About Us & Membership Details
Surrey Border Movie Makers
Farnham, Surrey
We are an eclectic group of enthusiasts, who meet monthly in Farnham Surrey, and enjoy making and watching our own videos, as well as viewing the works of others.
Our meeting room contains an excellent projection and sound system, ensuring that videos can be showcased to their full potential, and the large venue also makes it ideal for chatting together and sharing ideas.
We can offer help and support to members wanting to further their abilities, as we have access to high quality video making equipment, as well as a diverse range of talent within the club. However, in the rapidly changing world of video, just having a mobile phone can be enough to produce some a top flight videos, and several from our club are already producing their videos in this way.
Our members have won awards and recognition for their work from other video clubs such as Reading, Bristol, as well as achieving success in several UK regional IAC competitions. We have also received awards at BIAFF, which is the largest film festival for non professional film and video makers in the UK. SBMM regularly communicate with other clubs around the country via zoom, and have hosted, judged, and directly participated in many external video competitions.
If this easy going, relaxed, and friendly type of club interests you, then please come along and see what we do. 
The first visit is free, and after that you can either pay in the door, or subscribe to become a full member of our club.
Find out more by reaching out to us using the Contact Us Form here
We usually meet on the first Friday of the month at:
St Joan’s Centre, 19 Tilford Road, Farnham Surrey, GU9 8DJ – Check our programme for details.
Membership Details 2024
Please follow the links below to explore more about the benefits and cost of joining our club
Subscription Rates
(includes pdf Border Post by email, monthly)
The rates for the club year (1st March 2024 to 28th February 2025) are –
Single member £42
If you bring your partner it is £5 on the door for them. It may be cheaper to have a family membership.
Family member, two at the same address £60
Country membership £12 Plus £5 per attendance
Students in full time education – with proof £15
Joining mid-way through the year will result in a pro-rata membership fee.
Please contact our Club Secretary for details about joining.
Being a member of Surrey Border Movie Makers carries with it a wide range of benefits.
We regularly run competitions and challenges, which only permits members work to be entered and shown.
Our biggest event is the Annual Members film Competition, usually held in December, where there are nine awards on offer! If that has wet your appetite, check out the details of the awards, together with the rules and requirements for entry!
We organise group projects for Members, when teams are challenged to make a film in a specified period of time. Members can also participate in our Club Group Films that don’t have any time restrictions.
Members can easily submit their own films for consideration to be shown on our laser projection video system and see their work in cinema style wide screen, whilst listening in top quality audio. At the same time, they can elect to receive feedback on their work – we are always encouraging and constructive!
We have a comprehensive website, which acts as a repository for members work and club events. It also includes our own SBMM Brain which contains information on a range of useful topics, such as these handy links. Whilst access to the website is public, being a Member affords the option to have your work showcased in your own section.
Of course, its not all about films, we do also have Social Events for Members only, such as the Summer Social and the Christmas Lunch.
There’s lots to do!
You get even more!
Becoming a Member means that we will contact you to provide regular updates about Club activities and provide you an email access to our Monthly Publication, Border Post. Being a member requires that we hold your valid contact details. (See ‘Data Protection’ for more information).
The Club also has an extensive range of video making equipment that can be used by Members when making films. This links to a small selection. We also have lights, sound, and camera equipment. Plus individual members have a wide range of their own equipment that they are often willing to share or help out with other members projects.
We have a very active PR who are successfully promoting our club events and activities in places such as local newspapers, on Facebook, and on the website. Membership of Surrey Border Movie Makers gives the Club your permission to use any photographs that may have been taken at club activities or events for these purposes.
If you would like to have any of your videos displayed on our club website, YouTube account, or even shown at external events, you can notify our Archivist of your wishes whenever you submit your film to us using our electronic transfer system. The ownership and copyright of your films will be retained by the film maker, and not be transferred in any way.
When at the St Joans Centre, we project films from a Windows laptop via a laser projector onto our permanently installed screen. Stereo sound from the same source is supplied by high quality amplifier and speakers.
All films for showing at the club should be submitted to the Club Archivist via online transfer along with information about whether the film is for a one-off event, or can be held in the club archives. The archivist is responsible for ensuring the film is available for screening at events for which permission has been given. This is a sample submission page for you to test – NOTE this is a TEST ONLY so the contents are not recorded.
For organised club competitions or challenges, there is a dedicated page on the club website, for the submission of films which included information about permissions required as well as additional material that is required.
For other screenings, the film should be submitted to the Club Archivist using the dedicated online submission page.
PERMISSIONS:
If you give permission for your film to be archived, you are giving permission for SBMM to screen the film at any future event (either within the club or at presentations to other groups) and to put it (or a link to it) on the club website.
If you do not give this permission, the film will be shown at the event for which it was uploaded only, after which the club commits to delete all copies held by the club.
After an event, all versions of any film, except that held by the archivist will be deleted. The version of the film held by the archivist will always be the version the club shows. If you update your film and wish to replace the version the club has in the archives, this must be done by contacting the archivist.
TECHNICAL:
• Details of how to create a WeTransfer Link are HERE
• Quick Summary of technical requirements:
Videos should ideally be HD (1080p) with a frame rate of either 25 or 50 frames per second (25p or 50p)
• More detailed Technical requirements:
• Our presentation laptop is set to output 50 frames per second. Film frame rates of 50 or 25 frames per second progressive (or interlaced) play the best. Videos with frame rates of 25p will appear less smooth than 50i or 50p films as projectors do not have frame smoothing built in like do TV’s.
• Our projector will accept 4k input, but will display in HD (1080p)
• NTSC formats such as 23.98, 24, 29.97, 30, 59.94i or 60p are not ideal and may play with motion judder, so try to stick to PAL format.
• Encoding or exporting to make a file. Choose H264 and it should have an .mp4 file extension when completed. You can use constant or variable bit rate, variable gives a smaller file. Recommended constant bit rate settings for HD is 25 Mbits/sec, keeping frame rates as per your project. Variable bit rate should be between 9Mbits/sec average to 18Mbits/sec max.
• Please play your exported file to check it before submitting it to the competition.
• Checking the film with decent closed headphones is recommended to spot any sound anomalies, such as dialogue or SFX on only one speaker.
• The three or four stills from the video should be 1920×1080 (HD)
You retain copyright for any films you make if made by yourself or by a group of members not formally organised by the club .
In the case of “club films” – that is films made under the banner of the club, authorised by the committee, is considered to be a ‘jointly owned copyright work’ held jointly by SBMM and the video and / or audio creator(s).
If you are using material from club archives (with permission), copyright is jointly held by the original copyright holders and you.
It is your responsibility to ensure you have the right to use all material in your film. This is particularly important for any films which may be shown outside of members and guests. Films containing material for which you do not have the rights will not be shown outside the club, cannot be entered into festivals and competitions and cannot be archived.
Surrey Border Movie Makers require the collection of personal details, including but not limited to, your name, your email address, a telephone contact, and your address. We will only use these details in the execution of our club activities.
This data will be held securely and only accessible to members of the committee. Your information will not be shared outside the club. Your email address may be shared between members who engage in club or group film making. However, it is entirely up to the individual member to decide if they wish to share their telephone or personal address details with any others.
Data Protection Act 2018: The SBMM committee maintains a computerized list of each member’s details for the sole purpose of conducting the club’s business.
If you leave the club, your details held on our file will be deleted. Any videos that you have agreed that we can display on our website (or elsewhere) will remain in place unless you specifically asked for them to be removed.