Further to my previous post, I am happy to report that I have been commissioned to make another documentary film for a UK broadcaster. I'm sworn to secrecy at the moment, but I'll put more details on here soon...
Monday, 25 January 2010
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
The Waiting Game
At the moment I'm in the stage of my job which I find hardest. I am working on projects speculatively - one of which is being considered by a major broadcaster in the UK. I'm hanging on for an answer - and I know that the film has a good chance of being commissioned. It means that I'm reticent to go for other shooting/directing jobs because I know that if and when the broadcaster commissions my film, they'll want me to start working on it straight away.
I suppose most freelance film-makers find this stage of the job frustrating. I know that I need to hang on in there - but I'm itching to get started - I just need someone to fire the starting gun.
I know this difficult stage will soon be a distant memory. When I'm immersed in a project, it doesn't feel like a job. I work on observational documentaries, which means I spend a lot of time with whoever I'm filming. I like to get to know them, and to give them time to get to know me. It can be a hugely time consuming part of the process, but it's also hugely rewarding. When it works well, we learn to trust each other, and the film is better for it.
So when I think back to the people who have allowed me into their lives, sometimes for considerable lengths of time, that's when my job doesn't really feel like work at all. I feel privileged to have been allowed in to the personal lives of so many people.
I suppose most freelance film-makers find this stage of the job frustrating. I know that I need to hang on in there - but I'm itching to get started - I just need someone to fire the starting gun.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Wild Things - Press Reviews
As mentioned in my previous blog about the making of "Wild Things", the film got a lot of press attention. I couldn't resist cutting out/scanning in some of the press reviews (it was shown on Channel 4 in July this year). Click the photos if you want to see a bigger version which you can actually read...
The Sunday Times - Critics Choice: "It is with great confidence that Adam Hopkins seizes his chance in Channel 4's First Cut slot for new directors, investigating the legacy of a phenomenon confined to a few households in the 1970s and 1980s..."
The Sunday Times - Critics Choice: "It is with great confidence that Adam Hopkins seizes his chance in Channel 4's First Cut slot for new directors, investigating the legacy of a phenomenon confined to a few households in the 1970s and 1980s..."
The Daily Mail - Pick of the day:
The Observer: This is a brave First Cut documentary filmed, produced and directed by Adam Hopkins... A very promising debut"
There were lots more reviews, but I think that's enough shameless publicity for now. There were even one or two bad reviews, but I seem to have lost them...
Wild Things - A Documentary Film
Almost a year ago to the day, I took part in a pitching competition at the Sheffield documentary festival. In front of an audience of 200 documentary enthusiasts, I was quizzed by a panel of commissioning editors and film-makers. After my CV had been publicly analysed, I had to pitch an idea for a film, supported by a 3 minute "taster-tape".
Although I didn't win the competition, the taster-tape was a big hit with the audience. I'd done enough to be noticed by one of Channel 4's commissioning editors, and within a couple of months of the competition, I began work on a half-hour documentary for "First Cut" - a strand for new directors.
The film I made was about a group of children whose parents gave them all a new surname, "Wild". The name was a challenge to the patriarchal tradition of passing on the father's surname. Many of these idealistic parents lived communally, and the Wild idea spread from London to Leeds, Sheffield and Hebden Bridge. No one is quite sure how many "Wilds" there are; my research shows that there are at least 40. The Wilds are all grown up now, and have started to spread their wings.
The documentary was broadcast on Channel 4 in July 2009. It got a huge amount of attention in the press, I will post some of the reviews on this blog later.
"Wild Things" is still available to watch online via Channel 4's website. I have been reading a lot recently about the power of social media, and how it can be used as an alternative to traditional media outlets. I am particularly interested in the possibility of getting feedback from viewers. To get feedback from a programme that has been shown on television, I turn to the press reviews. But with more and more voices being heard online, I hope to hear from people who have watched the film...
Although I didn't win the competition, the taster-tape was a big hit with the audience. I'd done enough to be noticed by one of Channel 4's commissioning editors, and within a couple of months of the competition, I began work on a half-hour documentary for "First Cut" - a strand for new directors.
The film I made was about a group of children whose parents gave them all a new surname, "Wild". The name was a challenge to the patriarchal tradition of passing on the father's surname. Many of these idealistic parents lived communally, and the Wild idea spread from London to Leeds, Sheffield and Hebden Bridge. No one is quite sure how many "Wilds" there are; my research shows that there are at least 40. The Wilds are all grown up now, and have started to spread their wings.
The documentary was broadcast on Channel 4 in July 2009. It got a huge amount of attention in the press, I will post some of the reviews on this blog later.
"Wild Things" is still available to watch online via Channel 4's website. I have been reading a lot recently about the power of social media, and how it can be used as an alternative to traditional media outlets. I am particularly interested in the possibility of getting feedback from viewers. To get feedback from a programme that has been shown on television, I turn to the press reviews. But with more and more voices being heard online, I hope to hear from people who have watched the film...
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