Year in Review...PART ONE

Well, well, well.  Its the end of 2014.

Whatcha got to show for it?  For me it's a case of a few steps forward, one or two back.

The whole thing kicked off with the release of the music video "My Little Fantasy" by Braver Than Fiction in January. Check it below.

   

Read the previous blogs about it HERE

Responses to it were very good.  It seemed to give the band a little boost and something they could use going forward.  They've gone from strength to strength (tours, gigs, playing Sheffield's Tramlines festival) and hopefully will get better in 2015.  Check their OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The video did a few screenings.  Sheffield's Showroom Shorts and Manchester's Kino Shorts where it received some favourable responses.  Mainly a lot of "That was nice" than anything else.  Below is a link to a QnA from Kino Shorts -



Another nice little story came from hearing the progress of a friends band - MERRIN

They released an EP which received some great feedback and reviews called "Doom Cinema" which was accompanied by a trilogy of short films - which you can watch here HERE.

The big news was he received some some mad props on BLOODY DISGUSTING. The website putting them in the Top 10 movie influenced bands to listen to in 2014.

Chris and MERRIN have been gigging lots in London.  So if ya daaaarn saaarf try and check em out. Meanwhile, he's a video I made for them a few year ago.

   
HENRY KANE by -M E R R I N- from Danny Naylor on Vimeo.

Good stuff.  But, all in all...were people kicking down my door for a music video?  Nope.  Should they?  Probably not.  But as I was gearing up to pimp myself out...a few opportunities sprouted their pretty little heads.

The first was to work on Arthur & Merlin being shot in the Peak District.  I applied for a 2nd or 3rd  Assistant Director role not really knowing how big or small the budget of the film was to be.  If its small enough, they don't pay and you help out.  If it's has a fair budget then you're gonna have to be there on time, every day.

It just didn't pan out for me.   Holiday's from my 9 to 5, availability of my car, and funds were its downfall.  Am I sad about it?  Yeah, because I wanted to work on it.  I could've took the gamble but at the moment I have to play it safe.  I've too much on the line.

Then the Creative England Talent Centre happened.  Major coup on this one to a point where I even thought...why am I here?  You had award winning writers, directors, academy award nominated producers...then me - a guy who's highest budget he's ever worked on was £300.00.

I blogged a little about it HERE.  It span over about 6 months or so and overall was a great chance to network and understand the UK industry as a whole.  I got to meet Paul Fraser, who wrote one of my favourite films in 'A Room for Romeo Brass', as well as producers, sales agents, and buyers.

I also got to meet some great people - writers, producers, and directors - all wanting to make things happen.  It was a nice bubble to be in (as well as the ale).

It was all well and good.  Got me interested in applying for iShorts, the short film incentive they have.  Failed miserably as I expected but the feeling that it "maybe" could've crept through was a bonus.

So a load of ifs, buts, and maybe.  But there's a shining light on the horizon.

I'll hopefully get a few meetings up and running and see where it takes me based on the Talent Scheme.  There's always the music video and short angle I'm going to tackle if things begin to dry up.

But a big thing was hitting the Black List and getting some feedback from some industry professionals.  Basically it validated the writing.  Some ridiculous praise for certain aspects of it. Really mindblowing stuff that just pushed me further.

I've got some options now when I could've just gave up.  Lets see where it goes.

Oh....Check out PART 2 for my flicks and movie going of 2014 me arle china plates....

Kino Screening and MERRIN buzz

Bonjourno kiddies.

Wednesday night I attended Kino Shorts monthly film screening in Manchester's Three Minute Theatre.

The place was full, around 40-50 people in there I think, so it was a good turn out.

The video was 2nd shown and went down pretty well.  

Did a brief QnA after the screening.  As usual I rambled on that there was no room for audience questions (which their weren't any anyway).  The video should be up at some point in the next few weeks.

A few people commented and enjoyed it after the screening but after that it ended up being a normal short film night.

Had an eclectic bunch of videos ranging in quality.  But I have to say there were a couple of crackers on there.  One a mock documentary about an actor called Randolph Tempest (played by comedian Peter Slater).  A very witty character so worth checking out.

The other was a horror called a Long Way Back (I think).  Had some good scares and an interesting story. It was written to be ambiguous but there's a great ghost story in there involving the elderly.  The idea that the lead character could be suffering from dementia or some mental illness interested me - something they could develop.

Anyway, it was a good night but nothing overally productive. Hence a can of Jamaica's finest.

In other news, good friend of mine and his band MERRIN who I directed a music video for his song HENRY KANE a year or so ago, has been getting some big props from the horor website Bloody Disgusting. Check out the articles HERE. Pretty cool and hope it gives them a step up.

 See ya on the flip side, Danny.

Screenings and Shiz Reel

S'up people.  Friendly neighbourhood Spider-lad here.

Currently hard at work catching up on flicks, TV shows, and general re-writes leading up to hopefully some fun stuff in the summer.

Meantime, I've a few updates for you slappy-wags.

The music video for YOUR LITTLE FANTASY by BRAVER THAN FICTION is being screened at LANDED FESTIVAL at Doldowlod Hall, Powys, Wales on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of May 2014.

Its a bank holiday music festival with lots going on.  Check it out as well as the Facebook Page.  Really happy about this and the organisers really enjoyed the video.

There's also another screening on the 29th April at KINO SHORTS 48 for this month (clicky the link).  The venue is the THREE MINUTE THEATRE in Manchester and it kicks off at 7:15pm till 10:15pm.  I should be able to get down there, so if anyone wants to tag along, feel free.  You can buy me a drink.

Lastly...I've knocked up a muthafuppin' showreel.  Its now on the main page at the top so you can watch over and over again.  Let us know what you think if you're that way inclined.

Oh its below to....

 

See ya on the flip side...Danny.

NEW MUSIC VIDEO *RELEASED*

Hello Me'Hearties,

What a week.  Well, personally its been a terrible week.  On a supposed holiday I was struck down with suspected food poisoning.  Bed ridden, toilet loving, and probably lost about a stone in weight.

Professionally, a contrast.  The launch night for the music video for YOUR LITTLE FANTASY by BRAVER THAN FICTION happened this Wednesday at the RIVERSIDE, SHEFFIELD.

I couldn't make it due to my illness and it was pretty depressing in all honesty.  After all that hard work and effort from both sides, to get hit by sickness and then unable to go to an event to celebrate it was gutting.

But hey, I've got to look forward.  From the feedback I've heard is that the night went spectacularly well and there's been a lot of good response to the video.

So anyway, enough chatting shit...here's the video below.

Enjoy and let me know what you think?

See ya on the flip side, Danny.

New Music Video Launch

Howdy folks, some interesting news.

It's been long while since we began pre-production on YOUR LITTLE FANTASY by BRAVER THAN FICTION, finishing production in October, and began post from there on.

But here we are. The finished product....

Not so fast.  If you wanna see it you'll have to wait a little bit longer.

The band are going to have a launch night on Wednesday 29th January at RIVERSIDE, SHEFFIELD from 9pm.

I'll be new to all this.  Depending on the turn out it should be good fun.  Either that or it'll be one man and his dog, but at least there will be alcohol involved.  So I'll be on the promotional trail trying to drum interest up on it.  Bookface and Twatter will get a hammering which is a warning to you people for the next few weeks.


Again all I can say is thanks to:
Rachelle Shaw, Ryan Meehan, Julia Bisby, Rob Harris, Sarah Walker, Ed Cartledge, Mel Lampro, Braver Than Fiction (the rest of the band), The Rutland Arms, the staff, and The Film Pool.

Follow these people:
@braverthan
@film_pool
@dwarfmaiden

http://www.braverthanfiction.com/

https://www.facebook.com/braverthanfiction

See ya on the flip side - Danny