About Surrey Border Film & Video Makers

Surrey Border Film & Video Makers is a very active filmmaking club based in Farnham for everyone interested in the making of movies, from novice to professional. Not all have digital cameras. Many club members are keenly filmmaking, in documentary, comedy and drama productions. Surrey Border is affiliated to the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers (IAC), an organisation for filmmaking clubs. For further information about us please e-mail (N.B. Sorry, you will have to type this in) 

Surrey Border club background

Surrey Border Film & Video Makers was formed in 1984 by a small group of enthusiasts with cinë and still cameras (too early for digital cameras). Their aim was to make new movies and tape/slide productions for their mutual enjoyment and to enter them for competitions in the amateur film movement. The founder and first chairman, Sir Paul Holden, is still a very active member of Surrey Border. Ciné cameras have disappeared and many, but not all, club members now own digital cameras and digital camcorders and concentrate on video. Many have phones with significant video capture facilities. The club changed its name several years ago to include the word Video. Now many refer to videos as films and refer to shooting the next film rather than video.

Technology moves ever onward and an increasing number of members now use computer-based digital video editing software (Adobe Premiere, i-movie and others). However, whatever the technology, successful productions are governed more by creativity than by the equipment. Surrey Border has a proud history of successful entry to competitions at national and local level.

The club meets on the first Friday of every month (unless there is a clash with a public holiday). Meetings give a chance to meet and discuss all aspects of movie making as well as enjoy the more formal programme of activities, lectures, workshops, showings and competitions which stimulate and encourage members to greater achievement. Topics have included from writing of film scripts to filming and editing.

Much club activity happens outside formal meetings and covers all aspects from tuition to group film productions as well as social events, often with a film-making flavour. Participation in these outside activities is entirely optional, but members with time available find the additional collaboration (and socialising) to be most rewarding.

Club meetings are held in St Martins Church Hall, Lower Bourne, starting at 7:45pm on the first Friday of the month. Doors open by 7:30pm or earlier, there are refreshments at around 9:00pm, and meetings finish by about 10:30pm. Potential members are very welcome to turn up at the-door, or to email the Secretary for details of the club programme in advance.

Sited near the border of Surrey and Hampshire the hall is slightly over one mile south of the centre of Farnham just off the A287. The Toyota garage on the NW side of the Lodge Hill Road junction has a forecourt well above road level. Dene Lane is an unmade up road. A metalled path runs beside the church to the church hall so access is easy. See About the club/venue on the left.

The current membership of about 80 people from school age upwards is drawn from an area roughly bounded by Basingstoke, Camberley, Guildford and Petersfield.

Members don't need filmmaking equipment to join

There is definitely no need to own digital camcorders or any equipment at all. Surrey Border caters for the whole range of skill levels and backgrounds including:

Those who have yet to buy movie-making equipment will find a ready source of advice and experience to guide their purchases.

Those with equipment have an opportunity to learn and hone skills as well as an audience for their finished individual or group productions.

Those seeking to add to their expertise are able to join projects, attend training sessions, and enjoy club-night lectures, which all helps to broaden their appreciation of the production process.

Experienced film makers among the membership enjoy the chance to pass on their skills either informally or in training sessions.

Those who wish to become involved with movie making without necessarily wanting to operate (or even own) a camera will find plenty to enjoy, perhaps as writers, actors or members of a production team.

Anyone wanting to find out more is very welcome to attend a club night (no charge for the first visit!) and see for them­selves. A warm welcome is always assured, but an email in advance to the Secretary will confirm details of the next meeting and ensure that someone is waiting to welcome you. Family members are also warmly welcomed and there are a high proportion of couples at every club activity.

Surrey Border has a very active history of movie and video production. It has recently made a number of promotional videos for charities and similar outside organisations and has made numerous others in the past to support the local community. A list is currently being put together of all the films made within the club. When this is finished it will be made available on this web site.

As a focus to bring all members together, there is a programme of talks, videos, demonstrations etc (see About the club on the left). There is also a monthly newsletter called Border Post and various workshops and training sessions are arranged as requested. Recent training sessions have included interview techniques, both linear and non linear editing, Premiere and Photoshop. Individual project groups meet according to their own timetables (see Filming Groups on the left).

There is a great deal of longstanding expertise within the club and it is willingly made available to members. For example the previous club chairman, David Jackson, was awarded an IAC Fellowship for introducing Non Linear Editing (NLE) to the IAC membership through the setting up of a user group as well as for tutoring training courses in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere.

Visitors and new members are warmly welcomed to the monthly meetings which are on the first Friday of each month. They are held near Farnham in Surrey which is West of Guildford, South of Farnborough on the border of Surrey and Hampshire.