Branchage – Part Two

I left you just after I was molested in a tent by a boom. That’s a sentence I’ve always wanted to write.

Chris did not molest me with this.

Soon after that people were beginning to arrive throughout the later day and night and it soon culminated in us all having dinner at a thai restaurant that led straight into the sea. That makes it sound dramatic, I know. Again I’ve pilfered some photos from Ben’s blog but what are photographs for eh? To look at and share the celluloid love. So here be they:

He gone went n'won ten grand last year for 'is film.

Lovelies! (Rebecca Haigh and Sean McKay)

Gaëlle Denis, a candle and my competition car.

Then it was all parties back to the campsite where we chatted, laughed, introduced, re-introduced and made a french lady very angry. We realised this as soon as she started shouting at us in her nightie about “there are people trying to sleep, but as long as you have a good time it’s fine isn’t it, go to sleep, this is unfair on the other peoples…”.

We went to bed.

And then the day arrived when we received the specific information we needed. We were the last team to arrive (late) because parking in Jersey is very much in demand and finding a space on a Thursday morning was proving troublesome. But we managed it and Phil came to the rescue when we were lost walking around trying to find Société Jersiaise building. We found it and then it was the large matter in hand of picking the titles and the genres… again I pilfer Ben’s photographs for what happened next.

Team Alex

Alex picked the genre FANTASY and the title DASHES OF YELLOW. The next 48hrs were to prove a severe mission from him but he came out with a beautiful nugget of a film and I mean, c’mon, fantasy is not the easiest of genres to whip something up in 48hrs. He is a good man and his team had a wonderful family feel to it. Both he and Sean drove around Jersey and made use of the Amaize-ing Maze (it’s a maze made out of maize) and even got their actresses naked in the sea. Nice one I say boys!

Michael Pearce and Emma Rozanski

These two Lovely people had never met before and picked COMEDY and the title OCCUPIED. Armed with only one actor, a digital stills camera and editing via an iPod these two would make a brilliant funny film and hand it in 3 hours before the deadline.

Team Rob Morgan and Marcus Waterloo (only Marcus featured in photo!)

These two picked WESTERN and the title OVER TAKEN. What they came out with was not necessarily a western as such (although I’d say that they make coy reference to the grainy visuals of a western) but it’s a wicked little film that made me laugh from all the wrong places of my belly. I loved it and even though it’s a lot strange it’s weirdly sincere. And they filmed a section with an iPhone in a sandwich bag in the swimming pool on the campsite.

Team Blaine

Then we had the Blaines who picked WAR and TRUTH IN THE VALLEY. Armed with two actresses, a sound man and themselves (as well as making use of the extra actors who had stepped forward if needs be) they set about making their 6min film. I really like the fluid nature of their film, you’re dropped in the middle of a conversation and it leaves something hanging that makes you ponder on what could possibly happen or be said next… and I adore one of their long shots with superb acting by Jessica Forteskew.

And on to our team… Gaëlle Denis, Steve Hope-Wynne, Lydia Outhwaite, Marina Brackenbury and myself. We picked CRIME and our title was MORNING MIST. So in 48hrs we had to write, shoot, edit and finalise a 6min film with this title and genre (as well as making it a road movie… we kinda forgot about that) and make reference to a Jersey cow at some point. The planning commenced…

We brainstorm, thought-shower, abuse words .etc.