One More Day

IMPORTANT: WATCH THIS TO THE END OF THE CREDITS!

One More Day is my fourth attempt at directing, and my last film.

Based on a comic strip by Nicholas Gurewitch (and therefore a black comedy), it was the perfect opportunity for me to work on my straight drama. Starring Mitchell Smith in his acting debut, the film was shot on a budget of favours over a single weekend.

A lot of people miss the punchline on this, because they don't watch until the very end. The film was made for festivals, where it would be viewed right through to the end of the credits. So stay tuned or you'll miss the magic!

Seagull in Flight

One of my first captures with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II of a seagull. This Black and White version captured the drama of the moment beautifully.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 200mm : f/2.8 : 1/8000sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM

Bad times for Murdoch

Last month, The Times introduced a controversial new "paywall", demanding paid subscription to access its content, losing almost 90% of its online readership in the process, according to the Guardian.

The Last Temptation of Jeff

I directed this one. Not my best effort, but a great laugh, and not bad for improvisation.

Written, shot and edited (including original musical score) in only a weekend as part of a 48hr Film Challenge, The Last Temptation of Jeff was a pretty accomplished film, all things considered!

All the dialogue was ad-libbed by the immensely talented Colin Cuthbert (Jeff) and the sadly missed Iain Etchells (Tarquin) and the score was written and performed at 3am by Dave the Happy Singer.

Tabitha

Portrait of my niece Tabitha, another test shot with my dad’s old 1960’s Helios 44-2 58mm f/2.0 lens.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 58mm : f/2.0 : 1/125sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Helios 44-2 58mm f/2.0

Farewell to WordPress

Well, I finally switched to Tumblr as my blogging platform. WordPress was becoming bloated with features I never used, and is an absolute spam magnet.

I don’t post nearly as often as I’d like, so the last thing I need is a tool that actually makes my life more difficult! Tumblr on the other hand is simple, lightweight, and has a range of cool tools and widgets to extend it if you wish.

Hopefully this will make it easier to voice my thoughts more often!

Update: I only wish they would speed up the dashboard - it's taking an age to open!

Death & Mrs Brady

This was my graduation film, shot on 16mm film and earned me my first class. I wrote and directed it, with Ellie Land producing, Emma Dalesman as DoP and Mike Pentney editing.

I knew that once I had graduated, it wouldn’t be quite so easy to experiment, so I wrote a script that contained all of the cool stuff I’d seen in making-of documentaries - stunt work, fight sequences, make-up, visual effects, costume design and set-building.

It was fantastic fun, and a real baptism by fire for an inexperienced director!

New Lease of Life

Test shot taken with my Canon EOS 450D mounted with the Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 prime lens from my dad’s old Zenit E, made in Russia some 50-odd years ago.

This vintage glass really puts my modern Canon lenses to shame. It’s a little tight (about 92mm) on my APS-C camera body, but it makes a beautiful portrait and close-up lens.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 58mm : f/2.0 : 1/125sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Helios 44-2 58mm f/2.0