By The Blade

Last weekend I went out filming with Spearhead Films again. We decided to totally re-shoot the whole sword fight from beginning to end using a different set-up for the camera. We pumped the frame rate up and opened up the shutter more. We wanted plenty of depth of field so many of the close-ups were shot a fair distance away and then we zoomed in on the subject. We also went for a much lower camera angle which gave a much more dramatic effect and added some camera shake. Of course some clever editing has added to the pace and drama.

The final version will involve actors in futuristic clothing and ancient armour in a fight to the death for a future sci-fi film. This sequence is to test camerawork, angles and fight choreography and was shot and edited in approx 6 hours. We used Apple Macs for editing and Sony HDV cameras for the filming, the quality of the YouTube video does not reflect the quality of the final video.The sound is all stock from the camera as this is a camera and choreography project. We would record sound separately on our final feature project.

This time when we went out the leaves on the trees had turned more yellow and brown and gave quite a striking background to the fight. As this is simply a test shot sequence for a much bigger project there is not really much of a story here but basically the hero prevails! My take on it is that these two men trained together but that one of them wronged the other in such a way that only a fight to the death would settle the matter and restore honour. Anyway, I would be interested to know what you think of the video, especially compared to the first test clip. Also, what is your take on what happens? I'd love to hear your view!

Watch This Space...

Coming soon...

The sword fight sequence is currently being edited and will be showing here in the next day or so. So now you can find out what happens!

Even Pandas Sneeze

This is just a quick post as I wanted to share this clip with you. It made me laugh out loud!

I am out filming today with Spearhead Films. We are going to film the whole sword sequence that we filmed a bit of last week. We are going to experiment more with camera angles and effects this time and see how it comes out. If all goes well I should be posting the finished video here soon.

Meanwhile I hope this clip makes you smile :0)

Rush Hour

This clip speaks for itself! It was an advert made by the BBC called 'Rush hour' and featured David Belle who invented the sport of Parkour. I remember seeing it for the first time and being absolutely amazed as I had never seen anything like it and every time it came on I was glued to the TV. I mean this guy actually does this stuff! Anyway, I thought you might like it to so here it is!

Look at what I did!

Some of you might have noticed a link to Spearhead Films on my blog. This is a small independent film company based in the UK that I have become involved with. So far they have made two feature films and one is signed for distribution and has been sold in Japan.

At the moment the company is in the very early stages of pre-production on their next big project. I can't share any details with you but it should be excellent.The video below is a test sequence we shot today. It was also a training session for me on the camera, and I am quite pleased with my efforts. Hope you enjoy it!