seriac film festival 2016

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IAC CONTACTS
IAC - The Film and Video Institute
McCracken Park, Great North Road
Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 2DT
Tel: 0191 303 8960
[email protected] (General enquiries)
[email protected] (John Bartlett)
[email protected] (Richard Curry)
[email protected] (Garth Hope)
[email protected] (Jan Waterson)
SERIAC CONTACTS
Letters, articles & photos for SERIAC News:
Keith Sayers, Editor, 92 Loder Road,
Brighton, East Sussex BN1 6PH
Tel. 01273 550015
or mobile (Voice or text) 07474 285992
E-mail [email protected]
Please note that all submissions must include
the sender’s name and full address otherwise
they will be ignored. Only the name and town
will be published
General SERIAC correspondence:
Brenda Troughton, SERIAC secretary & Webmaster
29a Hartfield Crescent, West Wickham,
Kent, BR4 9DW
Email: [email protected]
Tel:020 8462 2822
Web: www.seriac.org.uk
NEWS & VIEWS
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10
Mobile Phones
Getting up to Date
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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SERIAC Film Festival
FEATURES
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6
8
12
13
Elf Yourself
Christmas Elf & Safety
Umit & Son
The ABC of Christmas
The Reindeer’s Story
REGULARS
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3
4
14
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Information & contacts
Welcome, from the Editor
Chairman’s Chat
Club Diary
Events Diary
@seriacnews
@seriacfestivals
CLUB MAGAZINES
SERIAC COUNCIL
Rita Hayes FACI, Chair.
Brenda Troughton FACI, Secretary & Webmaster
Freddy Beard FACI, Treasurer.
Keith Sayers, News Editor
Alan Whippy LACI
Charlie Caseley,
Gwen Whippy LACI
Ian Wingate FACI
Peter Hughes,
Pip Hayes,
Reg Lancaster FACI
Ron Prosser FACI
Terence Patrick, FACI
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We love to see your club magazines /
newsletters and will publish articles from
them as appropriate. Please send them to
Brenda Troughton, SERIAC Secretary
29a Hartfield Crescent, West Wickham,
Kent, BR4 9DW
[email protected]
I am also happy to receive them:
Keith Sayers, SERIAC News Editor,
92 Loder Road, Brighton,
East Sussex BN1 6PH
[email protected]
Cover background picture - The Uks largest living Christmas tree at Wakehurst Place, Ardingly,
Keith Sayers
Did you here about the blonde turkey? she
was looking forward to Christmas
O
k, and so this is Christmas and what have we done? Well we have produced a special
magazine which we hope will be a bit of fun. Because it is web only we have managed
to get some interactive material in here so make sure you are connected and your
sound is turned up then go clicking away on the links starting with our Christmas greeting just
below this. It’s been fun to produce so I may well do it again next year given the chance so
please bear this in mind and get together all your Christmas jokes, articles, photos and
anything you can think of, send them to me and I will start compiling the next one; well I might
take a month off to recover from the turkey then start compiling. I hope I am not the only one
who enjoyed it, please let me know if you did, or not.
Of course we must not get carried away and forget the March edition, the January
issue has already been printed so let me have your contributions by January 25th, I know this
seems early but we have to allow for printing and distribution, thanks.
There is just one sombre note and that is the passing of our dear friend Mike Coad
and our thoughts go out to his wife Jo and all of his family and friends particularly at this time
of year so it would be nice to raise a glass to all he has achieved in amateur film circles.
Click here for a Christmas greeting from us to you
What a boy wants for Christmas
D
avid remembers accompanying his father out shopping in the toy department one
Christmas Eve. Dad said, “What a marvellous train set. I'll buy it”. The girl behind the
counter looked pleased and murmured, “Great, I'm sure your son will really love it”.
Dad replied with a glint in his eye, “Maybe you're right. In that case I'll take two”.
We had grandma for Christmas dinner. Really? We had turkey.
A Christmas bargain
J
ennifer was a pretty 18 year old girl. In the week before Christmas she sauntered up to
the curtain counter, and was trying to decide which of the many types of tinsel she would
buy. Finally, she made her choice and asked the spotty youth who was manning the
fabric section. “How much is this gold tinsel garland”. The spotty youth pointed to the
Christmas mistletoe above the counter and said, “This week we have a special offer, just one
kiss per metre”. “Wow, that's great”, said Jennifer, “I'll take 12 metres”. With expectation and
anticipation written all over his face, the boy measured out the tinsel, wrapped up the
garland, and gave it to Jennifer. She then called to an elderly gentleman who had been
browsing through the Christmas trees and said, “My Granddad will settle the bill.”
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Rita Hayes F.A.C.I
Welcome to this special website Christmas
edition of SERIAC News.
I
hope it gets you all in the Festive mood. It gives me a chance to report on the North v.
South event held on Sunday 6th December, which took place after my last Chair Chat
went to print.
As many of you know, this competition has been organised by Mike Coad for many years
now, and he had everything in place ready for this year’s event, prior to the South judging.
Sadly, Mike died unexpectedly in October, which was a great shock to all who knew him. We
were fortunate, however, when Orpington Video & Film
Makers took over the task of making the North v. South
the success that Mike had always made it. Thanks too
must go to Tony Johnson FACI for stepping in to pick
the five films from the South to go to the final judging
from the fourteen entered. As Mike loved to keep everything a secret, nobody – not even his wife Jo – knew
who he had chosen
to judge the entries.
All went well and Jo
Larry Hall made the winning film was there, helping
as usual, pleased I'm
for Chesterfield F M
sure that all went to
plan. Unfortunately, the South just missed out in the
results. Final judges David and Sheila Andrews stated
that The Shout, a Sutton Coldfield movie, almost took the Sutton Coldfield take the
award and that the competition had ended in a very close
runner up trophy
call.
The winners were Chesterfield Film Makers with their film Energy Crisis
taking the John Wright Trophy for the North for yet another year. Well done
to Sutton Coldfield for gaining the runner-up Harry Adams Trophy for the
second year running, with two of their films – The Letter and The Shout –
tying for second place.
The theme for 2016 is Out of The Blue, so get your thinking caps on –
and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.
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Simon Earwicker (left) OVFM Chair
And Sam Brown N v S MC
An appreciative audience enjoyed
the afternoon
Brenda Troughton FACI
Elf Yourself is an American interactive viral website where visitors can upload images
of themselves or their friends, see them as dancing elves, and have the option to post the
created video to other sites or save it as a personalized mini-film. The Elf Yourself website
and advertising campaign first launched for the Christmas holiday season in early
December 2006, and has returned each subsequent season. Visiting the site "has become
an annual tradition that people look forward to," so why not have a go.
Dorothy Batten, a member of Spring Park Film Makers,
snapped some photos at last year’s Christmas lunch the results
can be seen by clicking on the image to the left. Why not see
what other sites are out there for a fun movie or make your own.
Have a go at creating a short fun video and email across your
results – the best ones will be shown on our SERIAC website.
Happy Christmas
Editor’s note: The above link doesn’t work for me but is fine for others so I have included it
anyway, you might have to choose “allow” from the banner message. I hope it works for you
as it’s well worth viewing, it might just be the Windows 10 effect, which inspires the quote
from Twitter’s fifty nerds of grey: “I’ve been a very bad girl and I need to be punished” she
said biting her lip, “very well” he said and installed Windows 10 on her laptop.”
Good King Wenceslas phoned Domino's for a pizza. The salesgirl
asked him:- 'Do you want your usual? Deep pan, crisp and even?'
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T
raditional illuminations are being snuffed out by 'Jobsworths' waving health and safety
rules and extra constraints and provisions make insurance premiums too expensive for
councils. Scrooge like insurance companies want strict compliance with health and
safety guidelines. This means expensive equipment to test the safety of lights and their
fittings. For example, workmen can no longer use ladders to erect the lights, they must hire
hydraulic platforms instead. For centauries Christmas lights have been strung from
lampposts - no more, they have been deemed unsafe for hanging illuminations.
Has this structure been abandoned by a green doormat salesman? Sadly,
it's the work of the Health (elf?) and Safety committee in Poole, Dorset.
Official speak says this green “Dormat” is wonderful because, it has no
trunk therefore it won't blow over on street traders. There are no branches
to break off and land on someone's head, no pine needles to poke a
passer-by in the eye, no decorations for drunken teenagers to steal and
no angel, presumably because it would need a dangerously long ladder
to place it at the top. For as long as people in Poole could remember they
had a lovely genuine Norwegian fir, which was tastefully decorated in
coloured lights at a cost of about £500. In contrast the green doormat tree
cost a whopping £14,000. After dark it displays fairy lights and has built-in
speakers to play Christmas carols, but 95% of the Poole residents preferred the traditional tree.
In another case from Bodmin, Cornwall, the council has been ordered to use a pressure
gauge to test all 150 bolts which hold Christmas lights. This would cost the authority £1,200
in training fees, plus their wages and the cost of the equipment. Also, to test the bolts the
roads have to be closed for a day during testing and for another day while the lights are
actually fitted.
Waste disposal operatives [binmen] have been banned from wearing Santa
Claus hats this Christmas period apparently on health grounds .The refuse
collectors in Kingston upon Hull, UK, have worn the traditional red hats for
several years. City think that it does not create a professional impression of the
council. A spokesman for the East Yorkshire city council scrooges reportedly
has said, “Employees can wear Christmas hats in their own time. Wearing them during work
time does not create a professional impression. Further, there can be health and safety
implications should hats get in the way of dangerous machinery operation.”
Zillions of children worldwide will be crestfallen this year because Santa does not reply to
their Christmas present letters. In another case of Jobsworths ruling the roost, the US Postal
Service have abandoned the time honoured tradition of replying to children's letters to Santa.
What happened in 2008 was a registered sex offender, infiltrated Operation Santa. Why not
weed out the guilty, praise the innocent, and keep the letters coming to the children? But
don't let the evil Grinch handcuff Santa's writing hand.
Background: Santa's reply service began in 1954 in the Alaskan village of North Pole, where
volunteers open and respond to stacks of mail addressed to Santa. All their reply letters
come with the famous North Pole postmark.
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How do you know Santa Claus has to be a man? No woman is going to wear
the same outfit year after year!
Brenda Troughton FACI
Recently my daughter was dreadfully upset when
she lost her mobile phone. Lots of film and video
of the children lost forever as hadn’t been backed
up. Phoning the local police they told me that they
no longer record or accept lost property but gave
me the website addresses of companies who, for a
small payment, will locate missing phones. I
wondered if there was another way of tackling this
problem and discovered that regardless of what
kind of mobile you have, there is a way to find its
location remotely, provided it has GPS functionality, which fortunately is a basic service
found in nearly all phones today.
Android Device Manager is a Google’s official and easy-to-use tool to track your Android
phone or tablet. The best thing about it is that you don’t need to install an app to be able to
track your devices. The only requirement is that your device is connected to your Google
account, turned on and connected to the Internet. All you need to do is visit the Android
Device Manager while being logged into your Google Account. Once the site is loaded it will
automatically try to track down your phone.
If one of your Apple devices goes missing, iCloud can help you work out where it is. Just
sign in at iCloud.com or use the Find My iPhone app to see your missing iPhone, iPad,
iPod on a map. And with the Lost Mode feature, you don’t just see where your device is, you
can track where it’s been. That way you can decide on your best course of action. You can
immediately lock your device and send it a message with a contact number. Then whoever
finds it can call you from the Lock screen without accessing the rest of the information on
your device.
Peter Hughes from Medway Film Makers tells us that they have had
an evening on downloading and converting mobile footage into a
standard editing programme. This sounds like a very good idea. We
are all beginning to turn to what’s in our pocket – our mobile phones
– to document the events in our lives. Perhaps dedicated point-andshoot digital cameras and lower-end camcorders may be facing the
slow road to extinction, with many modern phones capable of
shooting high-quality photos and videos and even 4k. But there are a few things we should
remember when using our phones to video:
The simplest rule-of-thumb is to ensure you always flip your phone and film in landscape
mode. While filming in portrait can be fine for viewing back on your device, do avoid those
black bars either side of your shot.
The human hand’s tendency to jitter when holding a phone aloft is well known, and it should
be avoided if possible.
The digital zoom on your phone is probably not very good. If you do need to capture
something close up, move slowly in on foot while remembering to try and keep the phone as
steady as possible.
Do read Peter’s write-up (page 10) on how his club got on with editing as making films from
our phones will be another string to our clubs’ bows, giving us the confidence to encourage
new members who only use their phones to shoot video.
My daughter now has a new phone and an external hard drive so hopefully new footage and
photos will be safely copied.
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Brenda Troughton FACI
His wife thinks he is mad but Umit, who
has a shop in Clapton, is one of Europe's
biggest collectors of Super 8, 8mm. 9mm,
16mm, and 35mm. Umit says he is all
about film. Blu-ray, DVD, VHS – that stuff
he declares is disposable. He’s just not
convinced with digital. He believes that
film hasn’t changed in a hundred and
twenty years and no need for change
now.
Most of his actual customers are people
in the industry, people from the BBC or
film studios. Umit also sells sweets and
drinks which helps to keep his shop
alive. But the shop is full of projectors
and reel to reel films and memorabilia
which is what he is really all about.
Do watch the film about Umit on Vimeo - it’s a gem. Click below
Vimeo.com/80799875
Brenda
THE SERIAC FILM FESTIVAL IS BACK
9th APRIL 2016
ENTRY FORM AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE
Peter Hughes
Some time ago, one of our members at
Medway Film Makers suggested we should
look at how to edit mobile phone video files.
. In recent years, a friend has asked me to edit her family films, which included mobile
film. So, I was the one who stepped in and volunteered!
We split the evening into 3 sections - Discussions on technique and formats; Converting
files to usable editing files; Editing files. The evening was very experimental (we video part
of the evening and add screen captures
The phone needs to be later). Looking at techniques, a mobile
was designed to make calls and be
turned 90 degrees into phone
held vertically (Portrait). Most camera lens
landscape mode - not natural! are at the top end - may be OK for photos,
but not for video as you will only get a
picture in the centre of a video screen. Hence, phone needs to be turned 90 degrees into
landscape mode - not natural!
I would recommend filming at maximum resolution and bit rate, plus a format which you
can either use directly or converted into an editing program. My Edius program has a 'Plug-in'
which converts modern files into usable files within the editing program. Later programs
should cope with latest file formats.
Now we come to the interesting bit - using what you have taken. Not all phones have a
4:3 or 16:9 format. Using odd sizes mixed with a standard size could "throw "the player or TV
if set to auto adjust. To stop this happening, set timeline in editing program to 16:9. Where
using odd sized frame sizes, put a 16:9 mask on time line and overlay your footage. Adjust
in layout to remove black bars. The mask colour I would recommend should compliment the
clip. This is how the TV channels show their mobile clips from the public. If the camera
resolution is good enough, you could use layout to adjust your clip into a real 16:9' format.
So, how did the evening go? The first part raised a number of questions regarding
formats and bit rates. We all agreed that filming at the maximum, although file sizes would
be bigger, picture quality was important.
Converting files and editing live worked reasonable well. We put together video from a
video camera and film footage to compare quality. On the products being used, there was a
reasonable match. Also demonstrated was, how to use different pixel sized pictures (non
standard 16:9 ratio) in a standard 16:9 timeline.
Overall evening went well and left some with Food for thought.
Anyone who believes that men are the equal of women has never seen a
man trying to wrap a Christmas present
What a girl wants for Christmas
10
The Santa Claus at the shopping mall was very surprised when Emily, a young lady aged
about 20 years old walked up and sat on his lap. Now, we all know that Santa doesn't usually
take requests from adults, but she smiled very nicely at him, so he asked her, “What do you
want for Christmas?” “Something for my mother please,” replied Emily sweetly. “Something
for your mother? Well, that's very loving and thoughtful of you,” smiled Santa. “What would
you like me to bring her?” Without turning a hair Emily answered quickly, “A son-in-law.”
Maidstone Camcorder Club have a film
called “Christmas Socks”. Click here to view
10 Reasons Why a Woman WOULD LIKE to Be Santa Claus
There'd be no more early morning decisions about what to wear to the office.
No one would bother to ask Santa Claus for a ride to work.
Buy one big brown belt and you'd be accessorized for life.
You'd always work in sensible footwear.
You'd never be expected to make the coffee.
There'd be no need to play office politics; a hearty ho-ho-ho would remind everyone who is
the boss.
Juggling work and family would be easy. All your children would adore you; even your
teenagers would want to sit in your lap.
You'd never take the wrong coat on your way home.
You could grow a tummy the size of Texas and consider it a job requirement of a funny
Santa Claus.
Christmas Pudding Notice.:
Silver Christmas charms bring good fortune. Potential choking hazard: do not use with food.
Advent sermon:
“What is hell?” Come early and listen to our carol practice.
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film
Only six shopping days ’til Christmas! Or if you’re a bloke –
only five and a half days ’til you start your Christmas shopping.
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Taken from “Pieces of Eight” the magazine of
CIRCLE EIGHT FILM GROUP
With thanks to Allison Pearson
A
is for Away in a Manger sung by Primary School children, the sweetest sound outside of
Heaven and much more moving than Carols from Kings. Also for the godless chocolate
Advent calendar that you swore that you would never buy.
B
is for the Baby Jesus, nicked from the Nativity Crib outside Canterbury Cathedral last
year and now wired in and alarmed for His own protection.
C
is for your credit card blocked "due to unusual spending patterns". it's not unusual
spending patterns, it's CHRISTMAS, you fool!
D is for delayed delivery, one of the joys of online shopping.
E is for exhaustion .... ..Female.
F is the sound that Santa makes, when he slips on the remains of a carrot at half past three
in the morning.
G is for Grandparents : "In our day, we were lucky to get an orange in our sock".
H is for Husband, who clocks that it's Christmas Eve at approximately 4.17pm
on
December 24th and says "What have we got for my mother?".
I is for invitations to Parties you are too knackered to attend.
J is for Christmas Jumper. Formerly an embarrassing, cheesy gift knitted by an ancient,
palsied aunt. Now a hip ‘ironic’ garment and so much less fun to wear.
K is for Kelly Bronze, the much sought after turkey that sounds like a stripper.
L is for Lights. How long exactly does it take to find the one fused bulb among the 103 lights
on your tree? That is what the 12 days of Christmas are for, silly.
M
is for Midnight Mass in a chilly church, filled with drunks straight out of the pub and
surprised, as we are, by a longing for something spiritual.
N
is for the liquid larynx of Nat King Cole : "Yuletide Carols sung by a choir, Me-rry
Chriss-mass .................. .."
O is for the Orange....believed to be secreted like a giant sixpenny bit inside Heston's
mythical Christmas Pudding, which is said to be available every year, but never is. Also,
Orange is the colour of last-minute self-tan applied to improve your appearance at the Office
Party. Now you, too, can look like a Kelly Bronze.
P is for Panto. A form of torture akin to waterboarding. Also, Peace on Earth. Good luck with
that one too, folks.
Q is for Queen's Speech. Unthinkable without it.
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R
is Regifting. Euphemism for all the ill-mannered passing-on of unwanted presents to
someone else. Can backfire if you mistakenly return a gift to its original giver.
S is for Socks. A much derided, dull present that everyone is actually really pleased to get.
T is for Trifle or Tipple. "Oh, go on then".
U is for Unsuccessful attempt at Mary Berry's finest white chocolate cheesecake. I didn't
know you needed full-fat cream cheese, so I used yogurt.
V
is for Vomit after grandchildren consume chocolate liqueurs intended for their
grandparents.
W
is for wrapping paper. Never enough, no matter how much you buy, and always filched
by younger members of the family. Bloody glitter everywhere. Who's got my SELLOTAPE?
X is NOT for Xmas. Spell it out.
Y is for Yule Log. Made and decorated by Himself, the Giacometti of chocolate icing and no
one is allowed to touch it, let alone eat it.
Z is for Zzzzzzzzzz. Same time next year.
A
ccording to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while in the summer both male
and female reindeer grow antlers each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the
beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain
their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical
rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen,
had to be a girl.
All in all Santa has ten reindeer who haul the sleigh they are: Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer,
Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen Ok that’s nine so the other one must be
Olive. Remember the song?
Olive, the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names,
they never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.
Think before you ask
It was Christmas Eve at the meat counter and a woman was anxiously picking over the last
few remaining turkeys in the hope of finding a large one. In desperation she called over a
shop assistant and said, “Excuse me. Do these turkeys get any bigger?” “No, madam,” he
replied, “they're all dead”.
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CLUB DIARY
Please send your club programme to the Editor Keith Sayers,
and club newsletters / magazines to Brenda Troughton SERIAC
secretary,
Ashford Camcorder Club
Contact: Mrs. Heather Slater - 01233 627093
[email protected]
Jan 12th AGM & Award / 2 min ad competition
Canterbury Camcorder Club
www.canterburyvideomakers.weebly.com
E-mail: Robin Helmer, Hon Sec. Tel:01233 750236
[email protected]
Meet 2nd Friday of each month 10 am til 12 noon
Chilham Village Hall (CT4 8BD)
East Sussex Moviemakers (Formerly Eastbourne)
www.eastsussexmoviemakers.org
Meet 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of each month at St Luke's Parish Centre, Stone Cross. 7.45 pm
Contact: Harry Lederman Tel. 01323 301997
[email protected]
Epsom Moviemakers
E-mail: [email protected]
Meet at St.Mary’s Church Hall, London Road
Jan 8th Holiday & Travelogue Competitions
Haywards Heath Movie Makers
www.haywardsheathmoviemakers.org.uk
Chichester Film & Video Makers
www.cvfm.org.uk
Contact: Rupert Marks: 01243 528599
[email protected]
Jan 6th Screenplay Evening
Jan 20th Keith Baker one minute competition
Feb 3rd Former Chairman's evening: Clive Hand
Feb 17th Screening of Films in a Night
Mar 2nd Documentary competition
Liz Willerton - 01444 441479
[email protected]
Meetings at The Upper Room, Methodist Church,
Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath.
Jan 5th AGM
Jan 19th Editing part 1
Feb 2nd Clubroom becomes a studio for the night
Feb 16th Talk on judging films
Mar 1st Holiday competition
Jersey Camcorder Club
www.jerseycamcorder.org
Circle Eight Film Group
www.circle-eight.org.uk
Annette Lowe (Sec) 01534 721920
[email protected]
Alan Michel (Chair) 01534 862567
Meet second Wednesday of every other month at
The Royal Jersey Showground, Trinity.
Upstairs in the Council or Bureau Room. 7.45pm
Next meeting February 10th 2016
Copthorne Camcorder Club
Contact: David Smart 01342 713172
[email protected]
Meet 2nd Thursday of month & other times as
arranged
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Maidstone Camcorder Club
Frank Bassett, Chairman 01622 745123
[email protected]
www.maidstonecamcorder.co.uk
CLUB DIARY
Please send your club programme to the Editor Keith Sayers,
and club newsletters / magazines to Brenda Troughton SERIAC
secretary,
Medway Film Makers
www.medwayfilmmakers.com
Beryl Hughes 01634 360401
[email protected]
Meet at: Medway Campus of Mid Kent College,
Medway Road, Gillingham, Kent. ME7 1FN
Alternate Thursdays
Jan 7th
Films from BIAFF
Jan 21st Film commentary advice Alan Whippy
Feb 4th Film discussion, expert advice
Feb 18th TBA
Sutton Film Makers
www.suttonfilm.co.uk
Sean Phelan 07775 690210
[email protected]
Meet at the Parochial Halls
Cheam Village, Sutton, Surrey
Spring Park Film Makers
[email protected]
Orpington Video & Film Makers
www.ovfm.org.uk
Freddy Beard – 01689 813616
[email protected]
Jan 5th Top Ten 2015 Final
Jan 19th Holiday films / Editing Project
Feb 2nd Brian Pfeiffer documentaries
Feb 12th Annual club dinner
Feb 16th Project: Mobile
Mar 1st Guest speaker TBA
Brenda Troughton FACI 020 8462 2822
www.springparkfilms.co.uk
Meet every other Thursday 7.45 pm to 10 pm
in the Griffiths - Jones Hall, Emmanual Church,
West Wickham BR4 9JS
Jan 7th
Jan 21st
Feb 4th
Feb 18th
Mar 3rd
Movie-go-round, bring your films
Show & tell, aspects of film making
UNICA showreel
Drone on - bring your drones
Frog Morris on the Magic Lantern
Surrey Border Movie Makers
South Downs Film Makers
www.Southdownsfilmmakers.org.uk
Robert Summers
[email protected]
Meet at: Ferring Village Hall,
Ferring, West Sussex.
1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm
Jan 6th
Night shift
Jan 20th Dr Who and beyond
Feb 3rd Hot shorts & Ferring cup competitions
Feb 17th AV as seen by of two members
Mar 2nd Newcomers’ challenge
Rita Wheeler
[email protected]
www.surreyborder.org.uk
Find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com
/SurreyBorderMovieMakers/timeline
Meet on the 1st Friday of each month 7.30pm
St Joan's Centre, St Joan of Arc Catholic Church
Tilford Road, Farnham, Surrey. GU9 8DJ
Jan 8th A selection of SERIAC Films and Discussions
Feb 6th Annual General Meeting and Members Films
Mar 6th Showing of Edit Exercise Films
Shooters Hill Camcorder Club
Tonbridge Film Makers
Rita Hayes 0208 473 6818
[email protected]
Meet every Friday except1st Friday of the month
Shrewsbury House, Bushmoor Crescent,
Shooters Hill, London SE18, 8:00pm to 10:15pm
Tony Smith
[email protected]
Meet in members’ homes
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EVENTS DIARY
SERIAC FILM FESTIVAL 2016
Saturday April 9th 2016
Closing date for entries January 31st 2016
The Oast Theatre, London Road Tonbridge, Kent TN10 3AN
Send your entries to:Rita Hayes, 70 Eglinton Hill, Woolwich, SE18 3NR
Freddy Beard, 56 Rookesley Road, Orpington, BR54HJ
MIKE COAD 1955 - 2015
‘We were all shocked and saddened to hear the news
about the sudden death of our friend and OVFM colleague
Mike Coad. Mike was surely a one-off and had always
thrown himself enthusiastically into the amateur film world
movement and worked hard for us all in our club. He
masterminded the North v South competition and leaves a
hole there that will be difficult to fill. He had a large
collection of super 8 films and an encyclopedic knowledge
of film history. He used to entertain us some evenings with
old movies and movie trailers, and somehow putting up a
projector and threading the film had a buzz about it that is
missing from today's video shows. How we laughed when
the first videos were shown in the club on a 14” monitor.
The video people, as we called them, were a race apart.
Mike and his wife Jo were not impressed and in fact they
were the last people in the club to start using video.
As soon as we heard the crystal clear tones of Jo’s
commentary on a film we knew we were in for something special as Mike and Jo seemed to tour the area
making their own unique brand of documentaries, whether it was on the history of Hastings or a pet
cemetery in the forecourt of some out-of-the way garage.
Mike was a particular friend of mine. For a period I worked as editorial advisor to Crier Media Group
where, to my surprise, I found that he was subscriptions manager. His desk was almost next to mine and
he made me very welcome and we shared many lunchtimes reminiscing about the old days. In fact Mike
had had a varied career. He started work in the post office as a telegraphist in
October 1970, then latterly he worked with Shell Mex and BP as a telex operator then Bache and Co
(stockbrokers), and Rudolf Wolff, commodity broker.
Some years ago, Mike and Jo took the bold step of selling their house in Bat and Ball to finance an
extended trip round the Far East. Not for them four star hotels and plane travel, but the bunks and
stained mattresses of shabby old back streets, put-u-ups and rusty old buses and trains. They saw life
in the raw and OVF Members gasped as they read Mike’s blog of each day's adventures. Much of it is
available in a series of ebooklets which Mike and Jo published on line and can be bought on Amazon if
you want to read about their journey.
When they came back they started their own company of Family Historians, doing genealogical
research for people on-line and they had such big plans. Politically Mike was so far right that David
Cameron would have needed binoculars to see him. He revelled in putting his outrageous views online
on Facebook, so outrageous sometimes that I am sure he had his tongue in cheek. He harangued the
“wimpy Lib Dems”, the “Labour benefit scroungers” and the election result gave him many hours of
pleasure in chirping “I told you so”. Sometimes I rose to the bait and the comment pages of Facebook
(if that what you call them) mast have turned blue.
Yes, we’re all going to miss you Mike