Reading Film and Video Makers

On Friday the 1st October 8 members of the RFVM set off into the dark autumnal night en route for the Farnham area to visit the Surrey Borders Club for a 4 handed competition.

This was my first visit to another club and it turned out to be a most interesting evening. It is always pleasant to meet other people with a love for the same hobby as you and see some different styles of movie making. I have a ways been aware that, if we were to isolate ourselves within RFVM, the style of many of our films will be in danger of being repeated. A broader perspective is a much wiser approach to stimulate invention and creativity.

Surrey Borders only hold meetings once a month and only have one competition a year. Their membership is similar to ours, but I suspect that they may not achieve the team spirit that we do with such a format. Having said that, there was no evidence of any lack of spirit and all the visitors were welcomed and enjoyed a buffet in very grand style.

4 clubs supported the evening: Surrey Borders, Copthorne, Shooters Hill and Reading. It was decided that each club would enter one film for the competition and show one film from their show reel. Surrey Borders decided not to enter the competition, which left it up to the visitors to fight it out amongst themselves. Bernard Bareham was Reading's leading striker with both films coming from his stable.

The judge once worked at the BBC.

As for the entries themselves my own comments are as follows but perhaps reflect the outcome anyway.
First on was a film called "El Cid" from Copthome. We were told that this had taken 40 years to make and was finished only that week! It's resemblance to the wide screen epic with Charlton Heston is only by name as it more truly appeared to be a copy of such as the Red Shadow made as a silent comic movie. It had been shot on celluloid and edited onto video. With a few modern techniques thrown in sparingly it was really akin to something from the 20s era. The major criticism might be that it was too long. It is difficult to maintain the humour on such a project, as there are a few jokes that inevitably get repeated. This was no exception. I regret that I would not have put this forward as "the best" on offer from Club.

Second entrant was "Watching the Trains" from Shooters Hill. This was a delightful idea based on a childhood of steam engines and first love. It was very well shot and put together with actors dressed in period costumes of the 40s. It was sentimental both for days gone by and steam engines. Some opportunities were missed, we felt, in that the film may have been better leaving the viewer happy rather than sad as happened here. Editing was not tight enough and too many transitions were used rather than fades to black or mixes. Nevertheless a lovely idea that was very nearly perfect but for the equipment used perhaps.

Third onto the blocks was Reading with Bernard's "Helping Hand". This was a real club effort and starred many members of the club. I had not seen this film before but it would seem that many of our members were familiar with it. Some appeared quite youthful and others were cast into roles that seemed to fit their persona. It was the only film seen on celluloid during the evening and was certainly the best edited of the entries The judge mentioned in his summing up that he believes good films are made at the editing stage. Of course good material and story lines are important but none of these can over shadow a poorly edited film.

We were delighted to see Bernard's film awarded the trophy. I know Bernard will not mind me saying that the competition was not very taxing but his film was well constructed and written and deserved nothing less.

After a wonderful buffet and more exchange of notes we watched 3 showreel films. Reading's unusual entry was entitled "A Day in The Life...." which, Brian Hibbitt explained, was an experiment at which the entire club took part. Divided into groups members were asked to create a short film about the experiences of a one pound coin. Each film was then linked together to create an interesting film on the lines of "The Plank" which was made by Eric Sykes some years ago. Rather worrying to see Bernard cast as another Vicar - but this time one with criminal tendencies!

Shooters Hill presented "Reach Out" which was about a marathon runner who raises money for charity. It was a very well made film, which was riddled with unusual techniques for an amateur production.

Finally came Surrey Borders' "Land at Discretion". This was a beautiful documentary about a particular vintage aircraft at Odiham airfield. Well shot and with excellent sound this was a delight to watch. it included good interviews and kept up a steady pace so that the viewer never lost interest.

My final thought is to encourage members to visit other societies. It is great experience and, even if on this occasion there are few lessons to learn, at least you can respect RFVM standards as being of high quality and in very good health

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