The WriteAngle filmmaking group
The WriteAngle group started a number of years back as an ad-hoc grouping formed to compete in the clubs annual 'film in an evening' competition. They have stayed together ever since and made many new movies including: The Party, Hair of the Dog, Double Take, Endangered Species, Wrong Footed, The Scenic Route, In an English Country Garden, Aunt Maude, My Flexible Friend, Dead in Bead, Gone with the Wind, Cross Currents, Come Fly with me, The WriteAngle Gaumont British News, Great Expectations, Heart Attack (a 2 hour musical), Paradise Lost, A Bright Thread and promotional films for external organisations including Coming Home and a very recent one for the local Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre.
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Democracy (the WriteAngle sort)? - Marjorie DickensIn answer to the chairman’s request in Border Post (the club's newspaper) for information on resolving interpretation, here’s how WriteAngle does it. We start with a discussion about a possible film, be it a given theme or one of our own. Ideas are tossed back and forth - Dick is full of them, some outrageous, usually funny and sometimes quite unusable even in today’s enlightened times. At the end of this, Jacky Wilson has the task of making sense of it all to come up with a Treatment, which is circulated by e-mail to the whole group. Subsequently, further discussion sees the outline altered, amended and changed around until it bears little resemblance to the original, as each of us adds his or her little bit. Jacky is very philosophical! Finally a script is produced and it is decided who shall do what - camera, lighting, sound, “acting” etc. Not being trained in this latter category and unable to call to mind sequences of words from a script, we all memorise the main points and ad lib around them (not always easy for our fellow thespians). At every stage continuity girl, Pauline Tate, keeps a note of any changes that are made to try to keep us all on the straight and narrow. It is a very strange things that, more often than not, the final film is exactly as Dick suggested in the first place!!! |
A new film in the making |
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We can't reveal the plot or name of the current film but here is some of the effort being applied. The shoot here is in Farnham Park. It wasn't the best of days with trouble from helicopters, traffic and wind. Although the microphone in use here has a wind shield we don't have one of the long haired variety and so there may be problems on the sound track. |
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WriteAngle at the 2003 'Film in an evening' competition
WriteAngle at the club 'Film in an evening' competition. David Tate,
Jacky Wilson, Peter Dickens, Dick Hibberd, David , Jean Hibberd, Pauline
Tate, Marjorie Dickens, Neil Cryer
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Filming for a project which took over a year |
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The group is always busy working on a number of new movies at any one time. A recent long term project required the mapping of life through the ages. The starting point was with two school age actors who had attended a course with a training organisation called Stagecoach. The location was in the gardens of Gilbert White's house in Selbourne. The time, after school in early May while the apple blossom was still out. The shooting team arrived on location more than an hour before the children in order to decide on the positions for the action, camera angles etc. In the picture on the right the director, Dick, is framing a shot while one of the group runs by in place of one of the young actors. |
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Here the young actors have arrived and are busy changing into clothing more appropriate to the early 1940s. |
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Here is some of the early action being captured. The camera man is not at all comfortable but couldn't find a better way of being prepared to pan round as the young actors exited to the right of this shot, in front of director Dick who is carefully monitoring. The young actors were superb and took direction in a completely professional fashion. In the end each scene was shot three or four times to get everything just right. |
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Christmas lunch for December 2002 was held at the Bell and Dragon in Farnham. A location which was originally a chapel, now a warm convivial place for a leisurely meal out. |
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Here is the WriteAngle group enjoying their Christmas 2002 get together. Not a camcorder in site. |
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I Do Love Working with Dick
He knows every angle and trick
Just one thing I find
He keeps changing his mind
Oh! I do love working with Dick
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Here we have the playful character Dick, who more often than not ends up directing the group's productions |
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| Here is Neil receiving a Certificate of Merit at the Cranleigh Film Festival on Sunday 31st of November 03 for his film 'Unesco World Heritage: Dubrovnik' |  |
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| Congratulations to WriteAngle who in March 2002 added two awards to their collection, the first at a competition at the Electric Theatre in Guildford and then only 5 days later at the Staines Inter-Club competition where the group competed successfully against nine other clubs to win a silver plate for the best film. |
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The group is presentation with a silver plate at Staines Inter-Club competition |
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| Some of the group getting ready to film the unfortunate farmer in Dead in Bed | The group receiving a 'best comedy' cup | |
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| The group enjoying lunch with the couple who loaned their cottage for the filming of Dead in Bed | A copy of a video being presented to the owners of a cottage used as the location for the comedy 'Dead in Bed' | |
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Some of WriteAngle after a pub lunch to discuss the next production. |
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Dick Hibberd reminisces about this
close-knit filming and social group within Surrey Border
As a fairly new club member and uncertain how to join in things, Paul suggested that Alan and Jacky Wilson, Marjorie and Peter Dickens, David Tate and Pauline Danks, Prito Shahani, should join with me and Jean , to form a team. And from these humble beginning's 'Writeangle' was formed. We had at least 3 very good script writers in the group, and an eye for a different camera angle to the standard.
I think our first production was called The Party, and we all had to start with a specific phrase, and fmish with another phrase. It all seemed to go very well, and best of all, we all enjoyed working together. I think it was there and then that we decided that if we weren't enjoying ourselves, then we simply wouldn't continue with whatever project we were involved in. The trouble is that we seem to keep on enjoying each others company, and consequently ourselves.
Of course they had to stop on the way for natural reasons, and whilst they were enjoying some relief, their car was stolen! Well our story was loosely based on this.
We have made many films together, the most challenging of these was Coming Home which was a 20 minute promotional film for the Wood-
larks Workshop Trust which involved several members of the Writeangle group and which I directed. Of course for this major production we had to increase our crew to include David Longley, Paul Holden, John and Julie Thompson, and David Small. I think that the best praise that I can give this 'epic' was that when it was entered into a competition, one of the judges 'criticisms' was that it was just like a promotional film. Damned with faint praise? 'Thank you very much', I said.
Recently we have Pat and Neil Cryer join the group, and sadly we have recently lost our founder member Alan Wilson, and also Peter Gotting
who joined us briefly for Hair of the Dog. So we are a changing group of amateurs, who enjoy working together, and who unlike the professionals of today, have no financial pressures, and whilst we all do many jobs, we do not have to be 'One Man Bands' as the professionals have been
forced to become.
The standards of 'broadcast' television have fallen so low today, that the 'amateurs' productions often outstrip many of the programmes we see on our televisions, both in originality, and quality. I am glad to be out of 'professional television' and making'amateur' videos with people I enjoy being with, and without any professional and financial pressure. So for me, long may 'Writeangle' continue.
Who are we in this film/movie/video club? We make films, videos and movies and meet on the first Friday of the month to answer members questions and to discuss ongoing club projects. Well known film makers, judges and film professionals are often our speakers for the evening. We welcome visitors and new members interested in film and video, and there is no need to own digital cameras or camcorders and no need for previous experience, as we happily provide mentors for beginners. Surrey Border meetings start at 7:45pm and end just after 10:00pm with a refreshment break at around 9:00pm. Visitors and new members are warmly welcomed to the monthly meetings which are on the first Friday of each month (and the first visit is free). Our meetings are held in our new contemporary hall in St Joan's Centre which is in the grounds of St Joan's church in Tilford Road, near the station in Farnham. The hall has a large car park and is within easy reach of Guildford, Farnborough, Fleet, Bordon etc. In Surrey and Hampshire. Read more about us here.
Our interests We have a good mix of interests amongst members include script writing, acting, directing, technical and artistic and all agree that ideas and skills are more important than equipment as shown by there being fewer cameras and camcorders than members. Some get more enjoyment in viewing and discussing the films produced by others and just being part of the community. There are those who wouldn't wish to ever hold a camera or camcorder while some like to help in filming but don't own their own camcorder. Of course there are always those with the latest high definition wizz bang up to date cameras, camcorders, microphones and gadgets and the lovely thing is that they are always happy to demonstrate both equipment and techniques to others. For anyone thinking of buying a camera or camcorder advice is always on hand. We have almost equal numbers of members with PC and Mac computers. We regularly put on courses, tutorials and training sessions in the light of the current interests and needs of members. Individuals with particular problems typically have one to one help.
01 February 2012 To comment on this web site email: