INITIAL INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATIONS

Contextual Awareness.
I have a profound interest and cultural awareness of a huge variety of filmmakers working in the field of documentary film today and also those from the past. Far too many to mention here but here are some pieces of work that I greatly admire and have drawn inspiration from.

 The Possibilites Are Endless; James Hall & Edward Lovelace. (2014) A fusion of high art and delicate storytelling about the rehabilitation of Scottish singer Edwin Collins after a life threatening stroke. Always inspirational, never taking the obvious tabloid route.

 The Arbor; Clio Barnard. (2010) A mesmerizing and beautiful documentary fusing narrative and documentary on the tragic playwright Andrea Dunbar.

 The Kid Stays in the Picture; Nanette Burstein & Brett Morgan. (2002) A stylistic and creative documentary on infamous Paramount studio head Robert Evans. A real raconteur he is only on screen through clever use of archive materials from layered and moving photos tand archive film clips and footage.

 The Filth and The Fury; Julien Temple. (2000) A wonderful documentay extracting often painful rememberances from the Sex Pistols against a mismatched collage of image and sound with a punk style aesthetic.

 My Winnipeg; Guy Maddin. (2007) A crazy free-wheeling and intriguing documentary of the filmmakers formative years growing up in Winnipeg. Re-enactments, archive footage and dreamlike camera-work create a compelling and beguiling docu-fantasia.

 Night Mail; Harry Watt & Basil Wright. (1936) A pioneering documentary and subtle propaganda of a postal train travelling from London to Scotland. It fuses poetry from W.H. Auden a score by Benjamin Britten to fascinating effect. Alongside this I am a huge devourer of the moving image, cinema and TV in all it’s guises.

As well as it forming a huge part of my job as a media teacher in a FE college, I endeavor to keep abreast of developments as well as actively appreciating the history and background of these fields. I draw inspiration from a multitude of aspects, genres and disciplines. These range from feature films to animation, music videos to video installations and popular TV to experimental film. Studying art and design at college and having gained a BA in Electronic Media and History Of Art I also appreciate and have an awareness of all of the other areas of art and design. As a filmmaker I often draw as much inspiration from sculpture, painting, graphic design and photography as I do from moving image texts.