BACK TO OFFICIAL PROJECTS
During the editing process for �Manhunt Did It�, Mike Jackson of the Rural Media Company (Hereford) contacted me to see if I wanted to come along to a workshop and discuss any ideas I had for the BBC Local TV Pilot. The scheme was set up to bring TV to the viewer in their own area and so the test was set up to take place in the Midlands, and out of these regions only that of Hereford & Worcester were sanctioned to produce 90 second films by the residents. Rather than a team from the BBC coming to the Midlands to film a news item, those in the H&W area were also allowed to make their own films.
The service is available on Sky � by pressing the red button on BBC1 � and over the course of an hour each of the six regions in the Midlands has 10 minutes. At the end of the H&W segment is where the films by residents are placed � and these can cover any topic.
So I turned up at next Rural Media Company (RMC) workshop evening, met the guys involved and shared some brief ideas I had come up with for my own 90 second film. Generally the guys were into it, but had a couple of suggestions which I gladly took on board. I went away and strengthened the idea as well as shot some preliminary footage. My idea became a poetic piece � fitting a poem into 90 seconds feels right, trying to fit an argument or announcement into 90 seconds feels rushed. So I decided to use the old adage � write about what you know � and so I created a short poem, which discussed what it�s like to be away at University in the city and then come back home to the countryside. It starts out initially in favour of the city, but as the poem progresses I change stance and realise the countryside is not a bad place to be after all � ultimately coming to a positive conclusion.
I then took the final draft of the poem and the preliminary footage I had shot back to RMC and showed the guys what I had so far. They were immediately into the vibe I was going for. My intention was to not show Ross-on-Wye as most might think of it � you think Ross and you immediately think �Market Place�. Instead I wanted to focus mostly on the out-lying villages and countryside � to create an image of isolation, reservation and serenity. The guys liked where I was going and so I left to complete my film � waiting for what seemed ages for the weather to clear up to keep the continuity going. I headed back to the RMC workshop a couple of weeks later with a �rough� edit (actually it was basically finished) and suddenly found myself with an audience of a dozen folks who had filtered into the room at that very moment. Fortunately everybody was really into what I�d produced and were all very impressed � I�d taken a more artistic and visually creative route than most who focussed on more factual pieces (not that they were bad at all, they were really cool pieces). I guess my art training in High School paid off as I now approach the blank miniDV tape just like I used to approach the blank canvas/project sketchpad back in High School.
I went away and made a couple of tweaks (mainly to colour correction) and then returned the following week with the finished copy and again received all-round positive feedback. At the time of writing this I have acted as second cameraman on another project and am in the middle of filming/editing another 90 second short � this time a factual piece on the environmental efforts of a local farming family. I am also planning on filming another short as well as acting as second cameraman on one of the guys� own projects. So after a slow few months after graduation (they never teach you about these times at Uni do they?) it looks as if I�m making my first step into the media industry � good stuff, as I tend to say.
