Return
(editor's note - This was written by CGJ before we had finished "Stoned" [which will be hitting YouTube soon, I promise]. Excuse the lateness.)
Sometimes it’s difficult to write a web based article like the ones we provide you here for free at CGS. To write for here on top of essays and scripts as well as keeping up with general life (which I’ve not been too great at recently) has proven to be difficult. Hence the long delay in writing something. There’s also a question of how worth our time it is to even write articles. We have no real way of knowing who is merely listening, or in Sydney Deane’s terms, who is actually “hearing” our opinions. Stat trackers say that a lot of you are coming here for the music, which CGM graciously offers up every now and then to try and introduce you to some awesome music. So should we just give up on the film and television side? The answer to this question is no, and I’ll tell you why.
As we are both to be leaving university soon for the big bad world, the next few months are going to be quite big ones. Real life is coming up fast and its times like this that you begin to realise what a ridiculous career path we’ve built for ourselves over the last few years.
Before I wanted to make films I wanted to be a Chef. I loved cooking and (still) love my food. Then the bright lights of Hollywood and all its cool movies and big explosions drew me in. I decided that I was going to go for boom or bust as a lifestyle choice after I finished 6th form. Coming from a background where we went through periods of being both flat out broke and well off enough I see it as money doesn’t have to rule your life. That doesn’t mean to say I don’t understand how fundamental money is to the way our society runs these days, or that I don’t want lots of it. I just know that no matter what happens, if I end up working in a shop or doing some menial in house production work, I’ll be happy. And besides, who thinks about the bad side of it when you have everything else the industry can offer you should the coin flip your way. And so I came to university and began studying and making films instead of just seeing as many as I could. The idea of fame attracted me, who wouldn’t want beautiful women and loads of money with everyone wanting to know where you are and what you’re doing?
My views changed quite rapidly when I became 20. Movies built on big explosions and brilliant CGI ceased to interest me as much. I liked the smaller more thoughtful movies. The films I wanted to make became heavily influenced by those who made movies I like. I became infatuated with directors like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Sam Raimi and David Lynch. I saw them as directors who took anything they worked on and placed a big fat stamp on it reading “mine”. I modelled myself after them, reading as many books as I could. I no longer wanted the fame. God knows what came over me really. It’s a lifestyle that only a few would recommend. And like I’ve said the fortune means little to me either way. I fell in love with film for what it is and for what it gives me. I just want to be involved in it and let my calling fall into my lap, whatever it may turn out to be.
Obviously I would love to write and direct, but how many filmmakers can say that that happened for them right off the bat. It’s all a process and we’re entering a ladder climbing industry, one where even when you make it to the top you’re still only one slip from the bottom. I’ve done running work on a few productions and as you’ve (hopefully) seen I’ve also delved into making my own films so I’ve started to gather my XP points, but I’m still a long way off achieving my dreams (if that is what the future holds).
It sounds depressing and uncertain, and it is, but that’s half the fun really. Yes we have to think about all the negative points about said uncertainty, but it’s really no different from everything else in life. If anything it keeps us on our toes. Now, you may be thinking that I’ve moved away from my original point, so I’ll reel it back in a bit.
We (though recently it’s more an “I”) need to continue writing about film because it’s just another way to not only vent my frustrations but also to further exploring and expanding my knowledge of film. I love writing, no matter what form it takes, and so I shall continue to write about what I love regardless of who takes time to read it. Who knows if anyone’s even made it this far into this piece.
So yes music has been our strong point recently, but I’m hoping to balance it out with some more film and television. There’s a lot going on at the moment, in both the industry and our lives, so we’ll have some tales to tell and some advice on what’s good and what’s not. And yes it’s been a long while since we’ve had anything real to show you but that’s changed now.
Within the next month we should have a premier ready for you of our new film “Stoned” featuring Confucius MC (who should be everyone’s favourite London rappers). I’ve also found a new project that I’m working on right now where the script is coming along nicely. I intend to make it as a final piece to the portfolio to show our teams range just after we finish University as well as hopefully using their equipment. If not then fuck it, I’ll film it on a phone if I have to.
The team around me has grown stronger and larger by the day. CGM is still in the process of making “Stoned” as awesome as it can be in the editing suite. He’s a lazy bastard but he’s never let me down yet, so I’ll continue to trust him to bring me the best result. Iain our cameraman gives you gold on a regular basis, even if his love of randomly placed zooms and shaky-cam means he’ll probably end up as Paul Greengrass’s best friend. Our go to actor William gets better every time I see him, and I think it would be a damn shame if he isn’t a known face on at least TV in the next 5 years. And of course there is the newbies to the bunch. The “other” Will has done a stellar job as producer on “Stoned” and has proved himself as someone who will be useful to have around no matter what the job is that needs doing. And of course there’s also Fletch. I tend to write the majority of things that we produce or consider producing, sort of because I’m good at writing and sort of because everyone else is too damn lazy. Half the time even I’m too lazy to write anything. For these reasons we bought Fletch on board. He’s a talented writer who we’ve kept in the cupboard for a while now with barely a mention. But please believe me, once university is out the way I’m going to insist that he get balls deep straight away.
None of them are perfect, which is excellent because neither am I. All of us have weaknesses but I feel that spark when we get together. Both my last two films have been an excellent experience, mainly because of these guys. I know we can’t hold each other’s hands the whole way through our careers but we have one last chance to give ourselves something that we can hold onto, use, and be proud of until we retire. Our next production looks like it might be bigger than anything we’ve done before, so I might also be trying to expand the team a little in the next few weeks. Either way, both Max and I will have something to talk about. I might even get Fletch to write an article for us, as three at once is better than two on 3 month shifts.
Anyway, enough of my life story, for those of you that have made it this far. My point is simply that we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and we’d love you to read about it. No reviews or anything for you this time around, though those of you who understood the Sydney Deane reference earlier will know I’ve recently watched “White Men Can’t Jump” with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Probably one of the best buddy comedies ever made, and something that everyone should see once. So yeah check that out, and I’ll hit you up with some new stuff when I find something really worth telling you about. Lost is almost over so I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say on that, and I think I’d like to write about the process we went through in making “Stoned” after the edit is finalised and I can really see what it’s resulted in. Until then...
Sometimes it’s difficult to write a web based article like the ones we provide you here for free at CGS. To write for here on top of essays and scripts as well as keeping up with general life (which I’ve not been too great at recently) has proven to be difficult. Hence the long delay in writing something. There’s also a question of how worth our time it is to even write articles. We have no real way of knowing who is merely listening, or in Sydney Deane’s terms, who is actually “hearing” our opinions. Stat trackers say that a lot of you are coming here for the music, which CGM graciously offers up every now and then to try and introduce you to some awesome music. So should we just give up on the film and television side? The answer to this question is no, and I’ll tell you why.
As we are both to be leaving university soon for the big bad world, the next few months are going to be quite big ones. Real life is coming up fast and its times like this that you begin to realise what a ridiculous career path we’ve built for ourselves over the last few years.
Before I wanted to make films I wanted to be a Chef. I loved cooking and (still) love my food. Then the bright lights of Hollywood and all its cool movies and big explosions drew me in. I decided that I was going to go for boom or bust as a lifestyle choice after I finished 6th form. Coming from a background where we went through periods of being both flat out broke and well off enough I see it as money doesn’t have to rule your life. That doesn’t mean to say I don’t understand how fundamental money is to the way our society runs these days, or that I don’t want lots of it. I just know that no matter what happens, if I end up working in a shop or doing some menial in house production work, I’ll be happy. And besides, who thinks about the bad side of it when you have everything else the industry can offer you should the coin flip your way. And so I came to university and began studying and making films instead of just seeing as many as I could. The idea of fame attracted me, who wouldn’t want beautiful women and loads of money with everyone wanting to know where you are and what you’re doing?
My views changed quite rapidly when I became 20. Movies built on big explosions and brilliant CGI ceased to interest me as much. I liked the smaller more thoughtful movies. The films I wanted to make became heavily influenced by those who made movies I like. I became infatuated with directors like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Sam Raimi and David Lynch. I saw them as directors who took anything they worked on and placed a big fat stamp on it reading “mine”. I modelled myself after them, reading as many books as I could. I no longer wanted the fame. God knows what came over me really. It’s a lifestyle that only a few would recommend. And like I’ve said the fortune means little to me either way. I fell in love with film for what it is and for what it gives me. I just want to be involved in it and let my calling fall into my lap, whatever it may turn out to be.
Obviously I would love to write and direct, but how many filmmakers can say that that happened for them right off the bat. It’s all a process and we’re entering a ladder climbing industry, one where even when you make it to the top you’re still only one slip from the bottom. I’ve done running work on a few productions and as you’ve (hopefully) seen I’ve also delved into making my own films so I’ve started to gather my XP points, but I’m still a long way off achieving my dreams (if that is what the future holds).
It sounds depressing and uncertain, and it is, but that’s half the fun really. Yes we have to think about all the negative points about said uncertainty, but it’s really no different from everything else in life. If anything it keeps us on our toes. Now, you may be thinking that I’ve moved away from my original point, so I’ll reel it back in a bit.
We (though recently it’s more an “I”) need to continue writing about film because it’s just another way to not only vent my frustrations but also to further exploring and expanding my knowledge of film. I love writing, no matter what form it takes, and so I shall continue to write about what I love regardless of who takes time to read it. Who knows if anyone’s even made it this far into this piece.
So yes music has been our strong point recently, but I’m hoping to balance it out with some more film and television. There’s a lot going on at the moment, in both the industry and our lives, so we’ll have some tales to tell and some advice on what’s good and what’s not. And yes it’s been a long while since we’ve had anything real to show you but that’s changed now.
Within the next month we should have a premier ready for you of our new film “Stoned” featuring Confucius MC (who should be everyone’s favourite London rappers). I’ve also found a new project that I’m working on right now where the script is coming along nicely. I intend to make it as a final piece to the portfolio to show our teams range just after we finish University as well as hopefully using their equipment. If not then fuck it, I’ll film it on a phone if I have to.
The team around me has grown stronger and larger by the day. CGM is still in the process of making “Stoned” as awesome as it can be in the editing suite. He’s a lazy bastard but he’s never let me down yet, so I’ll continue to trust him to bring me the best result. Iain our cameraman gives you gold on a regular basis, even if his love of randomly placed zooms and shaky-cam means he’ll probably end up as Paul Greengrass’s best friend. Our go to actor William gets better every time I see him, and I think it would be a damn shame if he isn’t a known face on at least TV in the next 5 years. And of course there is the newbies to the bunch. The “other” Will has done a stellar job as producer on “Stoned” and has proved himself as someone who will be useful to have around no matter what the job is that needs doing. And of course there’s also Fletch. I tend to write the majority of things that we produce or consider producing, sort of because I’m good at writing and sort of because everyone else is too damn lazy. Half the time even I’m too lazy to write anything. For these reasons we bought Fletch on board. He’s a talented writer who we’ve kept in the cupboard for a while now with barely a mention. But please believe me, once university is out the way I’m going to insist that he get balls deep straight away.
None of them are perfect, which is excellent because neither am I. All of us have weaknesses but I feel that spark when we get together. Both my last two films have been an excellent experience, mainly because of these guys. I know we can’t hold each other’s hands the whole way through our careers but we have one last chance to give ourselves something that we can hold onto, use, and be proud of until we retire. Our next production looks like it might be bigger than anything we’ve done before, so I might also be trying to expand the team a little in the next few weeks. Either way, both Max and I will have something to talk about. I might even get Fletch to write an article for us, as three at once is better than two on 3 month shifts.
Anyway, enough of my life story, for those of you that have made it this far. My point is simply that we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and we’d love you to read about it. No reviews or anything for you this time around, though those of you who understood the Sydney Deane reference earlier will know I’ve recently watched “White Men Can’t Jump” with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Probably one of the best buddy comedies ever made, and something that everyone should see once. So yeah check that out, and I’ll hit you up with some new stuff when I find something really worth telling you about. Lost is almost over so I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say on that, and I think I’d like to write about the process we went through in making “Stoned” after the edit is finalised and I can really see what it’s resulted in. Until then...
*Bows*
CGJ
CGJ
0 comments:
Post a Comment