"little films, BIG VISION"
LATEST NEWS - "I Do" in production
One of our MShorts finalist screenplays, "I Do" written by Zoe Guilford, has been in production this week (May 10th-14th with a few picks up to follow) thanks to kind support from the Isle of Man Arts Council and DAM Productions.
Directed by Sonya Quayle with Alison Lodge Producing and Christy DeHaven as DP, and the fabulously creative Dawn and Gemma from Interior Rehab on design duties, it's been a really ambitious shoot with a lot of hard work & pre-production planning, which has led to some fantastic results on camera.
It's also been a perfect example of how MannIN Shorts works - with professional advisors Dave Armstrong, Lynda Reiss and John Craine providing invaluable advice where needed and with additional support throughout from long term MannIN Shorts contributors. The unstoppable Danny Lacey, Leeds-based filmmaker & MShorts supporter, even came across to get a bit of the action!
Paul Moulton from MT-TV came down to the shoot in Marown Church on Saturday and got video behind the scenes, and an interview with Sonya and Alison - watch it here: Latest Isle of Man Film
Check out photos and updates on the "I Do" Facebook page.
Scene Stealer Part One? Done.
'The Graduate' - recreated
Congrats to Producer Emily Cook, Directors Gary and Katy Myers and the fabulous crew that worked on our first 'Scene Stealer Challenge', shot on Monday and being edited as we speak (or type).
With Lacey MacDonald on design duties and the unstoppable Ady Hall as DP and camera op (assisted by Dave Armstrong), the team had to deconstruct then recreate the iconic 'Are you trying to seduce me?' scene from the film, as faithfully as possible.
They did an incredible job, as did Matt Corcoran (as Ben) and Ashley Bentley (as Mrs Robinson), with extreme attention to detail that is sure to pay off. Especial thanks to Dorothy at The Hop Garden - her support as location owner went well beyond what was expected, she even supplied sarnies & pies for the hungry crew!
Hide & Seek new trailer! Edited by Laura Moore:
Guerilla Masterclass
We're very excited to announce that CHRIS JONES, author of the hugely popular 'Guerilla Filmmakers' Handbooks', has agreed to hold his Guerilla Filmmakers' Masterclass on the Island! Thanks to our PokerStars sponsorship, we are able to part fund Chris's visit, which also means the usual fee for the course can be reduced to attendees. This is a big deal for the tiny Isle and we're really grateful to Chris for accepting our invitation. Chris is a long time MShorts supporter, visiting the Island for our launch night in 2010 to take part in a Q&A panel (alongside Hamish Morrow from Future Shorts, Leeds based filmmaker Danny Lacey, actor Lee Boardman and Director Lesley Manning), and he's really looking forward to the course. Dates and details to follow.
Acting for Screen Workshop
LEE BOARDMAN returned to the Island to hold a special PokerStars weekend workshop in Acting for Screen in March. We interviewed him about the workshop, and his thoughts about MannIN Shorts - he said some very lovely things, like "with the work Mshorts is doing, there's a huge outlet for people who want to be involved in film, a bigger opportunity than there is in some cities in the UK, for actors, crew members, Directors, writers, it's incredibly exciting" We love Lee :)
Watch the full video here:
MannIN Shorts Acting Workshop from Dave Armstrong on Vimeo.
Writing For Screen Workshop
We're excited to welcome DANNY STACK to the Island for a one day PokerStars workshop in screenwriting on March 3rd. A former story analyst for UK Film Council, Working Title Films, Pathe, Miramax, etc. and co-host of the popular UK Scriptwriters podcast with Tim Clague, Danny is extremely well respected in the world of script writing and it's an honour to have him share his knowledge with our little film scheme. He was also our guest judge and had the unenviable task of shortlisting our Finalists in 2011.
Feb 2012: Would you believe it's a YEAR since we held our very first practical workshop (Film 101)?! And this weekend, we proved that our filmmakers have gone from strength to strength in those 12 months.
Following on from Danny Lacey's workshop 'Producing on a Budget' recently, our latest PokerStars sponsored weekend was a Directing workshop with respected UK Director and NFTS tutor Lesley Manning.
Video and pics to follow, but in the meantime, check out Paul Moulton's interviews with Dave Armstrong and Lesley Manning for MT-TV at this link and with Danny Lacey at his workshop at this link
Jan 2012: A group of our MShorts crew crafted a fab entry into the Empire Magazine / Jameson 'Done in 60 seconds' competition. Written and Directed by Ady Hall ('Hide & Seek'), and shot in under 6 hours, the film is a witty homage to the multi-award nominated 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'. All the best to our team - fingers crossed this will be the first award of many for us, but either way it's been a great experience and testament to what our troops have learned in the past year.
Nov. 2011: MShorts held it's first POKER STARS sponsored workshop over weekend of Nov 12th/13th, a Production Design workshop run & hosted by Lynda Reiss of Lynda’s Prop Shop.
Lynda lives on the IOM but has a career in the industry that’s taken her all around the world. She passed on her experience & knowledge from having worked on everything from no-budget shorts to blockbuster movies("The Bourne Ultimatum", "American Beauty", "Benjamin Button" to name a few), showing attendees props from various films & relating fantastic stories of her time in Hollywood.
MannIN Shorts Production Design Workshop from Christy DeHaven on Vimeo.
She also used two of our MannIN Shorts ‘Finalist’ scripts as case studies for the workshop -partly to help the writers/teams associated with the scripts to realise their vision, but partly so the workshop attendees can see the process from the very early stages – how you can bring the words from a page to life through design.
Catering was provided by the wonderful Molly Reiss, who even made cupcakes from her bakery business, Sweet Baby Cakes!
MShorts opens Isle of Man Arts Council Film Festival 2011. We hosted our 2nd 'Short Film Night' to open this year's IOM Film Festival last week (Sept 1st), at the beautiful Broadway Cinema. We showcased both Manx and International talent (in collaboration with FutureShorts.com) and exclusively previewed clips from 'Hide & Seek'. Read all about it on our blog here.
"Hide And Seek" - first MannIN Shorts film - completes shooting
The first of our six finalist scripts went into production this weekend (August 20th). Writer Ady Hall, Director Laura Jones and Producer Debs Gwinnell, with fantastic help and assistance from Lynda Reiss (Lynda's Prop Shop) and John Craine (Cinematographer, 'Ghostgirl', 'Pig Tails'), raised funds themselves for the MShorts scheme which then went on to help fund their film. They recruited various MShorts trainees to work alongside professional crew, and the shoot is due to wrap as I type this... Fantastic job by all, we can't wait to see the rushes - and finished edit! Find out more about how they did it on our blog and loads more about their journey on the excellent Hide & Seek blog.Film 102 Workshop - June/July 2011
We held our latest workshop on the last weekend of June. We split our workshoppers into two crews; each team was given a different scene from the same indie film* to shoot in one day (*'Blue Valentine' - but this wasn't disclosed til after the screenings), with just over a week's prep to find locations, audition actors, source props, storyboard etc. Lynda Reiss provided props & design expertise, while Dave Armstrong and Christy DeHaven were on hand to advise throughout and supplied all of the camera gear/lighting FOC.Christy then spent two days with each editor from the teams, teaching them the basics of Final Cut Pro and the edit process in general. Watch the edited scenes & read more about the workshop on our blog here, but also check out the behind the scenes video below to see the incredible effort the teams put in:
Welcome to MannIN Shorts!
“MannIN Shorts”, based on the Isle of Man, is a new initiative to provide a platform for hopeful filmmakers of any age to build their skills, develop their ideas and make films right here on the rock.
To find out how you can be a part, get involved, learn from the scheme etc, visit 'the scheme' page.
Also, if you're an aspiring filmmaker, visit our 'tips&tools' section for links to useful resources on everything from scriptwriting to directing actors to special fx.
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Associated Links: DAM Productions / Isle of Man Arts Council / “MannIN Shorts” by Juan Moore
