The Recap Post!

(Me and Jamie Forrest on the location of the Bloodline Pilot)

Righto, there's a LOT going on, I'm posting a lot on my blog (it's therapeutic, honest... and it helped Russell T Davis during his run on Doctor Who and Torchwood). 

So if you're new to my blog, or you've not been here in a while, here's a quick recap post for you all.

1 - Who Am I?

I'm Fraser, hello! I've studied at James Watt College and trained at the BBC. I run my own production company and I've made short films, a feature film, a pilot for a TV show, lots of music videos and corporate videos. I'm working on a new short film and developing a TV show with some really wonderful people. Here's my showreel...

2 - One Year Later: Short Film

I'm in the process of making a short film, "One Year Later". It's about David as he tries to pull off the perfect proposal to Katy, his soul-mate, with the help of his older brother Steven. Except Steven is dead and could either be a ghost or just a figment of David's imagination. It's a rom-com with a supernatural twist. We're going to shoot it in Glasgow at the end of April and enter it into film festivals. We've got a LOT of actors wanting to audition so if you're interested then you can email your headshot and CV to oneyearlater@sillyweefilms.co.uk. Casting breakdowns are at this page. PLEASE check them to make sure you are suitable before applying.

We are also approaching well known actors to take part to help raise the profile of the film and the quality of the film. We need to raise £3,000 to pay all the cast and crew so if you can donate ANYTHING to the film we will give you a perk in return: a signed script from the shoot, signed movie posters, postcards, copies of the movie on DVD, invite to the screening, set visits, etc. Click here to find out how you can support our short film.

3 - Creative Talent Connections: The Podcasts and Networking Nights

Claire Mcguire, Scott Forrest and myself are producing educational podcasts, interviewing established professionals to talk of their experiences in the industry and offer advice to newcomers. We've spoke to Kirsty Strain, Greg Hemphill and Simon Weir. You can listen to our episodes here! We've got more guests lined up so expect more podcasts soon. We also host networking events in Glasgow every two months, inviting professionals to do an informal chat to our attendees and offer them the chance to ask them questions.

4 - Bloodline: The TV Show

Bloodline is a supernatural Scottish TV show about mythological monsters and the people protecting us from them, and the evil using them for their own gain and purposes. We've shot a pilot episode, wrote out a series synopsis and we're gearing up to pitch it to production companies. Everything you need to know about Bloodline is right here.

This is our BIG project and we're doing everything we can to create an entertaining Scottish programme to put on television, providing as many jobs and opportunities for actors and crew in Scotland. Fingers crossed.

And that's it. Feel free to follow me on Twitter and say hello.

Bloodline - Almost ready for pitching...

"Bloodline" is a proposed 8 part supernatural drama series following the adventures of "The Three", a selected group destined to protect Scotland and the world from ancient mythological creatures once thought only to be myth and rumour. While investigating a young couple being hunted down by creatures and an unknown force, Markus, the leader of the three, is killed, transferring his powers to Charles. The remaining members of the team, Adam, a super intelligent trainee doctor who remembers everything he's ever read, and Kate, a strong-headed yet closed off person with the ability to sense supernatural activity, must race to find Charles before his life is put in danger, while continuing their investigation into the mysterious girl, Emily. Hired by Victoria Campbell, Emily may have the answers to why there is a sudden increase of supernatural activity over the last few months. 

Focussing on the members of the three as they struggle to find their place in life, they find themselves dealing with every day situations, their day jobs and studies, while trying to keep the world safe from ancient mythological creatures that are being unleashed by Victoria Campbell, while investigating the origins of The Three and trying to close the portals to the spiritual world once and for all, no matter what the cost.

We successfully crowd-funded the pilot episode of "Bloodline" and have since re-drafted the pilot episode, filmed a 10 minute pitch scene and wrote our pitch document. Over the next year or so we will be approaching production companies around the UK (and probably the world) in the hope of getting our show commissioned on on the TV next to other genre shows such as Being Human, Torchwood, Merlin, Supernatural, etc. 

And that's where we are up to!

One Year Later - Raising the Funds!

Click here to check out the perks you can claim by donating to our film!

Pre-production on "One Year Later" has stepped up several gears! We've launched a Twitter page, a Facebook group, we've cast our first part and our crowd-funding page has been launched!

You might be asking why are we looking at crowd-funding to raise the money we need to shoot the film. Simple answer. It's the easiest way these days to access the money to pay for props, costumes, locations, equipment rental, catering, travel expenses, and most importantly, paying our cast and crew.

In an ideal world we would go to a film studio and say "Hey! We've got this great short film, it's got this big star in it, and this big star in it and we're going to open at the Cannes film festival!" and they would hand us £50,000 and we'd go make a cracking film. 

Sadly we are now in a time of financial insecurity, people aren't taking the risks any more, and we don't have access to Tom Cruise and Keira Knightly. If we went to the likes of Creative Scotland for support they would firstly just turn us away. We as of yet do not have a successful track record of financing a short film and getting it out into the big bad world. After OYL we will do, and then we can look at that. Secondly, if they did accept us and offered their help they would want a LOT of control over it - our cast and crew would get replaced, they would change the script and take full control over it. 

I would prefer to have creative freedom on this particular short film as then I can make the decisions, with my team we can choose the perfect cast, locations, shots, feel of the film etc. We also don't need £50,000 to pull the film off. That's a lot of money to gamble on a 10 minute film. Instead we're looking for just £3,000 - of which we are trying to raise £2,000 through Crowd-funding. The remaining money will come from myself, private investment etc. 

We've got lots of perks up for grabs such as signed scripts, set visits, copies of the film on DVD, invite to the premiere screening, the cast and crew wrap party, signed postcards, and so forth. From as little as £1 you can have your name on the end credits of the film and thanked on our Twitter and Facebook page. 

Every single penny goes to the film - and most importantly to paying the cast and crew for their time, skills and services. 

So if you have a spare quid please donate it to us at http://www.bloomvc.com/project/One-Year-Later-A-Supernatural-Rom-Com and bring us closer to making this short film. We've got 60 days to raise the money and if we don't then the movie will simply not get made. I am not asking the cast and crew to work for free. We've all done our freebies and it's time we moved up a little.

If you don't have a spare pound then tell your friends, your families and your work colleagues. Spread the word, see if they have a spare pound, or more. Myself and the cast and crew would really appreciate it.

Below are some movies and projects we've made in the past with no money.

Thank you for your support.

Below is the trailer for our new supernatural TV show, "Bloodline", we successfully raised the money via crowd-funding to make the pilot episode.

One Year Later... the casting begins!

(Poster design by Scott Middleton)

One Year Later... The Casting Begins

(Note - this blog entry was written while listening to Biffy Clyro's excellent new album "Opposites")

The casting process for my next short film, "One Year Later..." is underway with the casting notice going live on Casting Call Pro this morning. You can read all about the film and my reason for making it over at this blog entry but the basic premise is that it's a supernatural rom-com short film, following young geeky David attempting to pull off the proposal of a life-time for his girlfriend, Katy, who is quick thinking and funny. David is being helped by his self-proclaiming playboy older brother, Steven, who has been there for his brother all of his life, even after he died and is merely a ghostly apparition in David's life.

In the next couple of weeks I'll be launching a crowd-funding campaign to raise the £3,000 needed to shoot the film: paying the cast and crew, locations, food, props, and other general film-making expenses. I will of course be putting what money of my own I can into the film to push us over the finish line but I point blank refuse to shoot the movie until the money is there to pay people. No money = no movie.

The film is being produced by Claire Mcguire, who I've previously worked with on the Bloodline pilot and her short film, "Chaos and Curlers". Claire started out as a researcher at the BBC and is climbing the ladder to be a director/producer. 

We want to cast local, upcoming talent in the roles of David, Katy and Steven, so everybody is welcome to apply for an audition. We will also be approaching well known actors to appear in the film but this is at an early stage so we can't announce anything. I've not directly contacted actors I've previously worked with as I want it to be a fair process - if you want to audition, then you can either do so via the Casting Call Pro website or you can email your CV and headshot to oneyearlater@sillyweefilms.co.uk 

You can access the Casting Call Pro listing here.

The film will be shooting in Glasgow on the 27th and 28th of April 2013. We endeavour to pay minimum wage for all involved however we cannot pay travelling expenses outwith Scotland or accommodation costs. Auditions will be in Glasgow but we will accept casting tapes. Here are the breakdowns.

	Steven
Description	A bit of a playboy in his own mind, with a great sense of humour, edging on inappropriate, he is the best big brother anybody could ask for. He's always been there for his brother,  even when he's accidentally stealing the attention of the girls in playgroup. Even though he's a ghost he doesn't let it bother him, knowing that he would much rather spend time  with his brother than move on.
Gender	male
Min Age	25
Max Age	35

	David
Description	A shy, yet functioning young guy, in his early twenties, he's geek chic, with a good sense of humour. His friendship with his brother is invaluable to him, which is why he is unable to let  go even after death. His closest bond is Katy, his second closest friend in life. With Katy  he can be himself and loves her without a doubt, going all out on an unforgettable proposal.
Gender	male
Min Age	18
Max Age	25

We look forward to hearing from you!

Night is Day - The End of an Era

(Simon Weir, Clare Sheppard, Steven McEwan and John Gaffney on the set of Night is Day: The Movie)

Today the final sound mix for the final ever episode of Night is Day, my Scottish superhero web series, was delivered. It was then exported and uploaded on to YouTube and added to the Night is Day web site.

I've talked a lot about Night is Day before so this isn't a long post. In 2004 I was training at the BBC in Glasgow and I saw an advert for a competition. They wanted you to create a trailer for a new movie. I decided to go for it, pitching the idea of a Scottish superhero who could touch you and get a vision of you in danger, or dying, therefore using his courage and strength to save the day.

9 years, 1 short film, 2 seasons, 13 episodes and a feature film later (and 4 or 5 one-off comic strips!) and Night is Day has come to an end. I never had any money to make it, we worked a lot of weekends, a lot of people came and left, a lot of people fell out a lot of people fell in.

Regardless, the goal was achieved. A web series with different characters fighting on the side of good and evil in Glasgow was finished. 

You can click here to watch every single episode of the web series and you can click here to watch the film.

Thank you for your support! 

The Short Film Collection...

(Simon Weir and Mark Harvey in "Late Nights")

I won't lie to you, there is a LOT going on with Creative Talent Connections right now. Not only are we putting the finishing touches to Bloodline, recording several new episodes of our podcast, finishing up post-production on Claire's comedy short film "Chaos and Curlers" while Scott lays down work on his spoof cop short film "Macduff!" but we're also continuing to organise our networking events, lining up top quality guests for talks and expanding the nights in order to improve on what we can offer to the television and film community in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

However, with that in mind, a few months ago an idea came to me one morning. An idea for a short film. I've done a few short films in my short career, a few of them are below, and I genuinely thought I was finished with them. However, with Claire's film nearly finished and the fun we had doing the last two 48 hour film projects, this little idea of mine grew, and after several drafts, I'm happy to move it into pre-production and try to shoot it in Spring and get it into festivals.

So, what is the film? It's called "One Year Later" and it starts with David meeting Katy at a speed dating night. Even though they say very little to one another, there's a spark and they smile. One year later (get it?) and David is preparing to pop the big question, nervous as hell, as Katy is THE one for him, smart, funny, slightly geeky and gorgeous. Thankfully David has his wise-cracking, trouble making older brother Steven to help him along, to support him and offer advice. The problem is that Steven is dead and may or may not be a ghost than only David can see.

That's the premise. It's a short film, probably clocking in at 10-15 minutes - ideally 10. We'll shoot it over a weekend with the crew that worked with me on Bloodline and Cameron Stone (our 2nd 48 hour film entry) and as usual I'll fill the majority of roles with my regulars, however I'd like to find 3 new people to play Steven, David and Katy. 

Now... here's where things get tricky. Up until Bloodline all of my projects were on a volunteering basis - apart from Night is Day the feature film, all the cast and crew have an agreement with the producers that when the film is sold they'll get a percentage of that - it's a completely separate entity and out of my hands as the film is in the hands of US distributors. Bloodline was different because we managed to crowd fund the money we needed to pay everybody's travelling expenses. Which, we did, and that was brilliant.

With that in mind I want to raise around £3000 for One Year Later, again, via crowd-funding and paying what I can with my own money (I'm a self-employed filmmaker who makes a living from corporate videos, so I'm not exactly rolling in it!). This way not only can I pay expenses but I'll be able to pay people for their time and skills. Everybody gets paid! The cinematographer, the sound guy, the composer, the visual effects animator, the actors, the lot! 

In all likelihood the plan is to get one or two relatively well known actors (i.e. Karen Gillan and Billy Boyd) to play Katy and Steven, launch a crowd-funding page, make a pitch video, offer perks (set visits, signed scripts, postcards, a cameo in the film, invite to the wrap party, official screening etc) raise the money, shoot the film, edit it and then put it into as many festivals as possible - Raindance, Edinburgh, Cardiff International Film Festival - get the film seen by as many people as we can - raise the profile of the cast and crew - get further support to make more films, documentaries, networking nights, TV shows, etc.

That's the plan anyway. And it all starts at getting those one or two well known actors to take a part in the film, then the ball starts rolling. That means finding the right actors to play the characters and convincing their agents that they want to let their client give up a day or two to participate in a Scottish short film. Joy. 

So why do I want to go through this, make another short film? Well to be honest it's a story I want to tell. It sort of echoes my relationship with my older brother (except he is alive and well!) and I think it's a story about relationships with siblings and your partner, and how to handle the balance of the two. Plus I love making projects like this, I get to work with the crew I love working with, telling a story, and I'll properly experience the film festival fun - entering it into competitions, meeting new people, seeing other films that are being produced, and hopefully all cast and crew will benefit from it. 

And I wonder why my girlfriend tells me I can't switch off.

RIGHT! So there we go, that's what's happening with One Year Later. The ball is rolling. The hunt for the well known actors begins! 

In the meantime, below are some short films I've already made through the years, starting with the most recent. Enjoy!

Late Nights - 48 Hour Project Short Film from Fraser Coull on Vimeo.

No Distraction from Artist Media Ltd on Vimeo.

Hush - Spy Short Film from Fraser Coull on Vimeo.

Creative Talent Connections - What Went On Last Night!

(From l-r: Sanjeev Kohli, Fraser Coull, Dave Anderson, Claire Mcguire, Tony Nellany and Scott Forrest)

Last night was our 2nd Creative Talent Connections networking evening (technically our 5th networking event, but we've since re-booted it under the CTC banner) and we were joined by actor and  writer Sanjeev Kohli, established musician and actor Dave Anderson and BBC documentary producer Tony Nellany.

We had around 50 attendees in total (I'm rubbish at counting so I might be wrong), and the basement of Blackfriars was full. Someone commented that on the way down to the basement they could hear how busy it was, so I'm taking that as a good thing.

The night started with the trailer for our new supernatural TV series, "Bloodline", which was edited by STV freelancer Anne Nicholson and scored by newcomer Samantha Pake. The response was extremely positive, especially from our panel. The new trailer is available for you to watch below!

We then showed our 48 hour film project, "Cameron Stone: A Legendary Actor" before presenting a quick showreel highlighting the work of our special guests. As Dave Anderson, Sanjeev Kohli and Tony Nellany took the stage, Scott and myself asked about their careers, for their advice and their insights into the industry. The audience had some great questions too and it was a brilliant panel. The guests were kind enough to hang around and take photos with our attendees and pose for photos.

From there the networking took place and we offered the best networker a bottle of wine... Anne Nicholson turned out to be the best with 10 business cards collected on the night - she best make use of them!

The night came to an end at 11.30pm and I must say thank you to everybody who came and to my fellow organisers Claire Mcguire and Scott Forrest. Special thanks goes to Simon Slater for supporting us and helping us set up on the night, also thank you to Blackfriars for being so accommodating.

Our next networking night is likely to be in March (just in time for my birthday!) and we hope to bring more special guests, more short films and hopefully announce our CTC Film challenge. If anybody has any suggestions or recommendations for the nights please email me - frasercoull@gmail.com

As some of you might be new to my blog after last night you can find out all about me here!

Next up for CTC is the recording of our next podcast with special guests Sanjeev Kohli and Simon Weir. Our first two episodes are here for you to listen to!

Now we're off to complete Bloodline for the pitching process and start pre-production on our short film,  "One Year Later"and completing short comedy "Chaos and Curlers" and look into producing a couple of documentaries. 

Thanks for your continued support!