Competition links

Below i've posted the links to the first two competitions from Glasgow Film that i mentioned in my blog from tuesday. 
(Scroll down to see original blog)

Competition 1

Competiton 2

Good luck :)

On the Road Again

Some inspiration

Glasgow is a city that like any other is teaming with stereotypes such as violence and the whole concept that everyone is ginger, wearing a kilt and have a belly full of haggis 24/7 and although this is quite possibly true for the very slim minority, i believe Glasgow has a lot to offer the film world. 

I watched a show this week which is part of the series 'Hit the road Jack' where comedian Jack Whitehall visits various places over Britain to uncover the culture and how the locals live.  Of course no comedians show is complete without the odd joke to poke fun at the residents. 
This weeks episode was the turn of Glasgow.  I've included the link below to let you have a look and make your own opinion of the city. 

Hit the Road Jack

However...
Don't be in any way put off by the references to Glasgows' violent nature, (Yes I mean the Buckfast crime reference) instead focus on the success that has came from Scotland for example actors John Hannah and Greg McHugh or the band 'The Vaccines' who all featured on the show. 
Ive provided an advert below for 'Visit Scotland' so you can restore faith in Scotland and focus more on the locals passion, pride in nationality, historical culture and the picturesque landscape.

Perhaps you'll even choose Glasgow as the next location choice for your film production.

Competitions

Feeling Lucky?

I was just doing my usual browse through social networking sites and saw something that might interest filmmakers, people with a general interest in film or even just those who like to win prizes. 

'Glasgow Film' are giving away tickets among other things today and over the next few days so why not follow the link below and see what they have to offer and know I'm going to!

                    Are you a winner?....

A creative outlet for your art

Hello Vimeo

‘Vimeo’ is the original video sharing website where users can upload, share and view videos.  ‘Vimeo’ was founded in November 2004 (3 months before ‘Youtube’) by filmmakers and video creators who;

 “wanted to share their creative work, along with intimate personal moments of their everyday life”’.

The name ‘Vimeo’ is an anagram of the word ‘movie’ as well as a play on the word ‘video’ where the word ‘me’ has been placed in the middle.  This play on words is a clever reference to the sites focus and dedication to the “user-made videos”. 

When compared to its rival ‘Youtube’,

attracts 65 million unique visitors per month

490 million unique users worldwide per month

 VS

Vimeo may appear the weaker video outlet but…

Vimeos’ community is largely built up of indie filmmakers- possibly portraying vimeo as the more respected website- and it promises to be;

“A respectful community of creative people who are passionate about sharing the videos they make”

And also;

“Provide the best tools and highest quality video in the universe”

This is a pretty bold claim which personally I can't be sure is true considering 'Youtube' is more a a household name.  However, this could be the whole point and emphasises the fact Vimeo isn't for just anyone and a home for nonsense,

such as:

but rather a devise used by creative minds to express themselves.  

This programme has even been used by many filmmakers who have found themselves on the 'Glasgow Film Festival' line-up for example the 2012 Scottish category award winner (mentioned in an earlier post) used vimeo as an outlet. 

Ultimately it is up to you to judge which website comes out on top and where you would like to showcase your work.

Relocation

Scotland is further establishing its credibility as a location for great TV drama

The BBC hit drama- ‘Waterloo Road’ has moved location from filming seven years in Rochdale Manchester, to our very own Renfrewshire (where I live). 



Cast: Waterloo Road

The former Greenock Academy has now officially transformed into ‘Waterloo Road High school’ set to shoot 50 episodes, and filming will start this Monday; 2^nd April 2012.    

The school has undertaken a number of changes with one wing being converted into a production studio, with edit and dubbing suites, make-up and wardrobe facilities and a canteen, a big step up from the maths department. 

This move is excellent news for Scotland as it is expected to bring £20m to the local economy and hundreds of jobs!!  This is even better news for me as a media student. 

The show's executive producer Gaynor Holmes said:

"this change of location was very much part of a commitment to building a strong drama base in Scotland, and is just the start, we are not done". 

Shed Media, led by founder and chief executive Eileen Gallagher went on to say:

"If you think about it, Manchester has got Coronation Street, Yorkshire has got Emmerdale, London has got Eastenders, Cardiff has got Casualty, and what does Glasgow have? It's now got Waterloo Road."

Don’t fret if you have never heard of/seen Waterloo Road before, or maybe you just want to catch up on the latest episodes, I’ve included a link to BBC iplayer here which gives you access to the current series.

So knock yourself out!

Please comment and let me know if you agree this will bring more money and jobs to Scotland.

More ways to recognise Scottish talent

This is the third year of the ‘Glasgow Margaret Tait Award’ but in case you’ve not heard of it yet, it’s a film award which;

“will recognise artists who are experimental, innovative and who work within film and moving image”

The winner of the award will be given a £10,000 prize and the opportunity to present their new commission at the Glasgow Film Festival in 2013. 

The voting closed today at 4pm, feel free to comment if you are a filmmaker who applied or someone who nominated a friend. 

I will let you know when the winner is announced. 

Urbancroft

‘Urbancroft’ is a film and video production company based in Glasgow; it is located at Scotland’s independent production hub ‘Film City Glasgow’.  Scroll down for contact information. 

This company provides production services and film training to charities, businesses & public sector organisations across the UK.  It claims to have quite a wide client base from arts and education organisations to businesses, government agencies and community projects.

‘Urbancroft’ has especially taken my interest since they worked with the university I attend to launch the Glasgow Caledonian London Campus in November 2011. 

Also, for quite a new company, ‘urbancroft’ has some pretty great credentials since they recently worked on filming for this year’s Olympic and commonwealth games.      

Contact Information:

FILM CITY GLASGOW                                 0141 445 7245

           401 GOVAN RD                                         INFO@URBANCROFT.CO.UK

      GLASGOW G51 2QJ                                      WWW.URBANCROFT.CO.UK

A Helping Hand

Glasgow Filmmakers Alliance

If you are struggling to find work in your field of work then why not add yourself to a database that can assist you.  

The Glasgow filmakers Alliance (GFA) is a directory for professionals involved in the film world.  It caters for an array of categories including actors, dancers, agents, editors, musicians and even runners. 

The GFA is a very new and fresh company: officially up and running in November 2011. But this should not be looked on as a disadvantage, even though it has limited funding it seems to be keen in assisting all kinds of professionals within the film industry and gradually building an impressive directory.  So why not give it a shot.

If you would like to be added to the database then visit the submissions page here.

Or contact them with further enquires at:  glasgowfilmmakersalliance@gmail.com

The Answer for Aspiring filmmakers

The Glasgow Film Office

Are you someone with a fresh idea or great tale to tell but no location?  Well, choose Glasgow and this could be the assistance that you have been searching for;
The Glasgow Film Office (GFO) is the film commission for Glasgow and offers a free service to all producers wanting to film in the city.  No matter if it is for a commercial, music video, short film or TV series, the Glasgow Film Office acts as a ‘middle man’ to provide location and crewing advice among other things to kick start your production.

Many successful productions have been filmed, or at least partly, in Glasgow.  Examples of such are TV series 'Taggart', Royal Bank of Scotland adverts and even Hollywood star- Brad Pitt filmed his latest movie 'World War Z' in our very own George Square.

'Taggart' Cast

'Royal Bank of Scotland' Advert

'World War Z'

Glasgow is ample with great locations that could cater for numerous filming projects.  Here is a small selection of these locations; 

The Glasgow Botanic Gardens

George Square

 

Merchant City



River Clyde

If you are in any way in doubt about whether this office is trustworthy then just take a look at the Glasgow Film Partnership which provides examples of the numerous  organisations that support this film office. 

GFO's Ambassador

Gerard Butler, GFO’s ambassador added his support;
"I wish the office every success in the launch of the Glasgow Film Partnership and hope the benefits of this new initiative will lead to increased production in the city very soon"

For any further queries about the GFO and what they are all about visit the ‘frequently asked questions’ here. 

Lights, Camera, Action!

The Glasgow Film Festival 2012

The Glasgow Film Festival has come to an end for another year; this was the eighth year of the event, and it proves to be a real contender among the international festival scene.  This year’s festival ran from the 16^th to the 26^th of February across eighteen

different venues including a swimming pool and a Tall Ship, showing over two hundred films.

The Glasgow Film Festival allows film lovers to come along and witness the possible ‘next big thing’ in the film world, with success stories of previous years reaching cinemas nationwide.  But don’t fret if you narrowly missed out on the action this time round, just sit tight as I fill you in on the highlights from last week’s action and also make sure you free the 14th to the 24th of February 2013 for the next round of cinematic magic.        

This year’s festival provided all the usual trimmings such as The Glasgow short Film awards, films from all around the world and the ‘fests within the fest’ namely; short, youth, music and fright. 

This year’s film line-up featured five full length Scottish films, these included:

·        Irvine Welsh- ‘Ecstasy’

·        Sheree Folkson- ‘The Decoy Bride’

·        Simon Arthur- ‘Silver Tongues’

The 2012 festival also included a tribute to the magnificent Gene Kelly: who has an abundance of skills listing as: dancer, actor, singer, film director, producer, and choreographer. His accomplishments include the iconic ‘Singin’ in the rain’ and ‘An American in Paris’

The Glasgow Short Film Festival Awards this year again promised great variety, judging sixty-nine films including twenty Scottish premieres!  

The winner in the Scottish category winning a £750 cash prize was ‘The Making of a Longbird’ by Will Anderson. For a glimpse at the winning entry Click here.



Influential Bill Douglas

The awards were extra special this year as the international category for the awards was renamed in honour of the great Scottish film maker Bill Douglas.  This honour was chosen in the hope that the winning film would reflect the values and qualities found in Douglas’ work: honesty, innovation and the supremacy of image and sound in cinematic storytelling.

Bill Douglas died from cancer 1991, he was described as having the potential to be one of the most significant figures in modern cinema and portraying cinematic language that was as poetic as it was humane. 

His most famous work was the short stories of his life;

·        ‘My Childhood’ (1971)

·        ‘My Ain Folk’ (1973)

·        ‘My Way Home’ (1978)

Bill Douglas was and is a very inspiring film maker; unfortunately his talents have been somewhat under the radar for years but hopefully with this new honour of the renamed award, it will influence some fresh filmmakers out there to learn from the best.