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The July meeting of Surrey Border Film & Video Makers is always a highly charged evening because members compete in teams to make a film in just one evening. For previous such competitions each team was given a free hand in deciding on its script. This year’s competition was unusual in that script writer and club member Rita Wheeler had written a five scene script specially for the event. Her script was based on the theme of an apprentice wizard taking his graduation exams, and it was cleverly broken up into five scenes so that there would be one for each competing team. An extra dimension of drama was added by the teams not being allowed to know anything of the content of the other scenes. At the end of the evening, the teams arrived back at the clubhouse clutching the fruits of their efforts in the form of a video. The sense of anticipation was unmistakable, as everyone was eager to see all five scenes in sequence as an integrated whole. The first scene was about the young wizard being assigned three test tasks. The next three scenes showed him working on the tasks, complete with suitable mix-ups and twists, and the final scene showed The Most High Witch Priestess examining his completed project of work. Because of the constraints of the rapidity of the production, the resulting film was inevitably somewhat short of the standard of the next Cannes film festival! Nevertheless the evening did demonstrated that the serious approach to filming which is more normally seen within the club can at times be put aside for a light-hearted bit of fun, socialising and team-building. The social aspect was then further enhanced that same weekend with a delightful garden party. The weather was fine, the food was good, and the heated swimming pool was particularly appreciated. Our thanks to Paul Holden for the venue, to Gillian Gatland for arranging the food and of course also to all those behind the scenes workers without whom the event would not have been the success that it was.
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