Wednesday 21 August 2013

Spielberg, eat your heart out!

So, a blog about comedy? How about about making a comedy film? Well, maybe we can do both here!
A couple of months ago I told you about my role as producer of a York based musical comedy movie. Remember? No? Oh, well we are now well into the film making process so I thought I would tell you about it.
After our funding campaign gave us a little bit of budget to play with, we invested a big chunk of it in some proper technical equipment, like a clapperboard and microphone. I know, Spielberg eat your heart out!
Transatlantic Smash has now completed a big chunk of filming, done our first scenes out in the real world and gone through a few changes, although nothing too drastic.
Peter Marshall and Spencer Vale discuss the nice light
Peter Marshall and Spencer Vale discuss the nice light
Peter and DJ Neil Foster prepare for a key scene at BBC Radio York
Peter and DJ Neil Foster prepare for a key scene at BBC Radio York

Our next block of filming is taking place on location, and thanks to the kindness of The Monkbar Hotel, we will be decamping there to film a couple of key scenes in the movie narrative.
Our cast has increased in numbers, and we can now count on actors, comedians, a girl band, and possibly a few special guest stars to come as our cast.
Along the way we have had to rely on a little ingenuity…
We have also had to deal with broken memory cards, missing tripods, and dead batteries, not to mention York’s finest drunks having shouted conversations across the river with Spanish schoolkids. We can always rely on those tourists…
Can they not see we are trying to make something beautiful here? No? OK, how about funny?
I will of course keep you updated as we go along. At the rate we are going, filming on average, one day a month, we will probably finish it in time for the Oscars in 2017!
In all seriousness, we are motoring along, and looking like we might be finished by Christmas. Then time to start gearing up for screenings, possible entries in some festivals, or at the very least everyone we know getting a DVD for Christmas.
To find out more, get involved or just follow our progress, check out our directors blog.