Surrey Border Film & Video Makers
Woolmer's wisdom - Prepare for the unexpected!
No matter how well you have planned your movie, there will always be the unexpected.
I thought this
wedding would be a “doddle,” after all it was the marriage of my nephew to his lovely bride at St Nicholas
Parish church, Chiswick, where he is organist and choir master, he is on good terms with his vicar and has full
cooperation from everyone.
I had the assistance from two club members, Penny Johnson and Ron Clements so
had plenty of help. We used no less than five camcorders, My M10 in a fixed position to get continuity of sound
throughout the service. One other stationary camera for an overall view — the others to get the best shots of
the vows and cutaways. All this was splendid in theory but quite an editing headache. A prior sight of “The
Order of Service” is imperative.
Could anything go wrong? We did not foresee a Rugby Match at Twickenham,
causing a tailback on the M3.
Lesson 1: Check events. There was a taxi patiently waiting to take us and the equipment from Roehampton to
the church at Chiswick, this was caught up in very heavy traffic.
Lesson 2: Check with the AA for traffic
conditions. At the church there was nowhere to park, so we leapt out of the taxi hoping we had all our bits and
pieces.
Lesson 3: Leave extra time for unforeseen parking problems. With little time to set up we were at
the church at last, only to fmd all the doors were locked. The organist and choir could be heard rehearsing
while we were more than just twiddling our thumbs outside.
Lesson 4: Make prior arrangements for access —
to check power points etc. We were now short of time so I prepared my DP 200 S-VHS Camcorder all ready to shoot,
but the tripod fitting snapped and I had to manage
with the camera hand held throughout the proceedings — something I would not normally do!
Lesson 5:
Thoroughly check all equipment. At the reception all went well, except the clip on the lapel mic snapped when
the groom got rather excited during his amusing speech. However my assistant (YOUR CHAIRMAN NO LESS) leaped to
the rescue!
Lesson 6: Make sure you have an assistant at the ready for a quick re-fix, (out of shot of
course). Best of all was the skilled camera work by Ron and Penny, plus enormous help with the editing from five
tapes.
Lesson 7: Be thankful you have such skills on hand, the benefit of belonging to a good film club.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU
PLANNING TO SHOOT YOUR
NEPHEW AT HIS WEDDING!!!
Jon
John and his wife Joan joined Surrey Borders circa 1991, bringing a strong new talent and expertise to the club that resulted in an enthusiasm for making club films and entering competitions as never before. John was a great writer and his stories became great films, winning Gold awards for The Gold Medallion and Paula, and others. John was energetic, painting for art exhibitions, making props for the next project, writing his book and gleaning data to eventually finalise the book of his family tree, and last but not least, operating the “confounded” computer that held it all together. He was a very talented fun loving man, who will always be remembered by the club and his family.
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.
Site updated 03 September 2010 . To comment on this website email: