Lionesses players, including the legend that is Mary Earps. It was also a sell out game, with the attendance announced 4,554. The game was played at Eastleigh FC’s Silverlake Stadium, which was almost full one hour before kick off!

There was no cupset in this round either: Manchester United won the game 3-1, quite predictably, although for a short spell Southampton looked like they could turn it around. Manchester will now face WSL side Brighton & Hove Albion Women in the quarter finals.

You can view the full set of photos on my Flickr HERE and the usual ten are below for good measure!

If this blog has got you all excited for the Women’s FA Cup, fixtures for the next round are on the FA website, which you can view HERE.









Wednesday 14 February 2024

Dave Spud- NEW EPISODES!!

Mid February already?! Apparently so... But I guess that's only good news because 6, yes SIX, new episodes of the show I'm currently working on as an Assistant Editor have landed on ITVX. The show is 'The Rubbish World of Dave Spud' and despite the title, the show is anything but rubbish! Don't believe me? Well take a look at the brand new series 3 trailer, which I cut together:


Enjoy!

Wednesday 31 January 2024

January Embroidery

First embroidery piece of 2024! Really like how this one turned out and love the colour scheme I used- the colourful background really makes the black and white bird stand out. I made this as a gift for a friend, the bird is based on one of her lino prints: check out her Etsy shop here (spoiler alert: she's really, really good) to see her work.

This was made in a 6 inch hoop, and I used satin stitch for the background, with a combination of satin, long/ short and back stitch for the bird.

Tuesday 16 January 2024

'Bear' Short Film- Now Online!!

My short film 'Bear' is now available to watch on YouTube. More detailed writing about it on the Animated Short tag on the sidebar, if ya want to know more. But basically: an ambitious project, learned a LOT, was not funded and animated entirely by myself. Total budget was around £1.5k, along with countless hours (12 months) of work which I did for free, with no exterior sources to motivate me etc. Yes, it's far from 'perfect', but proud of what I achieved with it (making a project from start to finish is hard, let alone one of this length and solo). I'm using what I learnt from this one to take with me into my next project, which I'm already developing. Watch this space, hope ya enjoy xo



Full credits: Bear: Peter Stone The Manager: Anthea Carpenter Procter Director of photography: Alan Livesey Score: Jason Williams Storyboard ref/ runner: Ben Fuller 
Director/ animator/ writer: Flora Martyr Additional audio/ foley: ADOBE SFX iLIFE SOUND EFFECTS FREESOUND.ORG

Tuesday 2 January 2024

2023 Film Recommendations

Like last year, here are my top 25 film recommendations out of all the feature films I watched during 2023. In total I watched 91, up from just 78 in 2022. Despite having watched more than the previous year, I was a little disappointed I didn’t quite reach my target of 104 (meaning two ‘new’ watches a week) and if it wasn’t for Sheff Doc Fest or Manchester Animation Festival, the number would have been even lower.

Contrary to how I present myself on this blog, I appreciate not everything in life needs to be counted or end up on a spreadsheet (it’s all arbitrary really isn’t it and in the end none of this actually matters), but as a filmmaker myself, I do appreciate the importance of watching feature films. I also don’t think two ‘new’ watches a week is too big of a task, although apparently it is!

This list was extremely hard to compile- I basically removed anything less than what I scored a 4 out of 5 and I was still left with about 50% of films watched! So some very good films have unfortunately been left out. To help me whittle it down further, I wanted to highlight some of the more independent films and/ or debut features, as I feel those are the ones which need shouting about a little more (so apologies Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, everyone already knows you were very good)!

These are listed in no particular order. The title of the film is in bold, followed by the the date which it was made according to IMDb (in brackets) and then the name of the director(s).

Hope you enjoy and I’m always open to any recommendations of what to watch, so write ‘em in the comments.

1. Aftersun (2022) Wells, Charlotte
2. Wildcat (2022) Frost, Trevor; Lesh, Melissa
3. Actual People (2021) Zauhar, Kit
4. The Quiet Girl (2022) Bairead, Colm
5. Songs my Brothers Taught Me (2015) Zhao, Chloe
6. Reprise (2006) Trier, Joachim
7. Belfast (2021) Branagh, Kenneth
8. Scrapper (2023) Regan, Charlotte
9. Ninjababy (2021) Flikke, Yngvild Sve
10. Return to Seoul (2022) Chou, Davy
11. Eternal Beauty (2019) Roberts, Craig
12. Rye Lane (2023) Allen-Miller, Raine
13. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023) Craig, Kelly Fremon
14. Name Me Lawand (2022) Lovelace, Edward
15. Chicken For Linda (2023) Laudenbach, Sebastien; Malta, Chiara
16. Time Bomb Y2K (2023) Becker, Brian; Mcdonald, Marley
17. Much Ado About Dying (2022) Chambers, Simon
18. The Killing of Two Lovers (2020) Machoian, Robert
19. Blue Jean (2022) Oakley, Georgia
20. The Father (2020) Zeller, Florian
21. Barbie (2023) Gerwig, Greta
22. Ordinary Love (2019) Barros D’Sa, Lisa; Leyburn, Glenn
23. The Arbor (2010) Barnard, Clio
24. Pretty Red Dress (2022) Edwards, Dionne
25. Past Lives (2023) Song, Celine

Have a great 2024, stay safe, see ya in the cinema!