In 2010 I started on the BTEC level 2 Diploma course – Media Production, at the Isle of Wight College. To be honest, I only started it as it looked quite interesting and gave me something to do while I was looking for a full time job. My intention was to maybe finish the level 2, but with the hopes of getting a job and leaving as soon as I did. The problem was as soon as I started the course I realised this was what I wanted to be doing as a full time job. I tried out different roles within a production and I loved all of them. I gave my whole attention to the course and ended with a D* grade. (Apparently I am the only person on that course at the IoW College to ever have achieved that grade.) I decided to stay on and do the two year Extended Level 3 Diploma. I finished the two years with a D*D*D grade. (Again the highest ever achieved!) At the end of the course I had a big dilemma. I had been offered a place at Southampton Solent University on their TV and Video Production Degree course, but I had also been offered a job with Aldi Superstores as an assistant manager. I had to choose whether to carry on my education as I wanted to or take the full time job offer as my wife and family wanted me to. Eventually, with extra coaxing from my college tutor Jon, I decided to follow the path I really wanted to be on and accepted the place at Solent.
In an ideal world, once I have my degree I would like to work as a writer/director, also maybe a producer. I suppose looking at the films and television programmes I like I have many influence, although until now I have never consciously thought about it. Watching films growing up I always liked Gangster films. At the time it was the mafia type films like the Godfather films and Once Upon a Time in America; but I still liked that type of film when they moved forward to films like Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects and Heat. When I analyze the films I like I prefer British films to those of the big US Blockbuster. I think British and European films tend to concentrate more on the story than on how big the special effects can be in relation to their budget. I say this even though Goodfellas is my all-time favourite gangster film; I find films like Layer Cake, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch far more entertaining than most of their American counterparts. Another of my favourite films is the John Dahl directed film Rounders and I guess this could, in part, explain why the first short film I made was a film about a struggling poker player who becomes involved with local gangsters.
Looking at different media professional careers there are two that really stand out to me. They are both writer/directors which is probably why they strike a personal chord.
The first is Christopher Nolan. It is especially his early work that I particularly enjoy from his short, Doodlebug to Following and Memento. I find his work fascinating, especially the element that as a viewer you never really know the full story until near the end. You have to try and piece it all together but you always seem to be as clueless as the main character. For me, all Christopher Nolan’s’ films have an an element that keeps you gripped to the very end; especially with his films like The Prestige and Inception where I have to keep watching because I want to know how everything turns out. I also think his Batman trilogy is by far the best interpretation of a comic book character film that has ever been made. I think the films dark edge is perfect for the bat character and one which many other comic book films will try and emulate but probably never succeed. If I am fortunate enough to become a writer or director or even both and make films that I think are half as good as Christopher Nolan’s’ then I will be a very happy man.
Another Writer/Director that stands out to me is Eran Creevy. He is still in his early career as a writer and director but I think he is going to be a huge name in British cinema in the future. I admire the way he has managed to jump from a relatively small production to making his second film on a much grander scale. Eran’s first film, Shifty is a great story led film that was made with a budget of £100K. Shifty was so well accepted and nominated for a BAFTA that it helped to get the finance for his next film, Welcome to the Punch; a slick London crime caper that had a budget of £5.2million. The look of these two films is completely different and it is a good start at showing how adaptable he is rather than a one trick pony.
Creative Sparks 