Dark Deeds in a Nantgarw Kitchenette

Yes, I'm back in trailer mode - this time for the Cardiff Players production of Macbeth, which is not only playing at the YMCA Mike Barlow Theatre in Cardiff but at various other locations around South Wales as a promenade production. This is part of the Players participation in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 'Open Stages' scheme, a celebration of Shakespeare and amateur theatre, in which the RSC is working with a hundred amateur companies across the UK, each producing its own Shakespeare or Shakespeare themed production.

Due to other commitments, I was unable to get involved with the actual production in any form. However, I was approached by director Geoff Lake to produce the trailer for the production and agreed to meet up with himself and the actors playing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to video dialogue between the two characters for use in the ad. So I headed out one Sunday morning, fully charged camera packed for action.

And the venue? A kitchenette in an office building in an industrial estate. In Nantgarw. (To be fair, the conference rooms in the building were being used by the company for rehearsal, and the kitchen area proved to be the darkest part of the building for our purposes.) So with large screens blocking out the shelves/sink/microwave etc., I placed two poseable halogen lights at low level and aimed them at the actors to maximise dramatic shadow. 

It was a short shoot - no longer than 40 minutes - in which I managed to capture everything that was required on my handheld Canon 600D at maximum resolution. Then, back to Cardiff to review the material and decide which bits of the 10 minutes worth of dialogue could be edited into a punchy, two-minute trailer.

Unlike with the previous trailers I have produced for the Players, this one had no particular lead when it came to background music. It needed to be dark, foreboding and cinematic; yet I felt a nod to the period of the play was needed. So I created a mash-up of old and new; opening scenes scored to a hymn by 12th Century composer Hildegard von Bingham which melts into one of the more unconventional scores by John Williams, a cut from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The Williams score being darkly dramatic and with string-led spikes gave me a perfect editing template to accompany the photography, which I darkened and muted for effect. The dialogue between the actors needed a slight enhancement to make the surroundings sound more castle-like and less like a domestic office area.

I was more than pleased by the result - I think it is one of my best trailers so far. But it would be nothing without the excellent participation of Rob and Bella, whose acting was a joy to work with.

Here be trailer.

One-Act Wonders

Hmm, word seems to be getting around...

The trailers that I produced for the Cardiff Players last year (four for The Thrill of Love, one for A Christmas Carol) seem to have sparked something, as I was recently contacted by the Glamorgan Drama League to produce an eye-catching video ad for the upcoming One-Act festival in April. This being the annual event that is one of the regional rounds for the National Festival of Community Theatre in Wales, culminating in the Wales One Act Final, and from there to the British Festival of One-Act plays. Last year the Players got through to the Wales One Act final in Newtown with their adaptation of Richard Harris's 'Albert', garnering joint performance awards for Peter Stickler and Chris Johnson, and a well-deserved nod to the startling 70s inspired set that would put Abigail's Party to shame. I may be biased, but it was my favourite out of all of the one act plays last year.

But back to the trailer. I didn't have the luxury of time to dedicate to making this as complex as the The Thrill or Christmas Carol ads, so had to rely on the still rather impressive range of built-in effects that Final Cut Pro has to offer. The choice of accompanying music was suggested by Players chair Amie - the theme music to 'Albert', being Boney M's 70s cheesy disco classic 'Daddy Cool', which I thought was a nice little nod to last year's Glamorgan winners. This suggestion also helped me decide on the typeface and general approach to the trailer, utilising an animated text called 'Boogie' - all thick letters and sparkly effects - for the general info. Six groups are participating this year, and I used a different effect and font for each group and their plays - signifying the variety of productions - incorporating any existing artwork and promotional material from the groups into the video. 

I am rather pleased with the result, given that it was made in such a short space of time. And it has proved a hit with the GDL, which is good given that it is for them after all.

Here it be.

The hair trapped in the gate

I remember going to the Cannon Cinema in George Street, Oxford in my youth... a lot. And occasionally the film projected would be out of focus. One particular time when I went to see the Steve Martin/Daryl Hannah Hollywood-isation of Cyrano de Bergerac, 'Roxanne', the entire film was out of focus. Boy, did I leave the cinema with a headache that day. Not entirely sure if it was the film or the focus that caused that. Could have been both.

That particular cinematic trait has now been largely eradicated with the now almost universal use of digital projection in cinemas. In fact, I would be hard pressed to say when I last saw a film that was actually projected on film, it has been that long.

And to be honest, there is something nice about digital projection - the crisp, pristine images, the sharp focus, the knowledge that now the image cannot be terminated by the film snapping and/or getting trapped in the gate, resulting in film-melt (another artefact that will inevitably be lost on a generation brought up purely digital). And that old chestnut, the hair trapped in the gate, dancing distractingly at the bottom of the frame, wriggling for release.

Saying all of that, I do like experiencing the old films, flaws and all. I guess it is partly nostalgia but it is also the fact that I am experiencing something tangible, real; celluloid being drawn through a projector at 24 frames per second, the scratches and flecks testament to the number of times the print has been in circulation - a bit like the rumble and pops on vinyl records. However, I know that now such old films can be digitally tarted up to remove any trace of dust, scratches and to boost the fades in colour to return them to their original lustre, or at least close to it.

This post was prompted by a short movie I just watched - a mega low-budget independent film called 'Vapours', made in 1965 and centred around two men who meet and connect in a bath house in New York. Yes, it is roughly filmed in contrasty black and white on what looks like 16mm with a muffled soundtrack that betrays the noise of the camera over the dialogue. And do you know what? I loved it. Raw as it was, it was perfect; honest, refreshing, moving and compelling. And it did have a hair trapped in the gate, at least for the opening scenes!

But it didn't matter. It was an artefact I had come to acknowledge and accept, especially given my background in making Super 8 films. (Oh I'd be at that aperture with a brush and everything and still the little buggers would manage to get in there!). But it a fun, albeit pricey hobby that I loved. The moving images I make these days are completely digital purely because of the ease of editing and post-production, and the low cost. But given the chance I would dust off that old Fuji Single 8 camera (which is buried deep somewhere in my lodgings) and see if I can source the stock. I could be making my own version of 'Vapours' then! Though I doubt the Locker Room in Cardiff would allow it...

As an aside, I know that filters can be added to digital imagery to emulate the old flaws of film; it's something I used recently in my trailer for Cardiff Players production of A Christmas Carol. But there is something nice about the real thing, the beautiful softness of the images, the flickers of the photographic grain and the aforementioned flaws; as mentioned above, maybe just nostalgia but for me it goes deeper than that. And it would be a great shame to lose it for good.

2013: Rough Sex, small openings and numerous shades of grey

Of course there was a lot more to 2013 than that but it makes for an attention grabbing post title... and I do like my attention grabbing post titles.

To say 2013 was an eventful year for me is something of a slight understatement - it's true to say that when I look back on the last twelve months, I find myself asking "that was only last year??". But its true; 2013 seemed to be a year of travel - albeit all in the United Kingdom - clocking up Belfast, Liverpool, Brighton, Newtown, Glastonbury, Oxford, London, Bristol, Manchester (for Pride), Edinburgh (for the Fringe) and Derry, where I had the most fantastic Hallowe'en ever. Quite an experience.

Talking of experiences, these took on a broader aspect too - from dining at the Liberal Club in London to being shot at with paintballs in a field near Tenby. The latter was part of my first ever 'stag weekend' for my friend Rhys, which was great fun, even if I was slightly disappointed at the lack of traffic cones being inserted into orifices and emergency visits to A&E. (Does it really count as a stag weekend if this doesn't happen at least once? Mind you, we did get the stag into drag which was an alarming sight. Particularly for the locals.)

A lot went on at the Cardiff Players in 2013 in which I was involved, from Robin Hood in January to A Christmas Carol in December. The majority of this was involved in creating trailers and video backdrops for productions, but also included painting props and flats numerous shades of grey for their production of Amanda Whittington's The Thrill of Love and operating the lighting for the one-act production and fringe festival. And also acting in the latter, in Jon Wheeler's comic sketch 'Captain Carruther's Arse'. Not exactly Tolstoy, but was great fun nonetheless.

It was a good year for new and re-acquantances too. Meeting talented local (and now International!!) artist Chris Langley (plug for his site here) led me to have my first exhibition of photographic works alongside his paintings at The Gate in Cardiff in November. A small opening but an opening nonetheless, ooer missus. And over the pond my friend Michael Swinford opened his acclaimed one-man show 'Rough Sex and Other Bad Words' at IndyFringe, where it proved so popular it has subsequently been booked in Chicago and other places. I created a trailer for the show, which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpgsxNAnOfg

And of course, big love and thanks to the wonderful Michael Deery who introduced me to his home town of Derry (City of Culture 2013!) and showing me round the vibrant city of Belfast. Michael's involvement volunteering for the City of Culture events and particularly for Captioned Culture Derry has been amazing and inspiring - he is a truly dedicated and energetic individual!

So, 2013... a busy year, yes, that necessitated a quiet Christmas at home - Stu and myself, Zucker (new dog), ChiChi and the cats (good name for a band!) roast duck and prosecco infused trifle.
Most indulgent - but then after a year that had been this eventful, I felt like celebrating it.

So I finished the whole bottle of prosecco.

Happy New Year! Hic.

A Christmas Carol

And why, pray tell, have I been so quiet of late? Surely not due to a total mental breakdown following the Cardiff Players production of Amanda Whittington's The Thrill of Love?

Well, partly due to that. But it's mainly because my energies are currently being focussed into their next production, an adaptation of Dicken's A Christmas Carol. And yes, they want projected images for it. Two sets of projected images to be precise. I'll just put that nervous breakdown off until the New Year, shall I...

Having proved myself somewhat proficient at producing trailers (three teasers and one full for The Thrill of Love), I was requested to produce one for this production. Luckily I was way ahead of them, as I had already starting plotting a trailer for this while I was creating The Thrill trailers.

The starting point was always going to be the star in the Cardiff Players logo (which, by the way, is a masterfully designed one by Fred Skilton and gives me so much scope when composing the trailers). From there I shamelessly channelled one of my all time heroes, the pioneering cinematic master Mr Georges Méliès, in the cloud/cityscape imagery and the old-style film look. As with the previous mini-movies, this provided me with an opportunity to delve further into what the versatile program Final Cut Pro could do, and presented me with new challenges - none more so that the cityscape which took a fair few hours to figure out!

I would like to thank Jonathan Wheeler of the use of his face as 'Marley-in-the-door-knocker'. (Jon is actually playing Marley in this production). He doesn't really look that gaunt - I had to 'ghost' him up considerably using Photoshop to get that look! I'm also pleased with the door knocker I found using Google search, though I was a bit dubious about putting in the search term 'victorian knockers' for fear of what  it brought back...

Anyway, there 'tis.

The Gaiety

It has been my intention for a while to write a story based in the now abandoned Gaiety cinema on City Road in Cardiff. Up until its closure it was renamed 'Spin' and turned into a bowling alley/nighclub affair - here is an excellent webpage giving a history of the buildings and pictures taken in 2011 when the place was well and truly abandoned.

One of the girls from the photographic course I was on late last year tried to gain access to the building as it now is, but found it full of squatters who didn't really want anyone intruding, be it for artistic purposes or not. And this got me thinking...

Why not write a story based around a community ensconced in one such abandoned building, purposely cutting themselves off from the world outside? The idea rattled round my head for a few months and ideas of how to approach it formulated. But it never really made it onto paper. Or even virtual paper.

Then, as the approach I had decided upon would be diaristic, why not publish it as blog entries? After all, Dickens published his work in journals and such. Not that I am claiming to be a Dickens by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyway, nothing ventured and all that... here is a link to The Gaiety.

Fringe Benefits II - style icons, serenading inmates, intimate late-night encounters... and noodles.

Yes, it's that time again when we take our annual pilgrimage north of the border into the cultural chaos that is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And this year's choice of shows was even more eclectic than last's.

For a start the first venue was Edinburgh's Cineworld; not an obvious choice, but it was to see a rather rare event - a nationwide live feed to selected cinemas from the David Bowie exhibition at the V&A. Having failed to even get near visiting this highly acclaimed look at this pop icon's life (booked out until eternity and now finished) this was a chance to get a taste of what we had missed and also witness a superb documentary about this extraordinary performer's life and work.

From there to laughs - the annual favourite 'Shakespeare For Breakfast', whose sub-title this year was 'The Reclaiming of the Shrew', wonderfully grafting the William and Kate story into the bard's comedy.  And you gotta get a bit of stand-up in there too, this year in the motherly shape of Jenny Eclair, a comedienne I've been wanting to see live for soooo long. And man was she funny - so much so that at one point I nearly lost consciousness laughing so much - her menopausally obscene rantings striking a chord with many a woman of a similar age in the audience.

Lets not forget the art too, with superb exhibitions of the stylish photographs from Condé Nast (at the City Art Centre) and the wonderfully surreal work of Man Ray (at the Scottish Portrait Gallery). And then to musical theatre in the shape of the brilliant Kiss of the Spider-Woman - The Musical from the Musical Theatre Society, superbly staged and performed. Then to circus - the incredibly surreal but eye-poppingly spectacular show 'Noodles' from Cardiff based troupe extraordinaire NoFit State. I may well be avoiding that particular carbohydrate for some time after witnessing that...

But the highlight for me was the highly intimate two-hander 'between', written by Oskar Brown and directed by Geoffrey Hyland. Performed at 11.30 (that's p.m.) in a tiny space at the Surgeon's Hall off Nicolson Street the play unflinchingly focused on intimate relations between men, be they gay, straight or undecided. It was originally developed as a student production by Brown at the University of Cape Town Drama department and was then re-invented for Fringe productions with the help of multi-award winning director Hyland. Brown performs with fellow South African Nicholas Campbell amongst a sea of blue papers (which by the way were all of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets printed in various sizes) in various states of undress and physical proximity. The effect is sometimes unsettling given the closeness of the actors to the audience; the sense of voyeurism is palpable. But then that is the point, to be exposed to that intimacy no matter how uncomfortable it may be. A brilliant piece of minimal theatre.

And then, of course, there was all that was in between; the inevitable leaflet-strewn struggle down the Royal Mile, stopping for some over-priced tea at Patisserie Valerie (or Val's Cake Shop as we dubbed it), perusing the pissed punters on Grassmarket and meeting up with Barry for several pints at that old gay hang-out The New Town. A wonderful but woefully short visit.

Oh and update on the tram system; they have finished it! But no trams are running on it yet. Not until next year at least.