Media Midlands

[feltip]

Originally Posted by MartinN

More recently, it's been lottery funds that have been pumped into making movies, and very few of them reach the cinema - I've seen them on late night BBC slots.

Britain's horror film industry has been dead for years - .

As for festivals you don't know about the gay film festival and other film festivals in Glasgow etc. Theyr'e not Horror!

Aside from lottery funding there are other mechanisms such as the tax relief scheme which has been reinstated to help.

And depending on your definition of horror films British Horror has been alive and well for quite a while now; 28 days later, the descent, dog soldiers, shaun of the dead.

There has been a return to the zombie genre in horror movies made after 2000. 28 Days Later (2002) has been partially responsible for not just bringing zombies back into the forefront but also updating their overall attitude

I will find the article for you but British horror expertise and british horror is very much alive and kicking or biting if you like your zombies and our experience at scares on zero budget is very good.

I love Inseminoid from 1981, is a bit of a classic which amazingly got Stephanie Beachem in.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084090/

[rottersclub]

Originally Posted by feltip

As for festivals you don't know about the gay film festival and other film festivals in Glasgow etc. Theyr'e not Horror!

Aside from lottery funding there are other mechanisms such as the tax relief scheme which has been reinstated to help.

And depending on your definition of horror films British Horror has been alive and well for quite a while now; 28 days later, the descent, dog soldiers, shaun of the dead.



I will find the article for you but British horror expertise and british horror is very much alive and kicking or biting if you like your zombies and our experience at scares on zero budget is very good.

I love Inseminoid from 1981, is a bit of a classic which amazingly got Stephanie Beachem in.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084090/

I've seen all those you mention, but they are only a handful and they're from the last 10 years. Shaun of the Dead was a joke that wore very thin after 40 minutes. I don't doubt British expertise, but see very little evidence that there's much interesting going on in the horror genre.

I saw Inseminoid when I was about 12 - during the video nasty era - and thought it was fun. I have it in a Norman J Warren Box set somewhere. It's cheap and cheerful, but nasty and looks OK for something made for nothing. I prefer Pete Walker's "Frightmare" - which is truly warped, and available in a gorgeous print on DVD. I always preferred the Italian stuff, though - Dario Argento & Lucio Fulci. Fulci's stuff was surreal and violent, and Argento's visuals were dazzling. Sadly Italy's horror movie industry is dead now - Argento churns out boring thrillers, and Fulci never made a decent thing past 1982. Even dear old Bruno Mattei (Zombie Creeping Flesh!) has gone. I don't care much for Luigi Cozzi or Lamberto Bava - who isn't a patch on his Dad.

I made my own crap film when I was 16 using a cheap Super 8 camera and heaps of special effects supplies from a place in Manchester. Here's the trailer for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2pXJ8vYjn4

It's quite possibly one of the worst films ever made.

I just watched 28 weeks later and thought it was pretty poor - poorly written with virtually no characterisation, and annoying editing. Not to mention a totally unbelievable co-incidence & incredibly dumb actions by the characters. I'm not much into "fast" zombies - they've been done before in Pasta Horrors like "Nighmare City" and in the US made "Night of the Comet" and aren't really new.

[feltip]

Yes they might be from last ten years but your assertion that British Horror is dead is clearly untrue. I could find more but I don't want to waste my time doing that. We have quite a kitsch doing it and also helps that you can make good horror films without lots of money and by paying attention to pyschology.

As for 28 days later, thats your opinion and im sure opion is equally divided on good or bad. A lot of people like it.

I like your little home made movie

[rottersclub]

Originally Posted by feltip

Yes they might be from last ten years but your assertion that British Horror is dead is clearly untrue. I could find more but I don't want to waste my time doing that. We have quite a kitsch doing it and also helps that you can make good horror films without lots of money and by paying attention to pyschology.

As for 28 days later, thats your opinion and im sure opion is equally divided on good or bad. A lot of people like it.

I like your little home made movie

I said 28 Weeks Later, not 28 days. I liked the first one. The sequel wasn't very good. I find it hard to have much sympathy for one dimensional characters (Once RC bit the dust, it turned into a boring chase).

One day I might put the whole of "Summer horror day" up, but first I need to get a proper transfer made of it. The one done back in the 1980s was pretty atrocious, and they screwed up the 3rd reel. I still have the reels of Super 8, but I realised a few weeks back that one of them is damaged and I've thrown away all my Super 8 gear - well, it got chucked about 15 years ago! :-( I'm too busy with prose these days to really put much time into it. It was amusing when I showed it to teachers at school.

The best British horror stuff was the films/plays by Nigel Kneale - especially the Stone Tape & Quatermass and the Pit. Oh, and the Wicker Man.

[feltip]

Oh yes, I forgot about the Wicker Man.

I haven't seen 28 Weeks Later. Always a bit sceptical about sequels.

Seen some Quatermass repeats on ITV4. Very impressed.

[rottersclub]

Originally Posted by feltip

Oh yes, I forgot about the Wicker Man.

I haven't seen 28 Weeks Later. Always a bit sceptical about sequels.

Seen some Quatermass repeats on ITV4. Very impressed.

28 Weeks Later could have been good - there's some great ideas in it, but they ruined it with illogical action scenes & some really dumb stuff that the "characters" do. For 40 minutes it's OK, but I think here is the point at which a film either continues being good and brings on more relevations and drama or turns into a stupid chase movie - at which point I tend to get bored.

Quatermass (The Hammer movies, not the TV series) was what got me interested in horror/sf/genre movies - from watching them when I was a kid in the 1970s. Nigel Kneale wrote some incredible, groundbreaking stuff for the BBC and then later on for the other channels. Even when it was cheaply made, it still shocked and surprised.

IMHO 28 Days Later and its ilk are OK, but they're one dimensional - the real classic stuff that never dies like Quatermass, Day of the Triffids (novel) and Wicker Man are better in that they're intention isn't really just to scare with cheap thrills or action scenes - Triffids isn't really about giant plants, Quatermass isn't just about space monsters, and the Stone Tape isn't about ghosts - the supernatural/sf/horror element is just a huge plot device to explore far more interesting things. Dawn of the Dead falls into this as well. This is why I get bored after 40 minutes of stuff like 28 Weeks Later. It's nothing more than gore porn. And the Italians did it far better in the 1970s! Who can forget the drill scene from City of the Living Dead?

[feltip]

Good news from post:

West Midlands in frame for animation lead
Oct 10 2007

By Joanna Geary, Media & Marketing Editor


The West Midlands has the talent to become the UK's hub for 3D animation, an industry expert has claimed.

Peter McLuskie, founder of the Wolverhamptonbased FLIP animation festival, said the region's burgeoning games and animation industries, meant there was an opportunity to lead the sector in the UK.

Speaking at the pre-launch of FLIP which runs from November 1 to 3, Mr McLuskie said: "The West Midlands has still not got the same kudos that Bristol has when it come to animation.

"But Bristol focuses on traditional animation techniques - such as stop motion - and it built its reputation by attracting one big company [Aardman] to locate there."

Birmingham-based Charactershop was becoming well-known for its 3-D animation in the region, he said.


Based in the Jewellery Quarter, the business had built up a reputation for its special effects and 3-D animation.


Mr McLuskie said: "Animators, who work as free-lancers on short-term contracts, are attracted to the region to work in both animation and in the games industry. There is the work here and we have everything we need to be at the forefront of 3-D."


Charactershop made its name with a series of adverts for Nestle's range of Munch Bunch yoghurts and has gone on to win a number of high-profile TV contracts. Its £2.8 million 3-D animated series Friends & Heroes is currently being screened on BBC Two.


Other regional animators making a name for themselves include Stratford-upon-Avon-based The Brothers McLeod. The siblings, Greg and Myles, have had work featured on BBC ONE, MTV, Nickelodeon USA, Channel 4 and E4. They have also directed a new campaign for confectionery brand Skittles.


Second Home Productions, based in Digbeth, is also making a name for itself, having been nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for its short animation The Animal Book. The film - which used a set built from 24 cable drums, 6500 cardboard rivets and 250 metres of foil - has attracted attention at a number of film festivals including Cannes. It is also due to screen at international children's film festivals in New York and Chicago.


Three-year-old animation company Screenburn, based in Solihull, is also making waves with its special effects for film and mobile phones.


Mr McLuskie said the reputation of these West Midlands animators, and others, was starting to filter outside of the region.


He said: "I think people are starting to recognise what the West Midlands offers. Most people that attend FLIP now come from outside of the region.


"Wolverhampton, for example, has a strong animation offering. Wolverhampton University created one of the UK's first animation degrees. Light House media centre, which is based in the city, has also been offering support to animators for over 20 years."


Mr McLuskie said that the region needed attract and retain young animators by providing them access to financial support, job opportunities and also by holding festivals to demonstrate it was at the forefront of the industry.

[rottersclub]

Originally Posted by mk61

I thought that was supposed to be a comedy.

It didn't know what it wanted to be - veering from horror to comedy (There is one absolutely hilarious moment).

[SimonTheSoundMan]

Cinematic next week.

[kevmac37]

<b>Lycanthropy</b>has just gone on sale in Australia. This Birmingham made movie is one step closer to making the city famous ;-)



RENT IT DOWN UNDER
http://www.quickflix.com.au/public/t...ogueFunction=2

We're very keen to find investors to help the further promotion and sale of the film.

VIEW THE TRAILER
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/719875...hropy_trailer/

[Biosonic]

Congratulations!

All we need now is to see it back here...

[paul_kimber]

I believe The Gadget Show on Ch5 and BRAVO is filmed by the Custard Factory and other parts of Brum

[Engels]

Also 5th gear

[feltip]

Goods news for Mac, more money for its redevelopment.

Donation boost for Mac
Oct 31 2007

By Terry Grimley, Arts Editor


Plans for the £13.5 million redevelopment of the Midlands Arts Centre (Mac) in Birmingham's Cannon Hill Park have come a step closer with a pledge of £800,000 from the Charles Henry Foyle Trust.

The trust, which was established in 1940 to support organisations working in central and south west Birmingham and north Worcestershire, gave £70,000 towards the creation of the centre in the 1960s. The first phase of Mac to be completed, incorporating the main entrance, was named Foyle House to acknowledge its support.

The new donation will fund the creation of a new performance studio in a void space above the existing dance studio. It means that Mac has raised £1.2 million of its fundraising target of £1.8 million towards the redevelopment, which is a joint project with South Asian arts agency Sampad.

With £6.2 million from the city council and £5.6 million from the Arts Council already committed, just £600,000 remains to be raised.

Mac director Dorothy Wilson said yesterday: "This is a fantastic boost because it sets us a long way along the route to the target. The significance is even greater in that we have a long history with the Foyle Trust from the first building in 1960.

"This is not to say the job is done because the last sums of money tend to be smaller and more numerous, and it takes a greater effort."

Roger Booth, chair of the Charles Henry Foyle Trust, said: "Our relationship with Mac has come full circle and we are delighted to be supporting their building project in such a significant way.

http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/...name_page.html

[Stusy]

Good news having an adopted Brummie as Chairman of the BBC, Sir Michael Lyons, 'out of London' is pretty much top of his agenda, Brum will no doubt benefit, as well as Salford:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

[feltip]

Happy Birthday for next week for Birmingham Post; 150 years not out.

Cameron to speak at Post anniversary
Nov 2 2007

By Shahid Naqvi


There's not many that can claim to have been around in the time of Charles Dickens, the sinking of the Titanic, both World Wars, the Moon landings and 9/11.

But The Birmingham Post - if not its current reporting staff - can. Next month we will be celebrating our 150th anniversary with a number of high profile events to mark this major landmark.

The celebrations are set to cumulate in a special ticket-only gala dinner at which Conservative leader David Cameron will be guest speaker.

A range of other events will also feature, a public photographic exhibition from The Post's archives, the launch of a new annual awards ceremony and a special anniversary souvenir edition of the paper.

http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/...name_page.html

[feltip]

Quite a funky transcript of an interview with Rhonda Wilson of the Rhubarb Rhubarb Photographic Agency which highlights part of the problem with sorting Birmingham's image out. http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/elisa/ht...agency_uk.html

To be honest, our reputation nationally and internationally is better than our reputation regionally. We consider that probably Birmingham is one of the hardest cities to work in for an agency that represents image makers because Birmingham doesn’t really have a very good handle on its own image. So, it tends to use very out-of-date marketing pictures, it doesn’t invest very well in photographs that, I suppose, make visible the contemporary life of the city. And a large part of our job is advocacy in going and talking to people and saying ‘Look, actually we could do this better’.

http://www.createdinbirmingham.com/

[feltip]

Good news for local films.

Film fund boost for West Midlands
Nov 19 2007

By Joanna Geary, Media & Marketing Editor


Film production in the West Midlands is to receive a £4 million boost with the announcement of the region's biggest ever film fund.

The cash will be invested in film and digital media in the region over the next few years, according to regional screen agency, Screen West Midlands, and could bring in investment of around £8 million.

The fund follows the £1.1 million previously invested in feature films such as Confetti, The Road To Guantanamo and Straightheads.

Money will be offered to any commercially viable UK film, but it must have some connection to the West Midlands, through locations, crew, post production work or actors.

Screen WM also requires that for every £1 it invests in the production, the film-makers have to spend £2 in the West Midlands.

http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/...name_page.html

[kevmac37]

Birmingham feature film, Lycanthropy, secures release in 7 new territories.

Australia, Brazil, Greece, Romania, Israel, South Africa, Japan

We're still seeking a release for Lycanthropy in the UK but we're confident we'll get there.

check out the trailer below.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/719875...hropy_trailer/

thanks guys

[feltip]

Might as well use this as alternative to the Manchester BBC thread.

Be cool to see the Obama images as the posters were very funky.

Barack Obama exhibition to be held in Birmingham
Mar 23 2009

BIRMINGHAM is set to host the world’s first exhibition of portraits of President Barack Obama and his administration.

Photo agency Rhubarb-Rhubarb is looking for sponsorship to set up the exhibition by London-based Nadav Kander.

The works currently exist only as a slideshow on the website of the New York Times, which posted them online on January 20, the day of President Obama’s inauguration.

They were also published in a special magazine edition which immediately sold out and is now selling on e-bay for $50.

Rhubarb-Rhubarb’s creative director Rhonda Wilson and her team contacted the photographer to inquire about the show after seeing the images online.

“The brief answer was that an exhibition didn’t exist,” she said.

“So we asked them when they could get one made and said we would like to show it first here in Birmingham.

“Of course by then there was interest from other parties around the world so we had to pitch for why it should premiere here.

“Then we had a phone call from Matthew Flowers, of Nadav Kander’s gallery Flowers East in London, saying they were going with us. I can’t describe the feeling that provoked – the whole of the photographic world and beyond are excited by these images, so it’s a real honour.”

Rhubarb-Rhubarb is now working with Marketing Birmingham to ensure that the show can be seen in Birmingham first. A consortium of partners is being set up to support the project.

* Ms Wilson appealed for interested parties to make contact on 0121 773 7889 or at rx@rhubarb-rhubarb.net

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/b...7319-23211797/