NEWS

1.4.08 | Viewfinder Talks at Pittville Studios

Talks on film topics will be hosted by the University of Gloucestershire during the festival in collaboration with Knowledge West.

 

Monday 7 April

Tomas Rawlings and Ana Kronschnabl: Joint Panel Discussion

What is Film in the Age of YouTube? and Cash, Copyright, Corporations and Creativity in the 21st Century.

£5 ticket cost includes a book from the authors.

Tuesday 8th April

Rik Lander ‘Viral Video and Web Drama' - £3

Both talks begin at 3pm in room MC304 at the Pittville Studios campus, Albert Road, Cheltenham.

Tickets for these two talks must be bought in advance from the online ticket shop http://www.ecommercegateway.co.uk/glos/store/shop/products.asp?func=prodvar&compid=1&deptid=59&prodtypeid=1&prodid=747 or by contacting the reception on 01242 714940.

 

More information on the festival and other Viewfinder events taking place can be found on the website, http://www.viewfinderfilm.info

 

For Facebook users, please join the Viewfinder Film Festival group for more info http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2362888414

 

 

Ana Kronschnabl

Ana Kronschnabl's career in media began in 1987 when she founded and ran a video production company, Cambridge Video Unit: with clients including Ford UK and the NUS. Ana is one of the UK's leading authorities on new-media aesthetics and technology, is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of the acclaimed web-film project plugincinema. Ana won the 1990 Ian Nicol Award for her film on AIDS, 'Sex, Lies and Stereotypes' and is the co-author of the first ever book to examine filmmaking and the Internet; 'Plug In & Turn On: A Guide to Internet Filmmaking' (Marion Boyers, 2004). She is a visiting lecturer at Bristol University and is completing a PhD on content creation for the Internet and other hand-held devices. Ana sits on the MediaBox panel for South West Screen and the panel for Encounters Film Festival. Ana is currently CEO of the digital media and computer games company FluffyLogichttps://twiki.fluffylogic.net/bin/view/Company/FluffyLogic whose client list includes Hewlett Packard, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Swindon Borough Council, South West Regional Development Agency and Knowledge West.

Tomas Rawlings

Tomas Rawlings graduated from a degree in Psychology and Communication in 1996. He then went on to work with young people for various social services projects. In 1998 he entered the computer games industry working at Hothouse Creations. There he worked as a designer on PC, PlayStation and Dreamcast games such as 'Abomination: The Nemesis Project' and the best selling TV-tie in, 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' He moved to Pivotal Games in 2001 to work on next generation game systems. Amongst other project there, he was lead designer on the PC, PlayStation2 and Xbox conversion of the 1963 Oscar winning classic 'The Great Escape'. Tomas is co-author of 'Plug In & Turn On: A Guide to Internet Filmmaking' (ISBN: 0-7145-3102-2 Marion Boyers, 2004) and is currently the development director at FluffyLogic and is studying for a PhD in Network Media at UWE.

 

Rik Lander

Rik Lander writes and directs web drama because the rule book hasn't been written yet. In the 1980's, as one half of the video art pioneers the Duvet Brothers, Rik helped create a whole new aesthetic that became known as scratch video. After this he moved into TV directing and, to keep it interesting, made programmes right across the spectrum from traditional documentary like A History of British Art to youth shows like Eurotrash and travel guides like Lonely Planet.

He began experimenting with multimedia in the mid 1990's and has made several interactive documentaries and dramas, including the experimental narrative, magic tree, www.magic-tree.com and the interactive teen soap Wannabes, www.bbc.co.uk/wannabes. His company u-soap media is about to launch a global web soap called Together Alone.

2.4.07 | Gala Screening Success 2007

Saturday 31st March 2007 Cheltenham's Cineworld played host to a jam packed audatorium for the round up of the fortnights festival activities, culminating in the long awaited Gala Screening, seeing an audience of over 150 people. Awards were in abundance for film makers whose films had been under much scrutiny over the weeks leading up to the night, with fast and furious online voting for the best films in each category.

 

The winning films can all be viewed here:

7-11 Category: The Scary Sausage.

11-18 Category: The Box

18+ Category: Leave of Absence

Non-Professional Category: Parcel

Professional Category: The End

 

 

Prizes included a ticket to the International Screenwriters' Festival, Waterstones and Amazon Vouchers and Apple accredited training. Huge thank you to all who attended and we look forward to seeing you next April 2008... 

 

16.3.07 | Viewfinder film festival screenings

Viewfinder film festival screenings

 

19-31 March 2007-Venues across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire

 

Film fans will have the opportunity to see the best of local talent on the big screen at this year’s Viewfinder film festival.

 

Screenings will be held at venues throughout Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Up-and-coming filmmakers have submitted fictional or factual films that feature aspects of county life or were filmed in one of the three counties.

 

The selected films have been compiled onto a DVD that will be shown at public screenings at various locations throughout Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

 

The films chosen for the festival represent digital film production in the region and represent work from all ages, amateur to professional.

 

Festival organisers are keen for the public not only to attend the screenings but also to vote for the best film in each category online at www.viewfinderfilm.info. Winners will be announced at the gala screening held at Cineworld, Cheltenham on Saturday 31 March at 7.30pm.

 

“We are really excited about giving the public the opportunity to vote for the best film in each of the categories on our website. The standard of submissions has improved, making the programme of films even more engaging and entertaining than last year,” said festival co-ordinator and field chair in Film Studies, Tico Romao.

31.1.07 | Viewfinder Training Opportunities

PRESS RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, 31 JANUARY 2006

ROUND TWO FOR HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL GLOUCESTERSHIRE FILMMAKING COURSES

After the overwhelming success of the GMG short filmmaking course and documentary Summer School in 2006, the GMG kicks of the New Year with more! More FREE training for all those Gloucestershire based filmmaking novices out there.

This time, the GMG in conjunction with Gloscat go on tour and take the Documentary course to White City Community Project at the Starvaell Centre in Gloucester. During 10 days spread over 5 weeks, local people with no previous filming experience will have the chance to make a documentary right on their doorstep. Free childcare facilities will be offered to participants for the duration of the course and delegates will be awarded with a Level 3 industry recognised qualification. They even get the opportunity to view their work on the ‘big screen' on the last day of the course (17 April) and invite friends and family along for the viewing. For more info or to book a place, please contact Sue Golding at the Starvaell Centre directly on 01452 554419.

For those that don't have 10 days to spare but would still like a little taste of filmmaking, the short filmmaking workshop is just what they were looking for. During the six 2 ½ hour long evening sessions running in late February and throughout March this year, delegates will get a brief introduction to scriptwriting and storyboarding, production and post-production skills.

Anna Krenkova, Project Manager of the GMG-TRAIN who make this training possible with a £300,000 grant from the European Social Fund commented: "Both courses were a huge success first time around and all 15 available spaces were taken within the first week of promotion. The short filmmaking workshop is not as intense as the Documentary course where people get to shoot a whole documentary but acts as a great taster to the world of filmmaking. It is not very often that people get the opportunity to take part in such fun and hands-on filmmaking courses that are delivered by industry professionals on industry standard equipment outside of London." Anna further emphasised: "Both courses are one of its kind as have especially been developed by the GMG itself. And best of all, they are FREE to anyone resident in Gloucestershire*, which explains the overwhelming demand mentioned earlier."

Places are strictly limited and bookings can be made on www.thegmg.org/train.

To be delivered by the GMG-TRAIN project in partnership with Gloscat and the University of Gloucestershire. *that fulfils the funding eligibility criteria

For further information, GMG logos or photographs please contact Anna Krenkova 01242 542 713, anna.krenkova@thegmg.org

7.11.06 | Viewfinder workshops with 'The Attic'

Viewfinder is seeking to build regional audiences for locally made films by emerging filmmaking talent. Through the 2007 expansion, festival organizers intend to make the consumption of locally made films a more sustainable enterprise.

Viewfinder aims to develop filmmaking skills at primary, secondary, and higher educational levels, and to support the work of independent filmmakers both amateur and professional in the three-county area. By principally showing films produced by young filmmakers, the festival attracts audiences of all ages to the screenings and instills an appreciation of such work at an early age.

The Attic, a company based in the University of Worcester that specialises in digital and performing arts for young people, are offering workshops to run in conjunction with viewfinder and Aim Higher. The aim is, is that these workshops could be run with a project with the intention of the final production being entered into viewfinder festival.

 Free Saturday Workshops

9th December        12:00 - 3:00           How to plan and make your own movie

13th January           12:00 - 3:00           Filming Techniques

27th January           12:00 - 3:00           Editing techniques

Please come along, sit in on our workshop or just come and pick our brains!

Schools Workshops

Secondary Schools can seek funding through their Aim Higher co-ordinator to fund a series of four workshops aim to outline the basic principles of filmmaking, from pre-production, filming to the art of editing. These workshops will be overseen by local filmmakers but ran by digital arts students studying at the university who will have been trained by the Worcestershire Education Arts Council.

The workshops are as follows;

Brain-storming and pre-production:

• A session that explores possible film ideas and how they can be translated into video. We will look at examples of successful shorts using a variety of techniques like stop frame animation, puppetry.
• There will be an exercise to help produce original short film ideas.
• We will briefly look at storyboarding using digital cameras.
• And how to plan our shoot.

Film-making Workshop

• This will explore the basics of a video camera, various shot sizes, movements.
• It will explore filming techniques that will explore how to go about filming sequences that will edit together.

Editing Workshop

• This session will teach the basics of putting the material on the computer, then how to edit the footage into sequences.
• Learn how to add basic effects and text.
• Learn how to output your sequence as a movie.

Follow up Workshop.

• This workshop would be available to schools who are planning to enter the Viewfinder Festival competition as a consultancy day, to analyse the film, discuss that work made, and produce and burn a DVD for entry to the festival.

Places on these programmes may be limited so allocation will be ran on a first come, first serve basis. For more information please contact Gabby Morton Jones at  viewfinder@worc.ac.uk

13.10.06 | Comedy actor becomes patron of the Viewfinder Festival

Gloucester-born comedic actor Simon Pegg has agreed to become a patron of this year's Viewfinder Film Festival, The festival, now in its third year screens short films submitted by film-makers in Gloucestershire and beyond.

Simon is best known for his title role in zombie movie, Shaun of the Dead and is also a successful stand-up comedian and comic writer. He has created and starred in hit television comedies, such as Spaced and was nominated for a British Comedy Award.

 

"I am delighted to be involved with this festival; I think it's a fantastic initiative for encouraging the next generation of film makers, said Simon, "and I am particularly keen to support film-making in the county where I grew up."

 

Following on from the success of previous years, the festival has increased its boundaries beyond Gloucestershire to encourage submissions from budding filmmakers in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

 

Viewfinder organizers are once again keen to screen factual or fictional digital films produced or shot in one of the three counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, or Worcestershire which feature local life and activities, or are made by county residents.

 

Filmmakers are invited to send their work in one five categories including primary and secondary school pupils; those in further or higher education and non-professionals. Submissions can be up to ten minutes in length and must complete films. The festival will bring a diverse selection of work onto the big screen for audiences within the three counties.

 

"These are exciting times for the festival," said festival coordinator and University of Gloucestershire field chair in film studies, Tico Romao. "Viewfinder is growing from strength to strength with more venues being added and more partners like the University of Worcester and Cineworld becoming involved. We will be also providing feedback schemes and training workshops to help local filmmakers improve their filmmaking skills. Viewfinder is no longer just a festival but a vehicle for promoting local film culture in the region."

 

The chosen films will be shown in March 2007 at venues across the three county area including Cineworld, Cheltenham; The Courtyard Arts Centre, Hereford; Guildhall Arts Centre, Gloucester; Malvern Theatres, Malvern; The Market Theatre, Ledbury; The Roses, Tewksbury; The Space, Stroud; The Swan, Worcester, The Sundial Theatre, Cirencester; The Third Screen, Studio Cinema, Coleford; University of Worcester; and Wotton Electric Picture House, Wotton-under-Edge.

 

Further details concerning feedback and training schemes and a submission form can be found at http://www.viewfinderfilm.info/

 

The final date for submissions is 1 February 2007.

 

1.10.06 | In Association with Viewfinder, The Gloucestershire Echo and The Citizen Screen Test

ATTENTION all budding Spielbergs and Tarantinos out there. The Citizen, in association with Gloucester media studio, CordialAV, has embarked on a joint quest to discover the next Michael Moore or Francis Ford Coppola.

The Citizen Screen Test is inviting all would-be film-makers of any age - seven to 107 - to submit their ideas for a short film of between two and 10 minutes in length.

Submissions can be in the form of a written outline, synopsis or even fully worked screen play, for a film of any genre: documentary, drama, comedy, thriller, animation - the choice is entirely yours.

A panel made up of TV and film screenwriters, directors and other professionals involved in the media industry will collaborate to judge the entries and decide upon one overall winner.

Aided and abetted by CordialAV - which is offering full use of its equipment and facilities - and members of the Gloucestershire Media Group (GMG), the writer of the winning submission will be invited to script, produce, direct, star in (if they wish) and be involved with the post-production (editing, sound design etc) of their short film.

The finished short will then, should its creator wish, be submitted to ViewFinder 2007 - a digital film festival celebrating the work of emerging film-making talent within Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

"We have such a talent pool within the region, and this competition opens wide the perfect opportunity to see a script go from a few scribblings to being shown on the big screen," says Emma Heathcote-James of the Gloucestershire Media Group.

"There are so many budding writers in Gloucestershire and so many scripts gathering dust. CordialAV is giving one lucky writer the chance to turn that dream into a reality."

Tim Pellatt of CordialAV echoes Emma's sentiments, adding: "Since opening its doors in April this year, CordialAV has received some fantastic show reels from budding film makers living in and around Gloucester.

"People who obviously have the talent, resources and facilities to turn their ideas into reality. But what about the undiscovered writing talent out there? People who have the ideas, but aren't fortunate enough to have access to the equipment, facilities and resources they need to see those ideas become a finished film?

"The Citizen Screen Test is the ideal opportunity for all those frustrated writing talents out there to get their scripts read - and for one lucky person to see their winning idea go from paper to the big screen."

Tico Romao, Viewfinder's festival co-ordinator says: "The Citizen Screen Test is a great competition and naturally complements the aims of the festival. Not only does the competition provide the winner access to equipment and facilities, it also provides an opportunity to see the realised film on the big screen at Cineworld."

During March 2007 Viewfinder will be showcasing those films submitted to the festival, bringing them to the big screen for audiences at a number of venues in the region, including Cineworld in Cheltenham; Guildhall Arts Centre in Gloucester; The Roses in Tewksbury; The Space in Stroud; The Sundial Theatre in Cirencester; The Third Screen, Studio Cinema, in Colford; and Wotton Electric Picture House in Wotton-under-Edge.

So what are you waiting for? If you have the next best thing since Harry Potter simply bursting to get out of your head and onto the big screen, now's the time to put pen to paper and get your submission in to CordialAV, Unit 55 Morelands Trading Estate, Bristol Road, Gloucester GL1 5RZ, or e-mail info@cordialav.co.uk

The closing date for submissions is (tba by The Citizen).

For more information, e-mail or telephone CordialAV on 0845 094 0361.