fon·i·ca 3film & video

About Us·

We are a non-profit organisation that puts out a quality product that is intended to inspire and nurture creavtivitvy in today’s youth. The 6 bi-monthly printed issues and website will host a range of interesting articles, interviews with industry professionals and showcase work from up and coming designers. The printed product will be entirely free to pick up by anyone with an interest in Art and Design.

Contents

Skull MotorA look at the new animated project by Adam Luff and Tom Brumpton.

DistrictA collection of images by photographer Richard Chappelow.

Neil KellerhouseAn interview with the famed LA designer on his work within Hollywood and his upcoming projects.

MilesTone FilmsWe take a look at the cinema movement taking place in York and who is behind this movement.

Bradley BeesleyWe interview the indie film maker about his long career and relationship with the Flaming Lips and his love of oddball America.

Skull Motor

On Sunday the 27th of June 2010, in the middle of an industrial estate on the outskirts of Lincoln, a small group of people meet up to lay down the dialogue for the pilot episode of Skull Motor, a new animated project created by Adam Luff. As a close friend and frequent collaborator, I was invited down to photograph the session, to offer advice on the performances and give technical support.

Skull Motor, as a concept, has been in development since mid 2007. Adam’s love of graphic novels and script writing led him to go through several changes for the project. The prospect of making a live action drama had been scrapped due to budgetary reasons, and as a result it has also gone from being a feature length production to a three season long animation conceived for television. The shows heroes and villains also went through multiple changes; the title character (Skull Motor) was originally intended to be a pure hero, before he became the dark vigilante we know now. With the preliminary work finished on multiple narrative structures and character plot lines, Adam and fellow producer Tom Brumpton, started holding auditions to put together a cast.

The studio we are all gathered in might be small, but it’s an interesting place to be, there is a lovely homemade feel and quality to all the recording suites, the gallery is a small room filled to the brim with equipment from different manufacturers, it has a pick and mix feel and gives the impression that years of buying and trading equipment has led to the build up of this studio. Watching a production come to life as the actors run through their lines and seeing the determination of an individual who has worked on this from origin to production.

Time spent between auditioning and casting, through to recording, has only taken a couple of months. A number of rehearsal sessions had been held prior to recording, and it shows with actors slipping in to character with ease. With recording finished a few changes are to be made, but that goes hand in hand with any production. The day’s work has definitely given Adam, Tom and the cast enough content to start crafting a number of scenes that will go into the promotional pack, which they intend to pitch to TV studios and animation houses in both America and Japan.

As it is still in production, we are not able to give too many details about the project and its content. However what we can say is that Skull Motor does seem to be picking up momentum, a number of animation studios have been contacted, and talks are ongoing. It’s good to see a group of individuals working together and being committed to an idea, numerous cast members travelled hours to attend the recording session. It is also a great thing to see such high quality work being produced on what is an extremely small budget.

Words: Richard ChappelowImages: Richard Chappelow & Sam Peat

DistrictGalvanized by a love of Science Fiction films from the 1970’s, District is the ongoing project of photographer Richard Chappelow, and is an ever-expanding body of work. Finding and researching locations that reflect the dystopian worlds that he fell in love with, and the way in which he captures them is both a testament to the power of the genre and his personal output in dedication to it.

These few select images are taken from the initial collection of over 20 images titled ‘Phase 1’. They encapsulate the brutal aspects to that of that cold, minimalist architecture that was always looming in the background of such films as Conquest for the Planet of the Apes and THX 1138.

All the shots for Phase 1 were taken in and around the University of Leeds Campus, scouting the location and planning the shoots over the summer break, this gave Richard more freedom to capture subtle aspects of the architecture and the large areas of open space. The timing also meant the majority of the campus would be empty and extremely quite giving Richard more freedom when picking shots to set up.

The minimalist architecture that the campus had to offer had another influence on the project, decided to use only natural light and shoot everything on 35mm rather than digital meant each shot had to be heavily considered before being taken.

Their power is clearly demonstrated by having been chosen to appear in this year’s annual Leeds Art Gallery Open Exhibition. Featured alongside only a hundred other pieces of work, out of over a thousand other entries.

The next phase in his collection is due to start some time in 2011 and should be a welcome accompaniment to this intriguing series.

Words: Harry Tolmie-ThomsonImages: Richard Chappelow

NeilKellerhouse

Unfortunately Mr Kellerhouse was unable to provide us with a full interview, the reason for this being a busy work schedule after finishing promotional material for the film The Social Network.

His work is fantastic and can be viewed at:

http:// kellerhouse.com

MilesTone Films“York is going through something of a mini-renaissance in terms of filmmaking,” Miles Watts, co-creator of York-based film company MilesTone Films tells us. “It’s very pleasing because we’ve been trying to get a filmmaking community going in York for years and suddenly it’s happening.”

For Miles, films have been an obsession since the age of ten, when he was growing up with the otherworldly and escapist movies of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. As a child he even took to creating an Indiana Jones spoof on an old video camera; so it could be argued that the creation of MilesTone started then.

In his twenties he established various companies, all the while he was gaining experience and advice, from friends in the business, on how to run

a successful film company. In 2006 the first feature film by MilesTone was put into production. The Bandwagons, a satirical comedy about the overnight success of a fictional band who aren’t quite who they say they are, took a year to produce; and in 2007 they managed to get a showing at York’s local independent cinema City Screen.

More success came with their second feature Crimefighters. Set in York, it tells the exciting story of a group of bored friends who turn to vigilantism, in order to protect their city from a new wave of criminals. With an investment from the now sadly disbanded York Film Trust, the film was shot in an impressively short three weeks and was picked to be shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival and nationwide in Picturehouse cinemas.

MilesTone Films have a large international cult following, thanks to their internet series Zomblogalypse, which has had three series spanning two years. It has even caught the eye of web series icons Sandeep Parikh and Felicia Day who are self-proclaimed fans.

With a brand new office located on York’s prestigious university campus, an ideal spot for post production services, and achieving increasing success with everything they do, what does the future hold for MilesTone? “We’re making two features and several shorts in 2011, seeking funding for the bigger projects and we’re always on the lookout for clients, from fellow filmmakers to musicians and businesses to make films with. It’s just about the most promising time for us to be doing all this.”

Not a truer word could be said about film making in York in recent years. Along with MilesTone, three other York-based web internet series have appeared: vampire comedy I Am Tim, space comedy Captain’s Blog and time travel comedy Time Wasters. Acclaimed film director Mark Herman has also started Parashoots, a company with it’s intentions set on helping graduates get their ideas produced and which set up training master classes for anyone interested in learning the trade and getting involved with the “mini-renaissance”. This movement is exciting and MilesTone Films have shown that they are at the forefront of it.

Words: Harry Tolmie-ThomsonImages: MilesTone Films

Bradley BeesleyIndie filmmaker Brad Beesley has amassed an impressive amount of work. His long-standing work relationship with Oklahoma musicians The Flaming Lips has helped produce an impressive and varied body of work that is highly inventive and original in its content.

One of his standout pieces of work is his documentary “The Fearless Freaks”, which was assembled with footage that had been shot over the period of a decade and was constructed from roughly 400 hours of raw material. This often honest and intimate film shows how the Flaming Lips went from underground punks to one of the most original bands in the world today.

We had a chance to have a chat with Brad to talk about his friendship with Wayne Coyne (Lead singer of the Flaming Lips), his upcoming projects and the advice he’d give to aspiring film makers.

(The full interview will be on our website shortly)

meet the team

contact usIf you have any comments or suggestions about

the publication, please feel free to contact us.

web: fonica.org.ukemail: info@fonica.org.uk

richard chappelow

editor

writer

photography

print design

dominic wynter

print design

photography

sam peat

writer

design

harry tolmie-thomson

writer

design

photography