Members Competition 2017
Members Competition 2017
The annual Member’s Competition held on 1st December 2017.
Twelve entries were received from club members.
The Competition judges were all from Solent Movie Makers, and the club is grateful for their excellent judging and critique.
Chairman Jeremy Holder, maker of several winning documentaries,
Mike Power, a professional photography specialist, and
Paul Vernon, a keen photographer who also makes Western films.
They all agreed that the Surrey Border Movie Makers entries this year were of a very high standard.
Left to right :Alan Butcher and Paul Vernon (judge)
Click images to See Border Post Feature or Videos
The Overall Winner: Peter Frost for 'The Dawning'
Peter says; “I shot some footage of the sun rising with frost on the ground and that mist hanging low.I had no tripod, so everything was handheld.
On a wet Sunday afternoon, I rediscovered the footage and decided to do something with it.
I started searching for music and after a long time found just what I wanted, a beautiful orchestral piece, which I bought rights to.
It was then a matter of selecting the shots and editing them to fit.”
Peter was Awarded:
The Jackson Trophy for Overall Winner
The Arthur English Memorial Trophy for Photography
The Clements Shield for Best Creative Film
The Other Entrants and Awards
Alan Butcher said; ‘The idea came about when travelling home one day past the Hogs Back Brewery in Tongham. Opposite was an empty field, which was being prepared for planting.
The field preparation was being undertaken by the Hogs Back Brewery in a project to reintroduce a white bine hop historically produced in the area 100 years or more ago.
I approached the CEO who kindly gave me permission to film the project.
The filming was to take nearly a year from the initial planting, the installation of the hop growing frame, and harvesting of the hop flower ready for the drying process ready to produce a special Hogs Back beer.
To produce my movie I used a Sony 1080 NX5E camera, a smart phone, along with accessories such as an on-camera two mic
stereo setup, a SteadyCam vest and arm, portable on-camera and off-camera LED
lighting, and a backup Zoom H6 audio recorder. All edited on an iMac running Final Cut Pro.
This was Kathy’s and my first attempt at a major filming exercise, and were pleased to be awarded ‘Best Documentary’ and ‘Best Camera Work’.
Gillian said; ‘From Queenstown, New Zealand, you can take the Steamer ferry across to Walter Peak Farm, where you will be fed a magnificent BBQ and treated to a demo of sheepdog work and sheep shearing.
This film concentrates on the sheep experience.’
The largest still operating water wheel in the world, a magnificent feat. This film explains why it is there, and how it works.
This film’s award was well deserved as Gillian had managed to obtain a broad variety of views
of the wheel, its pistons, water feed aqueduct and pipes and big close up details.
These were constructively edited into a flowing documentary coupled with a very well written and performed commentary and music.
Colin says: Having failed miserably in the past with “Holiday” videos, I decided to enter a movie that was more of a documentary and was very focused on six aspects of Cape Town, complete with detailed commentary and themed music.
My trusty Panasonic palmcorder captured the raw footage during the holiday, but it was only when I got home that I decided what to do with it - such as the order and presentation, from a great variety of clips.
Family inclusion was subtle including a cameo performance by yours truly! The longest part of the edit was finding suitable music as background, such as a ‘Penguin’ track.
I felt that a lot of ground was covered in just under 6 minutes.
A fascinating record of part of a holiday to New Zealand and a rather remarkable guy, Barry Brickell OBE, a self confessed potter and DIY-er, with no experience, who went the extra mile, a thousand vertical meters up a steep baron hillside to be exact, with his own narrow gauge railway.
He needed this line to take clay down
below to his pottery and new trees for
planting up.
With a number of tunnels, bridges and viaducts to be built as the line wound around the hillside on its journey to the top, it is a remarkable engineering feat.
So brilliant was his Driving Creek Railway, which took 14 years to build, that it became a go to tourist attraction with several narrow gauge engines pulling visitors up to the Eyefull Tower with its spectacular views over the town of Coromandel.
Philip’s film is dedicated to Barry who
died two months after the recording was made. His epitaph reads “Here lies Barry, an amateur at everything“.
Peter’s film of Chinese New Year, the year of the Rooster concentrates on the Chinese belief that shaking a tumbler of straws until one emerges will dictate your fortune for the year ahead.
In the New Territories, temples are bathed in the smoke of incense sticks to gain good luck and favour, while carefully wrapped parcels are sacrificed in the flames for the Gods.
Peter’s choice of music and his informative commentary gained him his awards.
This was my first cruise with P&O and I expected something rather upmarket.
I was disappointed to find a boat full of obese hi de hi Manchurian holiday makers who were hell bent on eating and drinking.
So in this mocking video I wanted to capture the mood of the boat in a comedy documentary.
Many instances of weight hampered passengers were contrasted against an empty gym, and the entertainment manager promising that everyone would gain 1-2 pounds per day in weight!
Practical problems included keeping the camera still in the audience whilst highly
zoomed on to characters on stage, and filming weight-challenged passengers without being too obvious.
Peter says: I have a large photographic collection of fungi gathered over several years’ walks, mostly local ones.
It came to me that I could use them in a still video set to music. First the music for inspiration and then selecting shots, editing to the music, slower at first and then fast and adding various Ken Burns moves.
A cry for help and come in John Mills and Philip Morley to help shoot it.
Philip helped Brian edit it, Brian now realising that, having spent weeks on his Sarah’s War editing, he was now going to have to sit at the computer to help put the film’s five camera sources together, as well.
But the result is a very happy occasion
with a photographically appealing couple - one of the most delightful wedding films we’ve seen.
A visit to Athens was highlighted by observing the Changing of the Guard in front of the parliament building. The guards wearing white traditional costume and large fluffy footwear were captured strutting their stuff.
“My tongue in cheek efforts were merely to show what one person could do performing all the tasks of film making and the Credits at the end would have shown that as a parody of esteemed writers and producers in the past.”
Summary of 2017 Awards:
The Jackson Trophy for Overall Winner – Peter Frost for ‘The Dawning’
The Ron Clements Award for Creativity – Peter Frost for ‘The Dawning’
The Arthur English Memorial Trophy for Photography – Peter Frost for ‘The Dawning’
The Pat Doherty Award for the Best Use of Sound – Peter Stratford for ‘Chinese New Year 2017 in Hong Kong’
The David Goode Trophy for Best Holiday Movie – Colin Lewis for ‘Highlights of Cape Town’
The Moorey Award for Best Documentary – Alan Butcher for ‘Hog’s Back Brewery’
The Penny Johnson Trophy for the Best Editing – Gillian Gatland for ‘The Laxey Wheel’
The Dick Hibberd Trophy for Best Camerawork – Alan Butcher for ‘Hog’s Back Brewery’
The Sir Peter Holden Trophy for Best Use of Commentary – Colin Lewis for ‘Highlights of Cape Town’
- The Jack Stribblings Trophy for Best First Time Winner – Peter Stratford for ‘Chinese New Year 2017 in Hong Kong’