Chris Jones Blog

Rocketboy development...

I am starting back on Rocketboy now, and today I had a really productive meeting with Ramon Woolfe, from Remark!

Ramon is a Deaf film maker and we met to discuss, among other things, his possible involvement in Rocketboy. The central core of the story in Rocketboy is first love, between 16 year old rocket building Conner (from the title) and 15 year old goth Becky, who the kids all call ‘the vampire’ as she is a bit weird. Connor discovers that Becky is in fact Deaf and not the weirdo he thought, and their romance is sparked as they discover new ways of communication.

Ramon liked the script very much, and meeting him reminded me of when I wrote the first draft of Rocketboy and I immersed myself in the Deaf community. Like most of the Deaf people I know, he is in no way ‘disabled’. He is as able as the rest of us, he just happens to speak another language, British Sign Language. We got on so well, we are now considering a bold initiative which we in tend taking to the Film Council for some funding – and we will let you know how this develops.

After we got chatting, it turned out we had a lot of friends in common, even some film makers in Australia!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Credit where credit is due...

I wanted to take a moment to just acknowledge a few people involved in Gone Fishing, sometimes in a slightly lateral way.

Johnny Newman, a director friend of mine, encouraged me to make a short after he made his own short called Foster, which also played at Rhode Island! Johnny also encouraged me to enter Rhode Island, and the rest is history! Johnny has just completed his latest short, The Finkels, and all sorts of exciting stuff is kicking off for him – more on that when it happens.

Actor John Schwab, of the Reduced Shakespeare company, gave me the idea of asking everyone I nkew for small amounts of cash after I heard that he had raised money for his films. I know he has a movie at Palm Springs right now so that’s very exciting.

Andrew Sunnucks of Audio Network PLC ha supported us from the get go, and continues to allow us to use his excellent music in the video blogs.

And finally, director Simon Cox, who directed second unit on Gone Fishing, but who has also done the majority of the camera work for the video blogs. Simon has his own film going and a blog too. It’s called Kaleidoscope Man and you can read it here.

Of course there are hundreds of other people who need thanking, and I will get to each and everyone in due course.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

The Posters Are Finally Sent Out!

Finally, the postal tubes for the posters arrived – at the same time as the newest member of Team Living Spirit. Catherine Balavage, pictured here, started today. Hoorah! After being asked why she thought it was a good idea to get cramped into a tiny, overheated, noisy office, her answer was simple… ‘I wanted to be part of the team who made it to the Oscars!’ We like Catherine. She is also a writer and talented actress (she just starred in The Wolfman, $25m remake of the Universal classic, shot at Pinewood Studios), and I am hoping that her wee Scotts accent will help charm some more support out of sponsors.

So one of the jobs today was to get the posters that we had printed and signed, off to the people who bought them – which we did, in a very organised production line. We still have a few signed posters left over, signed by me, Editor Eddie Hamilton, Producer Ivan Clements and DP Vernon Layton. So far we have just covered the costs of the printing by selling these posters, but we are still on a funds drive, now the Oscars bid is underway. So now is your chance to get one before they get sent off to festivals.

If you want to buy one of the last few signed posters, you can get one here.

Onward and Upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

The Final Word...

Over the last few days I have received over 100 congratulatory emails. Thank you to everyone who wrote, it was touching, and also great for other cast and crew members to hear just how much you appreciated the design, costumes, makeup, image, music, sound… I don’t have space for them all, so here are a few…

The production values are super high, it looks and sounds beautiful. The story was well honed and crafted so that twice during this short I caught my breath and had to totally re-evaluate what I had been expecting to happen. It’s delicious when that happens and a real testament to a well thought through plot. I am totally delighted with how the film turned out. It got a standing ovation and everyone smiled and laughed all night long at the party, the feelgood factor from the film was so infectious. I would love to see more people raising the bar on short films to make them as good as this.
Leilani Holmes

Saturday 12 January 2008 was a day to remember. The seminar should be saved as a template for all future film making seminars. That was "The" Seminar... Save it!!! Nothing but the love of movies could have prepared us better for such a magnificent premiere of a well crafted story in pictures, sound and music on to the silver screen – all in ten minutes, a showing that was so complete, it felt like it was the viewing of a full-length feature. With the benefit of persistence of vision, I declare, it was a complete success. And thanks to your hard work Chris, you made it all happen.
Emil Hazeley Wilson

Chris, many Thanks for what you are doing for the U.K Filmmakers. You make me believe that I can do it! So it is stop procrastinating and I have been planning for some time. "Gone Fishing" is a story well told, with a Superb Cast. Cinematic! Emotional! Captivating!
Johnny Roberts

The film was great - we wanted more!! Me and my friend were really impressed at the way you told the story in such a minimal way yet on such a big scale - if that makes sense?! It felt like we'd watched a much longer movie by how engaged we were with the characters / story. Congratulations!
Rachel Murray

What a journey you have been on.  The standing ovation you received last night was a sign of the support you have from a huge number of industry colleagues and companies who believe that the talent and spirit you demonstrate in your film making is passionate and unstoppable. Although I played a very small part in the making of “Gone Fishing,” I was very proud to be sat in BAFTA being blown away by the superb surround mix that Andrew Stirk created at Videosonics.  I hope that you will consider that this film is just a stepping stone on the way to greater things and I hope that you remain as focused as you have always been in your hunger for great movies. I will always find it a great inspiration and honour to be working with you on any of your projects.
Adrian Bell

I've always felt that the film industry needs people to push it along. To keep the standards high and to keep the quality coming. Last night's screening of "Gone Fishing" was for me the archetype example of how the bar SHOULD be raised: how striving for quality yields results far greater than anticipated. The whole is more than the sum of it's parts type deal.
Richard Purves

An Epic journey, with dividends for all involved way above our collective expectations. A short film to watch for a BAFTA and Oscar 2009!
Damien Donnelly

Thanks for a wonderful Saturday - I am sure this event was one that none of us will forget in a hurry, least of all you!!  I woke up yesterday and wondered if I had dreamt the whole thing but fortunately not. This was even without seeing the film that was equally wonderful.  It managed to evoke so many different emotions and crossed a myriad of genres (tradgedy, comedy, action, horror, epic etc) in a relatively short space of time.  I remember laughing heartily and then suddenly being brought close to tears.  The emotive performances of Bill and Lynn were juxtaposed impressively by the youthful playfulness of Devon and James.  Each scene shared something different and sometimes it felt like there was a removal of the fourth wall and that we were witnessing something private.  This is a truly remarkable feat especially for a short film.  I am a firm believer that this film will do well and if it wins the Oscar for Best Film Short then this will be well deserved.
Brenda Smith

The night was a great success, and it makes you realise the sheer number of individuals involved (especially as I guess not everyone was there).  Sophie, my fiancée had a great time, and really enjoyed the film.  She was particularly impressed with the sound (and music) and quality of the picture - it does look beautiful.  For me, the one shot that really stands out is that initial shot just before the opening credits tracking back from Old Bill surrounded by photographs - very powerful.  We also met your mother, which was a great honour, and she was, of course, extremely proud of you and your latest film. So I wish you all the best with your bid for the festivals, and of course, the Oscars!
Phil Ashcroft

Blimey!Right. Enough self adulation, back to the graft and getting the film into some festivals! And of course, the feature films...

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Compiling Titles

I have been collating the titles for the end crawler. This presents a number of practical problems.

First off is just how do you format it so that you can easily use it in other programs once all typed out in MS Word? The big thing is to NEVER use tabs. Just write the test down in logical order.

Second and more of a problem is remembering EVERYONE who was involved and helped out. That’s why it’s important to get working on the end roller ASAP, so as to give you plenty of time to update it and check spelling (you will remember people at the strangest of times). There is nothing worse than someone important coming up to you at the premiere and saying, ‘I helped you out for free and you didn’t even remember to credit me…’

Also, getting hold of logos can be a pain as everyone uses different formats. All you really need is a single Hi Res JPEG of their logo, with minimal compression. But I have bumped into TIFF’s, PDF’s, even EPS files which for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone uses nowadays! You will need the ‘know how’ to convert these files to be compatible with the ones for your end roller (colour depth, compression and physical size in pixels are all important).

To make life easier in the final conform, I am going to make a HUGE, long graphics file which they can then import and add a simple camera move to, thus creating a roller. This is the bullet proof way of making sure nothing gets changed in the final mastering process, and it’s easier for them too.

So the long haul of title collation has begun.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com 

Pickup shoot moved for weather

Gone Fishing looks absolutely amazing. In large part this is down to Vernon’s photography and his insistence that we wait on the sun. We were very lucky in the main shoot and managed to shot mostly in bright sunshine, which Vernon then filled the harsh shadows with a whopping great 15k light and bounce boards.

We were supposed to be shooting pickup shots today but we moved the dates on Monday as the BBC weather site predicted cloud and rain. Now it’s looking like Friday or Saturday will be the pickup days. I now begin each day with the ritual of logging onto the BBC weather site and checking out the five day forecast for Dorking, the location where we are shooting. It’s important that we get the sun otherwise it will be hard to get shots to match.

You can view a clip here from Gone Fishing, the first one is without the sun, the second is with the sun (there were clouds when filming - This clip is ungraded and low contrast as it has come straight from the 35mm neg). You can see just how much difference it makes. Amazing really.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com 

Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass Graduate, Rob Goodwin on Gone Fishing

A few years back, Robert Goodwin came on my two day film making seminar,  When I asked for help on Gone Fishing, he was one of the people who answered, and in fact, kept answering and giving me reasons why he should be involved. I managed to get the photographer to shoot some pics with him next to the camera which I hope will help him on his career. I also asked if he could write a few words about his experience on the film. Here is what he said…

There's no way I could cover everything that happened from my POV it would take too long. Not that I wouldn't want to do it because I had a brilliant time and felt as though I'd made some really good friends in the process. I was on the film shoot as a runner so I thought if I'm a runner I should, er, run! So I kept it up most of the time.. nearly.. a bit.

So what should I include and what should I miss out? I think I should miss out the mundane things like... taking the exposed film to the labs in Slough on my way back to my brother's, and carrying incredibly heavy cables on my shoulders, and also holding a parasol for the actors on a blistering hot day. Mundane sounding, yes, but to me this was exciting stuff (well maybe all apart from carrying the cable!) and all done with a passion.  And before all that could happen I don't need to describe the 11 hour journey from home in Invergordon to London, surely?

My main impression of the shoot is a positive one. I remember all the positiveness of the crew who often worked with just a 'bite' to eat; their professional attitude towards everything, totally focussed on the job; and the total commitment to getting it done whatever it took. This damn the torpedoes spirit is what made it all work. And the camaraderie of the cast and crew is the amber nectar of filmmaking, it's what I hoped for and I got it by the gallon.

We had a good laugh on several occasions but two stick out in my mind...

The actor, Devon Murray, was ready to act having rehearsed his part, and the camera crew, DP and director and camera were poised... only... the crew including the camera were all facing in the wrong direction(!!?) The trouble was these 8 of the crew and camera were in two boats which were tied together with a force 10 gale blowing and two of the crew frantically trying to paddle the boat so it at least was facing the suspenseful actor patiently waiting on the shore. While all this was going on the rest of us were happily singing the Hawaii Five O' theme tune and 'Messing about on a River'! The really strange fact was that it had been calm all morning right up until shooting time.  So there you had 8 grown men totally helpless and at the mercy of this freak 'storm' facing any way but towards the actor! After about five minutes it was resolved as the wind died down and shooting continued.

The other laugh I remember was when we were returning a punt to the boat house... I had cast off and sat at the back. Actors Bill Paterson and James Wilson were rowing. We'd only gone a few feet and Jim was tiring so I took over. I couldn't believe how hard work it was and beads of sweat formed on my forehead as I concentrated all my efforts on 'digging' at the swirling water. And then I looked up.. then looked back... we'd only gone a few yards from the bank. Whew. Then I noticed a chain running over the side of the boat and quickly realised that there was another anchor still in the water!!

I was chuffed with my first real task on day one - that of greens man. I shinned 20 feet up an oak tree to get a suitably sized branch to be a dingle (this was a new word to me) and also disguising a water hydrant to look as though it had ivy growing up it, oh and also collecting pooh sticks - no, not another filmmaking term but Winnie the Pooh sticks for young actors to throw off a bridge.

To balance all this jolly stuff.... I had a sleep in my car by the side of the road on my way home one night because I couldn't keep my eyes open because I felt sure they'd miss me the next day if I had been in a critical accident. lol. and another time I thought I'd lost the sound rushes for the day (oops).

No shoot is going to go totally according to plan though and this shoot was no exception. What I've learned is that whatever 'stuff' happens it happens to teach us so that we will be more prepared for the next time.

I've learned is to have bucket loads of patience. This I will definitely take and apply to my own filmmaking.

I've learned not to go spend a penny in long undergrowth where there are creatures that bite. (This I learned from our director, Chris Jones... Sometimes you can learn quite painlessly you just need someone else to do the learning for you!)

And I've learned the importance of forward thinking and good communication.

I've left an awful lot out and because I'm working tomorrow I need to get some sleep.

But what a great group of people I shared six days of my life with. Where else, tell me, do you get skilled and experienced people working for nout from dawn till past dusk and still have the presence of mind for a joke? Were we fools to do such a thing? No one in their right mind would, surely? We did it, I think, because we're just 'that sort' of people and because we knew this was something special. I had the thought it would be a brilliant way of getting a different perspective of filmmaking to that on my own film shoots. And I wasn't disappointed. This was a special week of film making. And the film, I know, is going to be special when it's completed. How do I know? I know this because everyone gave their all. And mark my words it will show.

I hope I've presented an appropriate flavour of such a memorable week and one I enjoyed immensely.

Thanks for the opportunity, Chris.

Robert J Goodwin

Less than 12 hours to go...

A few hours ago, the camera truck arrived and I took a pic of the contents for this blog. Blimey! Look at it all. Two 35mm cameras and all the bits. Not much like an HDV camera and tripod is it!

Ok. It’s 11.30 and I will be up at 5.15 tomorrow morning. Breakfast at 7.15, blocking at 8.00 and turn over first shot at 9.00…

Right now I feel like I am strapping myself into a rocket ship and about to press the big red button. It’s a mixture of trepidation and excitement. I would say that I can’t sleep, but I am so utterly exhausted, I will be asleep in seconds the moment my head hits the pillow.

As I go into the shoot, I wanted to reflect for a moment. I have tried hard to take my own medicine in the prep for this movie, and I know that I have done as best I could on many issues. On reflection, here are what I know are things that are as good as they could be…

1. The casting of the kids in the movie. This is a world class junior cast that I can’t really see how it could be improved. Thanks to Cathy Arton. Casting director.

2. The script and storyboards. Every other film I have made I have known that the script could have done with more work. Not so on ‘Gone Fishing’. Whatever we may think of it when we get on set and into the edit, right now before we start shooting, I know I could not improve it as it is on the page tonight. Same goes for the storyboards.

3. Camera and kit. We have world class cameras, hi speed cameras, second unit cameras, tons (actually yes, 18 tonnes actually) of lighting kit. Stuff. We got it! And it’s all top notch.

4. Crew. There are a few members of the crew who blow me away. Cathy Arton, casting director, Vernon Layton, DP, Steph Wrate, in production, Jonathan Andrew, First AD, Eddie Hamilton, Editor… And I have so many new crew members to meet and work with tomorrow. Really, world class folk.

There is other stuff I know that could have been improved, but that’s all compromises borne out of a lack of time and money. So as I sign off for tonight, and shower before the first day of the shoot, I sleep with a sense of security. I know I am working with great people, that we are prepared as much as is possible within our given circumstance, and that the script, the very foundation of the project, is both moving and inspiring. Every person who has read it has commented on how much they loved it. That alone is it’s own reward.

Right!

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com 

Announcing some cast and crew!

OK, it’s time we started to reveal who some of our talented cast and crew are going to be…

First off, I am more than delighted to announce that seasoned DP, no British LEGEND, Vernon Layton, will be shooting ‘Gone Fishing’. This is awesome news as Vernon truly is an artist. Among many others Vernon has shot The Young Americans, McVicar, I still Know What You Did Last Summer, and my personal favourite, Under Suspicion, a great Brit thriller that has been lost to history – check it out, it’s a terrific movie (directed by Simon Moore). We have spent a great deal of time chatting about the movie, and the film business in general and I know his expertise and experience will bring much to our set. I can’t wait! VERY EXCITED!

In the acting department, I am also delighted to announce that Ruth Gemmel (Spotlight link here) will be playing Imogen, the daughter of Old Bill, the lead character. You may have seen Ruth in a number of movies, but she is perhaps best know for playing the lead opposite Colin Firth in ‘Fever Pitch’, directed by my old film school buddy, David Evans. Ruth has a wonderfully relaxed and warm way about her, which is essential for her character. As we all know, short films are short, and everyone in every department has to ‘say so much with so little’. This is especially true for the actors. Ruth will be great in this reflective character.

Richard Syms is going to be playing George, the grumpy fisherman friend of Old Bill (Spotlight link here). I worked with Richard on ‘Urban Ghost Story’ and he is a wonderful presence to have around.

We are still chasing a specific name for Old Bill, and negotiations are going well… watch this space.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com 

Sound Recordist, Killer Pike and Killer Bunnies!

Great news today. Experienced sound recordist Adrian Bell has agreed to record sound on ‘Gone Fishing’. This is particularly good news for me as Adrian recorded sound on my first feature film, ‘The Runner’, the movie that inspired ‘The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook’! So terrific! Adrians website is here. He will be using hard drive recorders which is a firsat for me. I am looking forward to the benefits.

We also enlisted the help of Mike Tucker at the The Model Unit. Mike is a legend, and wandering around his studio was like going down memory lane for me. He even had the original K9 from Dr Who, which he told me he rescued from a skip at the BBC! Blimey.

Mike will be building a scale model set for when the fish is landed – remember, this is supposed to be the biggest pike ever caught. So we are going to build a two foot by two foot section of ‘ground’ that has 50% scale models and grass, so when a real live pike is placed on it, the pike will appear twice as big…. the same way they did for that classic horror movie ‘Night Of The Lepus’ about giant killer bunnies. That movie had the classic line, ‘We need to get out of here, there is a herd of killer rabbits headed our way…!’

And here is another idea for getting a fish to flop around in the water, from Phil Mathews, my effects friend.

‘Use a dead one that you buy. Get a mini bumbleball or such like. Kiddies toys (lots of water proof bathtime stuff is now battery operated and pretty impressive) they operate on giromotor I think, pets toys can do the same. Gut the fish. Pop said kiddies toy inside sealed in a sandwich bag and reseal by sewing up or with superglue and superglue activator. It should work a treat. Good luck with everything’

Crikey Phil!

Onward and upward

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com 

Stunt Co-ordinator gets onboard

As many of you may know, stunt co-ordinator Terry Forrestal was a key element to us getting started here at Living Sprit. In the very early days of The Runner, he was an industry professional who was instrumental in giving us credibility. He also added huge production value by doing amazing stunts and bringing in crew who of effects wizards. His help continued though Urban Ghost Story before sadly, he lost his life in a base jumping accident. This was a terrible tragedy and we all felt his loss terribly.

What a welcome delight then to find that among many of the other industry professionals he mentored and helped, was stunt co-ordinator Pete Pedrero. I met Pete a few months back and we chatted about Terry and the films we were making. Today, Pete got onboard Gone Fishing and has offered to Stunt Co-ordinate it. His energy and enthusiasm is uniquely stunt crew orientated, or perhaps it’s the legacy of Terry, who shared that drive and sense of fun. So what was going to be a big problem for us, is now being handles by one of the top guys in the country.

 

When I chatted to Pete on the phone, I asked what he was up to. I expected him to tell me about various projects he is currently involved in. ‘I am just about to be set on fire mate, so let’s keep it quick!’ Blimey. I love the stunt crews energy! 

I must admit, I do have a sense that if Terry is up there looking down, he somehow sent us quite simply the best guy for the job. So thanks Terry, even now you are helping us along on our career.

I think the pic here is of Pete, on fire, and Terry! I recognise the Forrestal grin.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com