27/01/12 - Blaggit is going to Boston & a Dream Courier Update!
With just under two months until the DVD release of Blaggit in the UK, we're continuing with the festival run for the film, and we're delighted to have been selected for the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival next month!
The fest claims to be the oldest genre film festival in the world (this year is it's 37th year!) and is a ten day celebration of all things science fiction. This will be the North American Premiere of Blaggit, and we'll be playing alongside the likes of 'Attack the Block' so obviously we're stoked with the news!
There is a strong sense of moving on though (it's nearly been six years since filming began on Blaggit!) and the DVD release will mark the end of what has been a very long chapter for myself and Sepia Films. So our focus primarily is our next feature project - fingers crossed: 'The Dream Courier'.
Development work continues on the project; we've got a few very talented people attached and we're almost ready to send out our investment packs. We're also considering shooting a short film to showcase what DC is all about. We are realistic in how difficult it will be to raise the finance we need however, and there's no saying how long this process will go on for.
And with me really itching to make something new this year, I am giving serious thought to perhaps getting 'Awakening' off the ground if securing finance for DC proves to be a long term affair. Awakening could easily be made on a shoe-string budget of around £10k and it would be a great exercise in filmmaking creativity for me personally if nothing else.
So there's plenty of options and 2012 is somewhat of an open road, but I am very eager to make something this year. A lot could depend on the success of Blaggit and what doors that opens - so if you haven't already please go and pre-order your DVD copy here!
12/12/11 - 2011 Year in Review for Sepia Films and what 2012 has in store!
Looking back over the year, I can honestly say that 2011 has easily been the most successful year to date for Sepia Films by far. It's been quite a topsy turvy year - finishing off one project whilst trying to get the next feature off the ground.
The start of 2011 was all about sending out Blaggit DVDs to distributors and sales agents and by March we had a UK DVD distribution deal on the table from Crabtree Films, with a tentative release date of October mooted at the time. This was fantastic news for everyone who worked on the film, and a big relief that Blaggit would get a release and finally see the light of day after so many years.
In April I buggered off to LA to partake in the 'Hollywood Field Trip' - which consisted of a week of meeting & greeting lots of great people in the film industry over there. It was a truly eye opening experience and left me with a strong desire to up sticks and move over there at some point in the future.
On my return to Blighty at the start of May, Blaggit won the Best Feature Film award at the British Independent Film Festival - a great result, and a wonderfully amazing few weeks. This award was vindication for all the hard work that went into getting the film made over a period of four years.
Over the summer months we began trying to lay the foundations for our next feature - 'The Dream Courier' - a very ambitious sci-fi epic. Certain people were attached to the project and for a few months we had an awful lot of meetings. It was a case of two steps forward, one step back however, and eventually we had to part company with those involved for several reasons.
Having spent several months on the project and ending up not achieving a hell of a lot, we have now refocused our goals and aim to really kick start the project at the start of 2012. We have a very good plan of action in place and some very strong connections have already been made.
It is going to be a huge effort to get the project off the ground though, and whether we shoot the film in 2012 or not is debatable at the moment. We'll see how things pan out next year, but I am itching to shoot something next year regardless - I've spent far too long working on Blaggit and I really do need to flex my filmmaking muscles sooner rather than later.
As for Blaggit, further success was had on the festival circuit with an Honourable Mention at the LA Movie Awards in September and we also won a Platinum Reel Award at the Nevada Film Festival in November. We'll continue the festival run for the first half of next year.
The original October release date was pushed back to March 26th next year, and the Blaggit DVD is listed for pre-order on the likes of HMV and Sainsburys, which is all very surreal. I can't wait for the release date next year - we have a few special screenings planned and there will be plenty more promotion going on - remember to check out peteblaggit.com for all the latest news.
So quite a memorable year all in all for numerous reasons, and next year promises more of the same. Have a fantastic Christmas and see you all in 2012 - the year Blaggit is released onto the unsuspected masses!
30/10/11 - Social Media for The Dream Courier begins!
This past week we launched The Dream Courier online - you can have a look at some really cool concept artwork on our Facebook page, and follow what we're up to regularly via our Twitter page.
Building a fan base and creating audience interaction before cameras begin rolling on a film is a vital part of indie filmmaking these days, and what we want to do with DC is film every part of the process - video diaries, making of's and more from pre-production all the way through to release. It's a great way to invite fans into the world of your production and to get them familiar with certain characters and aspects of your film.
We should have a website ready to launch as well fairly soon. Things have really geared up on Dream Courier the past few weeks, and we have a few interesting funding plans in place which will hopefully enable us to shoot the film around this time next year.
Nothing is certain though, but we are building momentum on the project and we have some good people already attached - watch this space!
11/09/11 - Blaggit DVD release date & Dream Courier update!
So it's been a fair few months since my last blog update here on the Sepia Films website, and that's because there hasn't been a lot to update over the summer months - development work has continued on our next feature: 'The Dream Courier' whilst I've eagerly awaited news about the Blaggit DVD release date from our distributors; Crabtree Films.
And now I can finally reveal that the UK DVD release date for Blaggit will be...26th March 2012. Originally the plan was to release the DVD in late October this year, but the postponement is because of the glut of summer blockbusters also hitting the shelves between October and the end of the year.
It's frustrating to have to wait even longer until the film is released, but I totally understand the reasoning for doing so. In other Blaggit news, the film was awarded with an Honourable Mention this past week at the Los Angeles Movie Awards, which we were thrilled to hear about.
With regards to The Dream Courier, it's been a case of playing a waiting game - we can't progress any further with the project until we have some amount of funding place, and funding for a UK feature film with no attached known talent in this day and age is a tricky thing indeed.
But we're still plugging away and there's more than one option on the table. The plan is to start pre-production at the start of next year, with production beginning over the summer months. Whether or not that will come to pass I honestly don't know, but as soon as we can confirm anything then I'll keep you all up to date here.
18/06/11 - Development of 'Dream Courier' is officially underway...
A lot of coffee/tea has been consumed over the past couple of months as countless meetings have taken place to discuss our next project: 'The Dream Courier'. We've really hit the ground running since my return from LA; the development process has been gathering loads of momentum with each passing week.
Firstly, the 4 draft of the script was completed the other week, and it's now a much more easier read following on from the feedback I got in LA. There will be a few more drafts to come, and I intend on getting as much critical feedback from peers and script readers before work on draft number 5 commences.
We've got the services of a fantastic producer as well for the project, which is a first for me and he's definitely passionate about bringing this project to life. I don't want to give too much away, but it's looking good on the financing side of things, and we should know before the end of the year whether it'll be a summer 2012 shoot for the Dream Courier or not.
It is a massive project in terms of ambition and scope, which is why it's important we put together a team that's all singing on the same hymn sheet. We have a couple of young and enthusiastic assistant producers on board as well, plus a good friend of mine is confirmed as the VFX Director for the project.
Not only that, but we have some stunning concept artwork so far which will really help our VFX team bring to life the various CGI elements in the film. And there is an awful lot of CGI - so much in fact that we're looking at over 60% of the shoot taking place in a green screen studio.
Working backwards, the plan is to have a theatrical release of the Dream Courier in 2014, with post-production taking up all of 2013 and the back end of 2012, with a 6-8 week shoot (possibly longer) taking place over July-September time next year. All of this depends on the financing of course, so nothing is confirmed as of yet.
The development work so far is proving incredibly exciting and the project is moving along at a rapid speed, and it needs to as well as we've really got our work cut out if we are to shoot next year. But it's a brilliant challenge and one that I'm really relishing - it's feels great to start afresh on a new project and to bring to life a film that will be truly career defining for all involved.
I'll leave it there for now, but you'll be hearing plenty more about DC as the year goes on. As for Blaggit, the final version of the film is now in the hands of the distributors and I've officially signed off on the project as far as creative work is concerned, which feels somewhat strange! Plenty more to come in terms of promotion though between now and October.
15/05/11 - Blaggit wins BEST FEATURE FILM @ British Independent Film Festival!!
Last weekend myself, a few Blaggit comrades and filmmaker friends descended upon the Lighthouse Cinema in Poole, Dorset for the UK Premiere of Blaggit at the British Independent Film Festival. We had a decent turn out for the screening and the film seemed to go down well with the audience, and the Q&A was good fun afterwards.
After that was the awards ceremony at the end of the night. To our great surprise we picked up the BEST FEATURE FILM award, which we totally wasn't expecting to win! We were quite humble in accepting the award, which is recognition for everyone who worked on the film since 2006, and nice vindication for all the hard work to get the film made over the years.
The festival win will look great on the DVD cover and hopefully it's the first of many festival awards we pick up over the course of the year. Last Saturday did feel like the end of a very long road though for Blaggit - it was almost six years to the day since myself and the same filmmaker friends in attendance at the screening came up for the idea for the film back in Cannes 2005.
All's well that ends well then, as the curtain falls on this project to a certain extent. There will be plenty more screenings and promotion between now and the DVD release later in the year, but as I say for the Blaggit peeps at the screening at BIFF this did feel like a nice book end to what has been one hell of a turbulent rollercoaster of a ride.
News on the DVD release will all be revealed soon.
06/05/11 - My week in LA...
Sorry for the lack of updates on here throughout the month of April, but for most of last month I was in the good old US of A, getting badly sunburnt during a fact finding mission in the city of Los Angeles.
'The Hollywood Field Trip' was organized by one half of the duo behind the Guerilla Filmmakers Handbooks and consisted of one long week schmoozing with some seriously top players in the movie industry over there, and to say it was an eye opening experience would be an understatement and a half.
A group of us Brits got to meet several agents, managers, lawyers, producers and creative peeps, who all had invaluable advice on how to get a foot in the door in Hollywood. For me, I learnt a helluva lot not only about how the business operates over there, but I also learnt a valuable lesson about screenwriting, nevermind making a movie.
It was an intensive week for sure with lots of ups and downs, but I got to meet some genuinely great people and pitch my next project: 'The Dream Courier' to the right kind of folks, which was a nerve-wracking experience and something I'll admit to not being all that good at. But all the same I had some positive feedback from pretty much everyone I pitched to throughout the week.
As a small time indie filmmaker based in Wolverhampton, LA was a massive shot in the arm of my career that I needed at just the right time. If you're out of sight then you really are out of mind, and if I'm going to progress with my career then I'll have to show my face (and my projects) to these kind of people that I met.
The old saying that the film industry is about who you know, not what you know really is true. I've got nothing against making films in the UK, but the films I want to make in the future are mostly high concept sci-fi action thrillers, and I'd have more success getting these films made across the pond rather than the middle of England.
Ideally I'll be going over to LA for a week or two of meetings maybe 2 or 3 times a year, but unless I have serious credentials to my name then there's no point at this point in time. I need to show people what I'm capable of, and I don't feel I have anything to show that's good enough to be taken seriously.
Which leads me back to the Dream Courier. If I want to get noticed both here and in LaLaLand then I need to make a film that will force people sit up and take notice. All big talk for now, but I'm serious about my filmmaking career and the week spent in LA was a good stepping stone to getting to where I want to be.
27/03/11 - Blaggit Update for Feb & March...
There's been plenty going on in the world of Blaggit the past couple of months; we've been busy promoting the film online ahead of the DVD release later in the year.
There's an insightful article written by myself about the making of Blaggit, which appeared on Film Courage in Feb, and at the end of that month the first ever review of the film appeared online courtesy of Battle Royal With Cheese, who said the film was: "a real heart-wrenching tale...brilliantly acted...a unique film."
That was followed with an audio interview with me and Dead End Podcasts, which was great fun. And last week a second review of the film appeared online, this time courtesy of MovieMavericks, who said: "it’s as if Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made Donnie Darko."
So lots of positive feedback so far. We also launched a nice little trailer of the Blaggit documentary: 'Four Years, Two Wigs, One Fridge: the Pete Blaggit story' and we have an IMDB page for the doc as well.
But the big Blaggit news we have is that the film has been officially selected for the British Independent Film Festival in May, which we're very excited about. Blaggit will be nominated for at least two awards, and it'll screen on Saturday 7th May at the Poole Lighthouse Cinema in Dorset - exact time to be confirmed.
Trying to secure distribution for the film has been a very interesting endeavour as well, albeit a time consuming and somewhat frustrating one. It's been a case of me sending emails and making calls to pretty much every UK distributor going. Getting any feedback at all has been a slow process, but I should be able to make an exciting announcement regarding Blaggit DVD distribution fairly soon, touch wood.
There will be plenty more Blaggit news, reviews, interviews etc throughout the year, and the best place to stay up to date with the film is on the Blaggit Blog over at peteblaggit.com. And you can sign up to the Blaggit Newsletter via the website as well.
In other news, the wheels are beginning to turn nicely regarding development of 'The Dream Courier'. Development on the project will officially begin in May, following my trip to LA next month for two weeks of meetings, sightseeing and sun worshipping, fingers crossed.
See you in May x
07/03/11 - Deciding on Feature Film #3...
Although securing distribution for Blaggit is something that's likely to drag on for most of 2011, it does feel like the project is finally coming to a close. And with me turning 30 in less than two months from now, I can't help but feel that I'm at a bit of a crossroads with my filmmaking career.
The white elephant in the room that I've avoided discussing online can't really be avoided much longer: what am I going to do after Blaggit? For a while during the struggle of trying to get Blaggit finished, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to make another film again, such was the strife that project caused.
But I do want to continue making films, that's for sure - Blaggit cannot be the be all and end all of my filmmaking adventures, it's just the start as far as I'm concerned - I've learnt far too much from that film and know that I can do a lot better with my next effort. I've made two features in my 20's, and if I'm lucky I'll get to make a couple more in my 30's, maybe a few more if I'm very lucky.
Choosing the right project isn't something that should be done hastily - it's basically deciding what I want to dedicate a lot of time and effort on for the next few years of my life. I have been mulling over two projects for quite some time now, which are:
'The Dream Courier' - a dark, sci-fi flick that would be VFX heavy and cost a fair bit. It's an insanely ambitious film; take all the ambition of Blaggit and times it by a hundred and you're not even close.
'Awakening' - a straight forward lo-fi drama that would be easy to shoot on the cheap. The script imho is the best thing I've ever written - it's a very grown up, personal film. No special effects in sight.
There are pros and cons with both films - Dream Courier would take a hell of a lot of planning, not to mention money. But it is a very commercially viable project that if done properly would be a great calling card.
Awakening on the other hand has a great script that I'm quite fond of but the project has zero commercial appeal and would struggle to find an audience.
I'm all for creating art for art's sake alone, but in this day and age you really have to look at how your film is going to stand alongside the Harry Potter's of this world. How is your film going to get noticed? Why would people want to watch your film?
So I'm leaning towards Dream Courier, which is proof positive that I must be insane. A few friends have advised that I go back to basics for my next film; shoot with a small crew on the cheap to help erase the nightmare of the 2006 Blaggit shoot.
But that to me would feel like taking a step backwards - I still relish a challenge and want to make something that people would have to sit up and take notice of. I'm still dreaming big, which is why Dream Courier is going to be the project I'll be developing throughout this year, with the goal of shooting summer 2012.
All this is quite speculative for now;funding is an issue, but where there's a will there's a way. Hopefully I'll get to make both Dream Courier and Awakening within the next several years - I may even develop Awakening alongside DC; if DC proves too difficult to get off the ground then Awakening would be the next thing I shoot instead.
I don't want to sound like I'm putting Blaggit on the backburner, because I'm not - I'm working nonstop trying to get the film out there to the right peeps. But I have to stay creative at the same time, as mentioned in my previous post.
More on developing Dream Courier soon, starting with the script...
13/02/11 - Blaggit trailer & website launched, and we have DVDs as well!
The past few weeks has been quite a productive time here at Sepia Films HQ. At the end of January we launched the new Blaggit trailer, which we received loads of positive feedback for. And shortly after that peteblaggit.com was made live; this is the one shop stop for everything Blaggit related.
The Blaggit Blog page in particular will have up to date news on all the latest goings on with the film, whereas this blog page is more of a sporadic overview of Blaggit and other projects.
The first batch of Blaggit DVDs were completed at the start of February as well, which meant we could finally start getting the film out there to all and sundry. I've been contacting as many sales agents and distributors as possible, and whilst the response has so far been slow, it is early days as far as distribution is concerned.
It is just a case of trying to spread the word about the film and seeing what kind of offers come our way. Self-distribution is something I'm definitely not ruling out, but no decision on this will be made until later in the year. If we do go down the self-distribution route, then I'm thinking August would be a great time to make the film available to the public - it'll be the five year anniversary since production first started back in 2006!
I've also been contacting online film sites, reviewers, bloggers and the like - expect the first few online reviews of the film in the coming weeks, can't wait to hear what people think of the film! But despite my ongoing efforts to promote and sell the film, I can't kid myself that this is a job I'd rather not being doing but is a necessary evil.
I'm a filmmaker, not a publicist. I'm a creative, not a sales agent. All part and parcel of being an indie filmmaker in the 21st century I suppose. But I need an outlet for my creativity, which is why development on feature film #3 is taking shape. Don't get me wrong, getting Blaggit out to the public is my main aim in 2011, but that doesn't mean to say I can start developing our next project in conjuction.
More on which soon...
19/01/11 - Feature length documentary on the making of 'Pete Blaggit' completed!!
Amidst the festivities of the xmas holidays just gone, I managed to knuckle down on the edit of the Pete Blaggit documentary: 'Four Years, Two Wigs, One Fridge: the Pete Blaggit story' which we shot just before Christmas.
The final cut of the doc is now complete, coming in at a whopping 81 minutes long! Consisting of four interviews with myself, casting director James Booth and leading actors Rob Leetham and Andy Pandini, the film is a very honest, funny and quite emotional re-telling of the trials and tribulations of making Blaggit over the past four years of our lives.
Because it is a feature length documentary, I'm thinking it will be best to package this on a bonus DVD once distribution is ready, along with all the other bonus extras we have; commentary, deleted scenes, SFX featurette, music featurette, blooper reel...that's gonna be quite an impressive special disc!
Actual DVD copies of the film itself are almost ready to be sent out to sales agents, distributors, festivals, reviewers, cast & crew etc - so the arduos task of securing distribution and getting the film out there to the public is finally here, and it's a challenge that I'm relishing to be honest. The film is something I'm very proud of after all it took to get finished, so one way or another it will be available to buy in 2011.
The music for the new Blaggit trailer has recently been finished, which I'm absolutely chuffed with, and the Blaggit website is ready to be launched in February. So there's lots going on and it really feels like I've turned a corner with this project - 2011 is going to be an exciting time!
19/12/10 - Looking back at 2010, looking ahead at 2011...
Here at Sepia Films HQ, 2010 was the year when Pete Blaggit was finally completed, and it still sounds pretty surreal to actually say that! It was a frustrating year in many respects - post-production didn't really get going until May time, even though I planned to have the project finished by April!
And post-production was an incredibly slow and tedious time that took twice as long as anyone expected, but the wait was worth it. The music score, colour grade, sound design and VFX all lifted the film to another level and in November we finally got to screen it to cast & crew and colleagues at the Regional Premiere.
Here's a nice little video on the Audience Reaction to Blaggit. All very positive I think you'll agree.
Since November we've had to do a bit more work on the film before authoring the DVDs - we finished another sound mix in Soho this past weekend, and a few little bits and pieces have been ironed out. The DVDs will be ready in January and then it'll be time to send them out to sales agents, distributors, festivals, critics, peers, friends, cast & crew and everyone else in between.
To actually send out the finished film after all this time is going to be quite exciting, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens with the film next year. I'm not kidding myself, I know the hard work starts here, but I'm optimistic that all our hard work over the years will start to pay off.
We've also recently shot a documentary over the past few weeks about Blaggit. With the working title: 'Four Years, Two Wigs, One Fridge: the Pete Blaggit story' the doc promises to be a warts and all account of the film's long history, featuring interviews with the main cast & crew, production stills and exclusive clips from the film. Should be a very cool DVD bonus, and I can't wait to start editing it over Christmas.
In 2011 we'll also embark on laying the groundwork for feature film number 3, which we're looking to shoot mid 2012. It'll be nice to actually focus on something other than Blaggit, and I'm very excited about this new project: some stunning concept artwork has already been completed and I think the project is very promising.
So adios to 2010, the year that Pete Blaggit finally made it across the finishing line. Now onto 2011, and getting the film out there to the masses. Should be fun.
Have a great xmas and see y'all on the flip side!
20/11/10 - Pete Blaggit Regional Premiere: the aftermath!!
So last Tuesday night heralded the first ever screening of: 'Whatever Happened to Pete Blaggit' - a project that has been at the forefront of my life for the past four and a bit years. Over a hundred people turned up and we had loads of positive feedback afterwards; everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy the film.
For me, it was quite a weird night, seeing the result onscreen of something I've put my heart & soul into for so long. I felt incredibly deflated afterwards, a mix of emptiness and relief that it was all over. I've had something of a love/hate relationship with the film over the years: it's been like a black cloud at times, a curse that has caused an awful lot of pain and stress. But all along I knew it was the best thing I've ever done, a film that I had to see through til the bitter end.
And the past few months have been insanely busy, trying to get post-production completed ontime. Although I'll be promoting the film next year and trying to secure distribution, there is a sense that the project is coming to an end - we've finished it, we've made it to the finishing line. And that's extremely gratifying but very surreal at the same time.
There are still a few final tweaks to be made with the film; we need to spend more time on the sound mix and I'm not happy with the VFX for one scene. But DVDs will be done before Christmas, and then we can plan on getting the film out there to sales agents, distributors and everyone else inbetween at the start of the New Year.
I'm already thinking about attending Cannes next year, and I'll be submitting it to festivals which I think are right for the film. But for now, Blaggit is 95% done and I can breathe one huge sigh of relief.
Massive thanks to everyone who turned up on Tuesday night in support of the film. Massive thanks to everyone who's worked on the project over the years. Massive thanks to everyone who's supported me through the good times and the bad.
A facebook fan page of Blaggit has been set up following Tuesday's screening, which you can check out here.
11/11/10 - Mr. Blaggit is just about ready to be introduced to the world!
The past month or so has been an incredibly busy period here at Sepia Films Headquarters, as work has continued on post-production before the Regional Premiere of the film next week.
The good news is that both the music score and the sound design will both be finished by the end of this week!
I can't express how happy I am with the job that our composer Phil Mountford has done. The music he's created has added so much more depth and character to the film, he really has elevated it to a whole new level. I think the music is one of the best elements to the film, and I'm very grateful for the hard work that Phil has put in over the past several months.
And I have to say a big thank you to sound designer Numan Khan, who has put in a Herculian shift to bring the sound of Blaggit to life. He's been doing the job of sound designer, foley artist, dialogue cleaner and ADR recordist all by himself - what a LEGEND!
The last few VFX shots are all but complete, and the sound mix takes place this weekend in London - just in the nick of time for the screening next Tuesday!
We've been sending out press releases trying to drum up local publicity ahead of the screening, and this has resulted in a Birmingham Mail interview and a BBC WM interview - links will be provided as and when they're online.
So after 4 and a half years, the great Pete Blaggit saga is just about over for now; the race has been won and the finishing line is inches away. I'm very proud of the end product, so much so that I have no nerves about the Regional Premiere on Tuesday at all - if people like the film, then great, if they don't then that's fine as well.
All I know is that we've done the very best job we possibly could have done with creating something memorable.
Thanks to all involved. See you Tuesday night.
10/10/10 - Rejoice!!! Blaggit colour grade is finished!! We're almost there!!
Hard to believe I know, but after 4 and a bit years the end is in sight and we are almost at the finishing line with Pete Blaggit. Recently the colour grade was finished (except for a few outstanding VFX shots), thanks to our excellent gradist Pat Wintersgill.
Pat is an experienced online editor and colour gradist, having worked on such films as: 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Sunshine'. We were extremely lucky to have him work on our film; he was a pleasure to work with and his skills and expertise really helped elevate the look of Pete Blaggit.
The post-production focus now shifts to the sound design & music score, both of which are sounding great - the first hour of the film should have completed sound & music within the next week or so. Then it's just a case of completing the sound mix, so by the end of this month we're going to be close to having a finished film on our hands. Finally!
We need to have the film finished by mid November anyway, as I've confirmed a cast & crew/Regional premiere screening to take place in the Midlands. Can't wait to see what people make of the film - should be quite a night!
18/09/10 - Another month, another Blaggit post-production update!
Nope, it's still not finished yet. And yep, everyone is still working really hard in post-production and we are getting closer to that elusive finishing line, it's just an incredibly slow process. But you can't rush these things, that would be silly, wouldn't it?
The first pass of the colour grade is done and our excellent gradist is now making amendments on the final pass based on my notes, so we're not far from completion on that front.
The first half an hour of the sound design is pretty much done, and has been one hell of an undertaking for our sound designer Numan Khan. The reason being that the sound in the first half an hour of the film needed loads of work. And I mean LOADS OF WORK!
A lot of the dialogues needed cleaning and re-syncing with the picture, plus we had to ADR nearly the entire main cast for the first 30 minutes, plus foley every single action made by the actors, not to mention any actual sound effects that was needed.
It has been a complete and utter sound restoration job on Numan's behalf, and I'm very grateful for all his hard work so far. Thankfully the sound for the rest of the film is in a much healthier shape, so the design process should be a lot easier and somewhat quicker. In theory.
The first half an hour of the music score is close to being finalised, by the end of September the first hour or so should be ready for the sound mix.
And the final few VFX shots won't be done until mid October after one of our VFX artists broke his wrist, restricting his computer time to about an hour at most! The Blaggit curse ain't going down without a fight it seems!
By early/mid October the sound mix will take place in a Soho studio over evenings & weekends thanks to another favour pulled by Numan! This job will take a good few weeks to complete, so as you can tell there's still a fair way to go until we cross that finishing line.
As such the festival circuit will have to wait to discover Blaggit until 2011, though I have already submitted to a few fests. All this is beyond frustrating after aiming for completion in March at the start of this year, but hey, best laid plans and all that, right?
01/08/10 - A long overdue Blaggit update...
Okay, it's been a good few months since I've updated the news page and you're probably wondering what the hell is going on with Blaggit and whether it's ever going to get finisihed. Rest assured, the finishing line is getting closer - it's just that post-production is taking longer than expected.
June in particular was a quiet month but things have been picking up in the past few weeks, and I'm starting to see some very good results from the various departments - the music score is taking shape now, I'm absolutely stoked with some of the music so far; it is adding so much more weight to certain scenes.
The colour grade is coming along as well, and foley work is underway in the sound department. The last bits of VFX work is also being completed. I know my predicted guess-timates for completion have been way off all year long, but I honestly do think that by September at the latest we will finally have a finished film.
In other news, I've started work on the 2nd draft of: 'The Dream Courier' which is a collaborative effort between myself and Blaggit All Star Rob Leetham. The script needs plenty of work after what was a rough 1st draft, and it's a good excuse for me to focus my creative energy away from Blaggit.
31/05/10 - Blaggit post-production update for the month of May!
So here's a progress update on the post-production work for Blaggit that's been going on throughout May. It's been great to see all the different elements of post-prod coming together at the same time; it's been a very busy few weeks but a very satisfying one! There's still plenty of work to be done on post-prod, but we're getting there...
Music Score - Phil Mountford has been busy composing the score, and I'm very happy with the results so far. Hearing an early version of the opening intro in particular was fantastic, the music really is adding to the character of the film.
Colour Grade - Pat Wintersgill has begun work on the colour grade, and I'm delighted to have him onboard the project. Pat has worked on loads of well known features, and I'm sure his experience as a gradist will help achieve the overall look of the film that I'm after.
Sound Design - My good friend Numan Khan has arguably the toughest job as sound designer for Blaggit. We recently completed all the ADR work with several key actors in the film, and Numan has been working tirelessly restoring the 2006 audio and cleaning the dialogues before starting the foley and design work.
I really can't stress how big a job Numan is undertaking, but I know he's doing a great job. Other than that, a few VFX shots remain to be completed, including the opening titles and a few subtitles.
PeteBlaggit.com is almost completed, so is the new trailer which I've been working on the past few weeks. Both the website and the trailer will be launched simultaneously once all post-production work is completed.
I'd like to say that this time next month the post-prod work will be finished, but I'm not hedging my bets. I'm extremely eager (and very impatient!) to get this film finished, but it'd be foolish to rush post-prod after taking four years to finish filming!
So we're not quite at the finishing line just yet, but we are getting very, very close!
29/04/10 - The last ever pick-up shots of Uri Poppolochovichski!!
Last week I celebrated my 29th birthday with shooting the last ever pick-up shots for Blaggit; which were literally a couple of cutaway shots of the character 'Uri Poppolochovichski'. These shots didn't quite work right in the November shoot, and although it's about 5 seconds of screen time, the shots are absolutely vital to the final scene in the film.
It was a great day and a fitting end to the saga of finishing the film that's gone on for close to 4 years. It did feel like a final send off, an end of an era if you will. I'll get the footage back from the labs next week, and barring any problems with these shots that will finally be a wrap on the film.
Post-production is gathering momentum after a couple of frustrating months; the VFX work is almost all complete, and work is just about underway (I promise!) for the music score, sound design and colour grade. I can't see this post-prod being completed until the end of May/start of June, but I've kind of given up predicting a completion date given that I wanted post-prod done by March this year!
The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter though, and the Blaggit test screening will now be taking place in June, along with the launch of the official Blaggit website and new trailer.
10/04/10 - To Cannes, or not to Cannes? That is the question...
And the answer is most likely going to be a 'no'. The plan for this year was to have post-prod on Blaggit all finished and ready to launch at Cannes, but best laid plans and all that has forced me to re-think going to the south of France next month.
The fact is I don't know whether all the post-prod work will be finished in time, and I really don't want to rush the process. Plus I'll have several bills for the post-prod work coming my way in May, and financially the sensible thing to do would be to save myself the expensive trip.
Which is a shame, because it's 5 years since I took: 'The Boy...' to Cannes and that's where the Blaggit idea was born really - I remember having conversations with filmmaker friends about what a great film Blaggit could potentially be. So to go back there with Blaggit completed after 5 long years would have been a moment to savour, but alas, it's not to be I'm afraid. But I'm sure there will be lots of highlights on the festival circuit to come later on in the year.
My work on post-prod is pretty much complete now that we have a picture-lock, it's just a case of overseeing the music score, sound design, colour grade and VFX work. The post-prod phase is proving to be extremely frustrating, even more frustrating than the struggle to finish shooting the pic. Knowing that we are so close to the finishing line, but having to wait on others to complete their work is beyond torture!
Hence the lack of updates so far this month. But we're not that far away, and in the meantime I can concentrate on getting feedback on the final cut, including a test screening which I'm hoping to arrange for the start of May.
20/03/10 - Picture Lock on Blaggit - 94 minutes long!!!
So the new scenes from the November shoot have been edited (all looking really good as well) and I now have a picture lock on Blaggit with a running time of 94 minutes! It does feel really quite weird to see a full timeline of the film without any missing gaps for the first time ever.
I've watched the film through a few times and I'm quite satisfied with the pacing and don't feel the need to cut out any scenes, though I do intend to hold a few test screenings to complete strangers to get feedback from an audience perspective.
The picture lock edit will now be passed on to our respecitve music composer, sound designer and colourist and work can finally get underway on these post-production jobs. In the meantime I'm going to cut the new trailer and focus on Cannes and getting the film seen by the right people.
Exciting times!
14/03/10 - Editing, editing and yet more editing!
This past week I received the footage from the Blaggit November shoot after a lengthy delay with the telecine. It was a big relief to get the footage back and an even bigger relief to see all our hard work pay off over what was a tough 4 day shoot - all of the footage looks great; nicely exposed, in focus, no issues at all.
I'd like to thank our DOP Neil Johnson for stepping in at short notice and doing a stellar job under what was very difficult conditions. I'm now cracking on with the edit; this footage will end up being about 10-15 minutes of additional scenes once completed. I should have a final cut and picture lock within the next week or so, which means work can begin on the music score and sound design.
The delay with the telecine has pushed back the completion of Blaggit by about a month or so, but I'm confident it'll be done in time for Cannes. I'm also going to get to work on a new trailer as well, which we'll launch around May time too.
Almost done!
05/03/10 - Farewell to Mr. Booth!
I'd just like to bid a fond farewell to colleague and good friend James Booth, who is moving to Canada to begin a new life for himself. James has been a stalwart at Sepia Films since day one; he's helped out on all of my films going back to my short films in 2003, he's offered great feedback on all my scripts and he played a big part in the Blaggit casting sessions in 2006.
Not only that, but James designed the Blaggit poster and designed this website too, so I have a lot to thank him for! So thanks James for all your help over the years, and best of luck with the move - you lucky sod!!
02/03/10 - 'The Dream Courier' has arrived!
Back in November when I was prepping the final Blaggit shoot, I had a meeting with lead actor Rob Leetham to discuss the filming. During the meet Rob told me about a profound dream he had in which he had to deliver dreams to peoples' subconscious, and that the dream's theme could have potential for a possible film.
Well, the seed was planted and before too long ideas were forming in my head - I'm fascinated with lucid dreaming and synchronicities and everything Rob told me felt like it could be a great film. So I began work on the script in December and I've now completed yet another feature length script!
'The Dream Courier' is surprise, surprise a very dark and surreal film, a mix of psychological thrillers like: 'Jacob's Ladder' & 'The Machinist' and fun sci-fi flicks like: 'Eternal Sunshine…' and of course 'Back to the Future'. I had a blast writing the script; it deals with subjects I'm down with, features some very surreal but cool characters and has some awesome action sequences as well.
'The Dream Courier' is the 8th feature length script I've completed since 2003, and I feel I'm improving as a writer with each new project. This script is insanely ambitious with loads of visual effects, we'd need a decent sized budget and I'd imagine there would be a lot of green screen, wire work and stunt work involved, but nothing is impossible! It would be a very commercial movie as well, and I think it has bags of potential.
It feels like Blaggit 2.0 in many ways; has similar themes that Blaggit has but is on a much bigger scale. I now want to get some feedback on the 1st draft and see how it can be improved. When we'll get to make 'The Dream Courier' I have no idea, let's see how Blaggit does this year and where that takes us in 2011!
26/02/10 - Which Film Festivals are right for Blaggit?
So for a while now I've been carefully collating a list of festivals to submit Blaggit to, and it will soon be time to start submitting the film as it nears completion. The question is; which festivals are right for Blaggit? Which festivals should I definitely be submitting to, and which ones would be a total waste of time and money?
After researching fests via Withoutabox, Britfilms.com and Chris Jones' success with Gone Fishing, I've compiled four separate spreadsheets. Tier #1 spreadsheet features all the big accredited mainstream festivals/markets (Cannes, Toronto, AFM, Sundance etc).
Tier #2 spreadsheet features well known festivals that welcome micro-budget indie films (Raindance, Slamdance, etc), and these are the festivals I'll mostly be focusing on for Blaggit. Tier #3 and Tier #4 spreadsheets feature lesser known smaller festivals.
The other issue is finance; in a perfect world I'd submit Blaggit to every festival going, but the fact of the matter is I just can't afford the submission fees to do this. Most festivals submission fees are around £40-60 (depending on when you submit), but the bigger festivals are more towards the £80-90 region.
The frustrating factor is just not knowing whether Blaggit will have a chance of being selected at certain festivals. Take the Edinburgh Film Festival for example. That's a major UK film fest and one I should definitely be submitting Blaggit to (at a cost of £80). But how likely is it that Blaggit will be selected for Edinburgh? Looking at the films that screened there last year, they're all decent sized funded films with budgets of several million.
So would it be wiser to save a bit of money and submit to the London Independent Film Festival at a cost of £40 instead? Would Blaggit stand a better chance of being selected for that festival instead of Edinburgh? If you don't buy a ticket then you won't win the raffle, I guess. I'm really excited about getting Blaggit out there on the festival circuit throughout 2010; I just wish I could submit it to all the festivals on my list!
23/02/10 - Post-Production, Post-Production and yet more Post-Production!
Apologies for the lack of updates so far this year, but it's been a bit of a slow start to 2010 as post-production on Blaggit gets underway. The telecine work for the footage from the November shoot has only just being completed, and that's had a knock on effect for the completion of the music score work to some extent.
On the upside, ADR work with the main Blaggit cast has begun, and the sound design is just about ready to begin. Several VFX shots have also been completed, and I'm extremely giddy with the coolness of some of these shots - it really does elevate the film to a whole new level; very Donnie Darko-esque, that's all I'm saying for now!!
We also have a very experienced colour gradist helping us out, so all in all things are moving forward albeit incremently. Things should start to pick up when we get the November footage back, which should be by next week fingers crossed.
Stay tuned! Plenty more to come!
17/12/2009 - Blaggit - the plan for 2010!
This week I had a very productive meeting with our music composer for Blaggit; Phil Mountford. We went through the rough cut as it is at present and discussed at length each scene that requires music...we're using 'The Matrix' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' as our inspiration...can't wait to hear it!
The edit has been vastly improved as well - the new rough cut now stands at 81 minutes after I took a long hard look at the cut and decided to bin several scenes that weren't crucial to Pete's story - this cut is without the new footage however. Looking back on 2009 I feel very satisfied with how the year has panned out, I can honestly say I've done everything I possibly could have done to get Blaggit completed.
Now I'm focusing on the year ahead and doing everything I possibly can do to secure distribution for the film: my goal is to have a DVD copy of Blaggit in every HMV store by this time next year. Whether that's a realistic goal or not, that's the goal I have and that's what I'm going to set out to achieve.
First of all I have to cut the November footage as soon as I get the rushes back, which will be at the start of January. And once I'm happy with the final cut then it's all about the music score, the sound design (including ADR, foley etc), the colour grade and several VFX shots. My aim is to get Blaggit fully completed by the end of March, hopefully earlier. And then there's a new trailer to be finished, plus a Blaggit website...
Then my focus will turn to hitting the festival circuit: Cannes looks like a must, which would be apt considering it'll be 5 years since I was last there promoting my first feature: 'The Boy with a Thorn in His Side'. I have a festival list as long as my arm, which is mostly thanks to the brilliantly inspiring filmmaker Chris Jones, who published online his own festival planner spreadsheet for his extremely successful short film: 'Gone Fishing'. I highly recommend checking out Chris' blog if you're a filmmaker yourself.
Obviously I'll be contacting sales agents, distributors as well as going down the festival route, and at some point there will be a UK premiere as well, possibly in April. So there's absolutely loads to do next year, but I'm really excited to see the film nearing completion after 3 years of struggling to get it finished.
Have a very merry xmas and a productive 2010! Peace out x
07/12/2009 - And now for something completely different...
Back in April this year (when I was up to my neck in pre-production for Blaggit and rewriting Awakening) I heard a news story about a fir tree that was found growing inside a man's lung. This bizarre story immediately caught my creative attention, and within a matter of days I started work on creating a short film script using this story headline as the premise.
The result was a 19 page script entitled: 'The Tree Inside' - my first short film script since 2003. The script has fantastical surreal elements a plenty, and deals with philosophical, metaphysical themes about life, death, the universe etc. Think along films like Pan's Labyrinth, The Fountain, Big Fish. Here's some script feedback from a reader at Abbot Management:
"An original, topic, theme, and narrative all make this script fresh and exciting...there are few films which this script could be compared to directly, which gives room for it to become a majorly influential film for future generations...
...the script more imitates a sonnet, complete with a volta and the pace seems like a constant stream of consciousness, which adds the post modern quality to this already modern film...there is obvious talent and quality to this script..."
I would love to make this short but the reality is I won't be funding any of my films ever again after the Blaggit experience, which is why I've applied for Screen WM's Digishorts scheme to fund 'The Tree Inside'. If that happens, then great - would be awesome to make something completely new off the back of Blaggit and before getting the next feature off the ground.
But I'm not desperate to make this short next year - I'll have more than enough on my plate with securing distribution for Blaggit and doing the festival circuit. So, we'll see.
As well as 'The Tree Inside' I've also begun collaborating with Mr. Blaggit himself - actor Rob Leetham on a new feature length script. We're only in the early development stages but I've begun working on a treatment and it's an idea that I'm very, very excited about and feel has bags of potential. More news on that and 'The Tree Inside' in 2010, fingers crossed...
28/11/09 - Blaggit Videos & Photos galore!!
Here's a few goodies for ya from the recent Blaggit shoot a couple of weeks back - crew member Hardeep Mahal of WV Entertainment managed to film a few mini behind the scenes vids from the final day of the shoot, which you can watch here.
They were shot on an iphone so don't expect hi-def quality, but the little snippets do give a good insight of the fun we had on that day with the blank gunfiring and squibs and everything else!
Also, here are a good selection of production stills uploaded onto facebook here and here. Will definitely update Blaggit's photo gallery on this website soon - at the moment only 2006 stills are on the page.
Enjoy!
21/11/09 - Blaggit is officially WRAPPED!!!
After a frustrating spell of over 3 years, I'm delighted to say that Blaggit is finally wrapped! The final 4 day shoot last week was one of the most eventful and exhausting shoots I've ever been involved with...but we got every scene in the can, just about.
Just to give you a bit of an idea of how crazy the shoot was...on the Thursday morning of the 1st day of filming myself and another crew member were involved in a slight car smash that meant we had one less designated driver for the shoot...on the Friday heavy rain caused a last minute change of location which created more headaches...and on Saturday I had a cameo dressed in a chicken suit whilst one of our actors was stranded in Bilston...
The final day of shooting last Sunday however was one of the best days of filming I've ever had as a director. We were filming scenes involving gunfiring and squibs and I was absolutely buzzing with enerygy, I loved every minute of it. It gave me a timely reminder of why I wanted to be a filmmaker in the first place. Making films is supposed to be fun. It's not supposed to cause unwanted stress and pain.
After 3 years of being in a state of flux with Blaggit, not knowing when it would be completed and when the end would be in sight, I had forgotten that feeling of being on set and loving every minute of making a film I was passionate about. So it was an eventful, emotional, exhausting shoot - but in a funny way it reinvigorated me as a filmmaker. Monday morning sometime around 5am I sat in my house surrounded by equipment after the shoot, with a huge proud feeling of accomplishment that we'd finished the film.
The plan now is to get all of post-production completed by the end of March next year. I'll get the rushes back from this 4 day shoot before Christmas hopefully, which gives me about a month to concentrate on the music score and the sound design. And once completed next year it's all about festivals, promotion and getting the film out there as much as possible. It should be an exciting year.
Big thanks to everyone who helped out on the shoot. Blaggit is nearly finished. The home run is in sight. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. The future looks bright.
07/11/09 - Killing off Pete Blaggit - the final shoot!
Yep, I can't quite believe it as well - but next week, after a period of over 3 years trying to finish this film, we're actually shooting the final last ever scenes for: 'Whatever Happened to Pete Blaggit'. It's going to be such a huge relief to get these final scenes in the can and I'm sure it'll be a strange mix of emotions when we wrap next Sunday.
We're shooting for 4 days from next Thursday and we have one hell of a tight schedule. It's going to be a very tough shoot - long hours, night shoots, minimal crew - but I'm really looking forward to it.
Pre-production has been an extremely busy time with plenty of trials & tribulations along the way - securing difficult locations with a small budget, recasting the roles of 'Boris' & 'Micky' and most importantly finding a competent DOP who can work fast with limitations. I'll be very happy when it's all out of the way to be honest - I'll report back in a couple of weeks - wish us luck, we're gonna need it!
17/10/09 - Online PR for Blaggit
Now that Blaggit is finally edging closer towards the finishing line, with the aim of completion in the first half of next year, I'm looking at what to do with the film once it's finished. Next year should be really interesting - I want to get the film out there, get it into festivals and to sales agents and distributors and do as much promotional work as possible.
And one of the best promotional tools for any filmmaker is the internet - it really is now the best way to get your film noticed by your target audience and to have an in built fan base ready for the release of the film. Social networking sites and popular film sites are the way to go, and here's how Blaggit is standing on these various sites:
Twitter - Yes, Blaggit has joined the world of Twitter, probably the most popular networking site of the moment, and a great way to reach new people and introduce them to your film. At the moment Blaggit only has about 60-ish followers, but it's early days yet.
Facebook - We have a Blaggit group page on facebook, but now the trend is to have a fan page instead, where you can add status updates and get the page noticed more by those following it. A Blaggit fan page will be launched next year.
MySpace - Blaggit has had a MySpace page for quite a while now, but recently I've been trying to increase it's profile by adding various festivals and media companies to it's friends list.
Youtube - Blaggit has a youtube channel, where all my other films can also be viewed.
Apart from the social networking sites, there will be an official Blaggit website at some point in the New Year. I want to make this website really fun and quirky with interactive options to really put across the character of Blaggit and the film for the audience. We have some very cool ideas for the website that I'm excited about, should be good.
Seperate from online PR, we have a few other uber cool PR ideas which I'm very giddy about. Plus we have a new trailer as well - the idea is to launch the new website simultaneously with the new trailer and these other PR ideas at the same time - possibly around April/May time next year.
The bottom line is I've spent over 3 years of my life making this film, and now I want to give it the best send off I can as I try and get it distributed and seen globally. Distribution is the ultimate aim, and in these tough economic times self-distribtion for small indie films is growing more and more popular, so that maybe an option we look into as well.
But before I can plan ahead on the PR work for the film, my first and only real priority right now is getting the final block of filming completed next month - the prep work is going quite well, we still have a few things to sort out but with just under a month until the shoot, things are looking good - will update on how this is all going soon.
05/10/09 - New Blaggit Trailer on the way
With Blaggit finally edging closer towards completion - the aim is to have post-production completed by March next year, I've begun tentatively working on a new Blaggit trailer.
The main criticism with the original trailer was that it seemed like a trailer for two altogether different movies - ie a light hearted comedy and a surreal sci-fi flick, and that it lacked clarity in getting across what exactly happens in the movie.
So the aim with the new trailer is to really get across the narrative of the film as clearly and succinctly as possible - ie Pete is a rude and angry wedding videographer who gets abducted by aliens and discovers time travel in the process to sort out his messed up life.
I also want to make the new trailer no longer than 90 seconds long and make it very punchy and funny and straightforward - basically I want to cut the best possible trailer I can for the film. I don't plan on unleashing the trailer any earlier than March next year, when all being well we'll have a completed feature on our hands to show to everyone.
06/09/09 - Storyboards for November
Work has begun on what will be the final block of filming for Blaggit, which has now been pushed back to November due to finances. At the moment it's all about scheduling, budgeting, sorting out dates, locations etc.
Although it's only a 4 day shoot in November, we are shooting some complicated action scenes for what will be the climactic final third of the film. So I've started storyboarding these crucial scenes and I'm using a free trial of FrameForge 3D Studio to make life easier in creating the storyboards.
I can't recommend this software highly enough; it allows you to be extremely precise with your shot decisions, which will be a massive help when the November shoot comes around.
15/08/09 - Rough cut of Blaggit has a running time of 103 minutes!!
So with all the footage from the May shoot of Blaggit now edited, the timeline of the movie is looking very full indeed, so much so that for the first time I can watch the film in nearly all of it's entirety and get a good feel for pace and see what's working and what needs more work.
First of all, the one thing I'm most happy with in the film is our lead actor Rob Leetham, who gives an absolutely virtuoso performance as not only hapless Pete Blaggit but as the mysterious Russian waiter Uri Poppolochovichski (!). The new footage could/should have been better, but thanks to Rob's performance these new scenes do seemlessly fit in with the old footage from 2006 (at least with a good colour grade they will!).
As for the pacing of the film, I think the first half definitely needs more work. The first half is essentially a day in the life of a wedding that Blaggit royally screws up, and while this sets up Pete's character, it does feel as if it drags in places and could do with tightening up.
The film really does shift up a couple of gears at around the half an hour mark, when Pete suffers his first alien rape and his friends start to question his sanity. The entire concept of the film takes on something of a paradigm shift and it becomes a different beast altogether, and it'll be interesting to see how this goes down with audiences, but I dig it!
The final third of the movie is where we still have several scenes yet to shoot, so this part is a bit sketchy at present. All in all I'm quietly pleased with the film, though it is only about 80% completed. So what's next on the Blaggit agenda? Well, I want to get as much post-production work done over the coming months - work on the colour grade, sound design and the music score will commence soon, with a view to getting this work finished as much as possible by October.
I'm really excited about collaborating with our music composer Phil Mountford on the score, which will definitely give the film an added dimension. And plans are underway to shoot a couple of days of pick-up scenes in October. I really want to get all the remaining scenes shot before the end of the year, but whether that happens or not is another thing due to cost. So there's lots of work still to be done, but the film is finally coming together nicely!
14/08/09 - New draft of: 'The Gateway' script completed!
After the Blaggit shoot at the end of May I had a bit of much deserved time off from the project, and throughout June & July I used this time to get to work on a new draft of: 'The Gateway' script. I finished this new draft by the end of July and I'm quite pleased with the results - this script is something of a passion project of mine and one which I really want to make into a film in the not too distant future.
I plan on making: 'The Gateway' after the completion of both 'Blaggit' and 'Awakening' so it's likely to be several years before this film gets made, but I feel it's important as a filmmaker to have a number of projects in development so you're not just a one trick pony.
I've sent the new draft out to several filmmaker friends, and I've already got some very solid critical feedback from a British filmmaker who has his own ambitious film coming out in theatres before the end of the year. I've been developing this script since 2007 and I intent to keep on chipping away at it between now and whenever it is cameras roll on the project.
27/07/09 - Blaggit Footage from May shoot
Last week I received the film footage from the 2 week pick shoot we did back in May for Blaggit, after the telecine was completed. Although some of the important dialogue scenes are looking fine, there are technical problems with several other scenes - this is hugely disappointing considering all the hard work everybody put into the shoot.
These technical problems might be salvagable though with the help of a good colour gradist, so all might not be lost and it might not be as bad as it sounds. I'll be spending the next few weeks editing the new scenes, and will report back once completed.
09/07/09 - 'The Boy with a Thorn in His Side' now on youtube!!!
To celebrate the fact that Sepia Films turned 5 years old this week, I've finally got round to uploading our first feature: 'The Boy with a Thorn in His Side' onto youtube!
5 years after making the film, it's easy to look back at it now and see all it's faults and mistakes and it is very rough around the edges. But despite that the film does have a certain charm and I do have a fondness for it. Watching bits of it this week, I was surprised at just how laugh out loud funny it is in a lot of places.
You can watch Part 1 of the film here, and follow the links for the other following parts.
06/07/09 - Five year Anniversary of Sepia Films Ltd!
It's hard to believe but Sepia Films ltd was officially incorporated by Companies House on this day back in 2004 - meaning we're 5 years old today!!!
It's been an exciting journey so far with plenty of highs and lows, and two feature films in the space of five years isn't bad going. I'd like to thank everyone who's supported me and my films over the years - here's to the next 5 years!
29/05/09 - Block 2 of Blaggit shoot done!
Well, the Blaggit shoot for May is done and dusted! Block 2 of the Blaggit shoot lasted for 4 days from last Wednesday to Saturday, and we wrapped in the early hours of Sunday. It was on the whole a very fun, positive shoot and again I'm delighted with what we shot and to finally get these scenes in the can after such a long time.
We now have about 2-3 days of filming left, and then that's a wrap for Blaggit! We won't be able to shoot these scenes until September due to the availability of our main actor, but that gives me time to edit the new scenes and plan on the final block of filming.
A massive heartfelt thank you to all involved! Facebook photos of Block 2 is here, here and here. Hopefully we'll get the best photos on the website at some point as well.
13/05/09 - Block 1 of Blaggit shoot done!
So, we've finally started shooting Blaggit again and I have to say I'm very happy with what we've shot so far. We filmed for five days last week/weekend and there were no disasters or serious problems - in fact, everything went really well and we didn't drop any scenes at all, which is great.
It was tiring and hard work and there was lots of running around from one location to another, but it felt great to get behind the camera and to direct again, we had a small but hard working crew and everyone put in a great effort. If you're on facebook then you can view some photos of the shoot here.
We now have another five days of filming to do next week/weekend, so there's lots to organise before then. Will update how that goes at the end of the month!
The Blag Man is definitely back!
25/04/09 - The Return of Pete Blaggit - May 2009!!!
Well, it's finally happening folks - after a near 3 year hiatus, we are actually going to be shooting Pete Blaggit once again next month. I've been busy these past few months prepping the upcoming shoot, and I'm happy to say that everything is pretty much in place - we have locations, props, crew, production insurance - all that remains is to purchase film stock and the Blaggit wig!
It does feel weird to be shooting again after the difficulties we've faced these past few years, but I'm really excited about the upcoming shoot. We're filming for around 11 days in a little under two weeks' time from now - I will update in May with news on how the shoot goes.
Wish us luck!
13/04/09 - Short films now online!
I've finally got round to the task of uploading all my short films online. I made these short films back in 2003 (six years ago?!!?!) when I first got into filmmaking, and although a little rough around the edges, I am still quite proud and fond of them.
I've also uploaded 'Pipe Dreams' which is a short documentary film that I made in 2002, and was the first film I ever directed. Click on the links to watch Pipe Dreams, The Money Tree, Death by Chocolate, Blind Man Freddy and My Necrophiliac Bride.
Happy Easter!
08/04/09 - 'Awakening' script-development completed
I've recently completed my Screen WM funded script-development for 'Awakening' which I've been working on since February. The process of working with a script editor and developing the story has been hugely beneficial for me as a writer.
The script has evolved quite a lot; the story is more focused, the plot is more streamlined and the characters have been rounded out considerably. I think we now have a very strong script on our hands, and I'm looking forward to making the film - which we plan to do in 2010 after the completion of Blaggit this year.
18/03/09 - Behind the Scenes of Blaggit - Creature Effects video!
One of the highlights for me from the first Blaggit shoot was the great work that special effects artist Charlie Bluett did in creating the Blaggit 'Werelion' and 'Tin Man' effects.
We did manage to shoot some behind the scenes of Charlie at work - showing the whole process from the designs to the head casts and the final results. You can view the making of video here.
13/03/09 - Blaggit Update!
So over the past couple of months I've begun prepping the remaining shoot for Blaggit, and this time it looks like it really is going to happen after several thousand false starts!! We're shooting for around 10 days over two separate weeks in May, so there's a little under two months until cameras roll on the production again after a space of nearly three years!!!
There's lots and lots to organise - I've been working on the schedule, sorting out equipment, finding crew members for the shoot, getting props together etc. We're working on an extremely tight budget and I now have to get several locations confirmed asap. Will update the site with how everything develops between now and May!
07/03/09 - Awakening script development begins
Since the start of February I've been working closely with a script editor on 'Awakening', and I've found the process so far to be very rewarding. This is the first time I've worked with a script editor and I've learnt a lot in terms of scrutinising your story, focusing on the characters' motivations/intentions in each scene, and really getting to the heart of the matter of what you're trying to say in your story.
I've had several meetings with the editor and we've exchanged script notes and I'm just about ready to start work on the first re-draft of the script. I'm aiming to have this first re-draft finished by the end of March, and the following re-draft finished by the end of April. Along with the prep work on Blaggit (more on which soon) I'm going to be quite busy over the next few months!
11/02/09 - Over 70 minutes of Blaggit now completed!
So over the past couple of weeks I've been editing the new Blaggit footage, and I have to say I'm very, very happy with the results! The new scenes are just excellent - there are some lengthy and important scenes, and the whole movie is now coming together very nicely indeed!
We have just over 30 minutes of new scenes, and together with the existing scenes that means we have just over 70 minutes completed - so we're getting closer! Editing these scenes has really revitalised my passion for the film, and it's now full steam ahead to getting it all finished within the coming months! There's plenty to do, so will let you know how it all goes as we prep the remaining scenes we have to shoot.
Real progress, finally!!!
24/01/09 - New Blaggit Footage!
Well 2009 has started very positively for Sepia Films - I've finally managed to get the telecine completed for the last set of rushes for Pete Blaggit. There was just over 20 camera rolls that needed to be transferred to tape, and because of financial difficulties over the past few years, it's only now that I've been able to afford this service.
So I have the footage back and it all looks great - I'm now editing the new scenes, which will keep me busy over the next few weeks. Seeing this footage after all this time has definitely given me the extra incentive and motivation to get this film finished this year!