A couple of photographs from last Saturday taken with my iPhone 3GS. Sometimes it is difficult to see the results of the photo just taken, so I was quite pleased with these once I could see them on a computer screen.
Newquay Bay early Saturday morning 3 March 2012.
Uncommon Ideals is simply a stunning and breathtaking piece of work; an inspired combination of images and music, with Dan Crockett’s poem read by Jeff Hordley adding gravitas.
Uncommon Ideals was selected as the winner of the 2011 Shorties award at last years London Surf Film Festival.
The first breath is a beauty;
Whispering of the north like a kiss
Gilded hammer come tapping
Licking the dun dunes
Sweeping the tawny sea
A chill fist come rapping
At the doors of you,
of me
Bay burn the first
Runners of the dawn train
Ripples, creeping in beneath castles
Under dismantled factories
Between oak groins tar black
Onto reefs of hell
And fain the eyes that track
This first building of
the swell
A copper peak like running snuff
Bang, bang, bang
From the north she pours
Stirring the remaining cod
Sister wind swung south
Waking the Farne-bound seals
And met by land she roars
Dipped in sepia,
flayed bister
Delight for uncommon ideals
Used by permission of Dan Crockett – http://www.danielcrockett.co.uk/. From Dan’s website on the poem Uncommon Ideals; “A poem I wrote was used to frame Uncommon Ideals, a short film about surfing in the North Sea. It ended up going viral with 85,000 views on Vimeo. The text of the poem… it’s about craving things everyone else would think were mad.”
Uncommon Ideals a film by Chris McClean and Mark Waters. Released 25 August 2011.
The Doggerland Chronicles – http://thedoggerlandchronicles.blogspot.com/
A short film about an obsession many of us will be familiar with… Shot as a documentary style comedy we follow ‘Michael’ a 41 year old accountant from the Midlands who takes up surfing in response to a mid-life crisis.
The Surfer was written and directed by Dominic Coleman. Dominic also plays the lead role of ‘Michael’. The film was created as part of the 2008-2009 Digishorts production scheme with support from Screen West Midlands and The UK film Council.
From The Surfers Path website March 2011; “A comedian and actor by trade, Coleman explains that creating this cringe-making character, wasn’t actually that difficult for him: I started surfing about five years ago and as a landlocked, middle-aged weekend warrior I didn’t have to look too far for inspiration for the character of ‘Michael’.
My family all appear playing themselves, again they didn’t have to do too much acting! I also pulled in a few favours from friends like Adrian at Fluid Juice and a few Bantham (Sth Devon) locals who all gave up a bit of time to help out.
The inspiration for the character did actually come from a guy I met at Bantham. His wife and young daughter were lugging his SUP across the car park as he was chatting boards with another sweeper. He had a brand new T5 that he’d converted. I just thought he was a very funny guy and one of the ‘new’ breed of mid-life escapists who’d been drawn to the sea. (Again much like myself I have to add.)
Since I had the opportunity, and some money from the film council, I thought I’d like to make a film about something I love. My background, work-wise, is predominantly tv comedy so I just set out trying to find a way to marry the two together.”
