Full Circle
A Filmmaker's Journal
Monday 16th December 2024
Here we are then. I began uploading this filmmaking journal on September 27th this year, with an entry dropping daily. That’s a lot of words - 37,000, so far - to be exact. The journal itself dates back to March 14th, 2023. From that starting point, I have charted the production of Baby on Board, Laura Living Backwards, The Wilding, and The House on Lidderman Street, plus the writing of Zero Hour, Improper Bastards, the US pilot for Empire Amusements, and the beginnings of Wrecking Machine. A lot of work. A lot of words. And now…
Now this journal has finally caught up with itself. So where to go from here?
Should I continue?
I’ve tried to be honest in writing it. I’ve tried to truly show the ups and downs of a life trying to create (and progress) on the fringes. From down in the trenches. With no money, no professional support, nothing but sheer will and ambition. Along the way, I’ve tried to impart a little screenwriting knowledge and a little filmmaking wisdom. I’ve tried to show how you can get things done on very little money - often with no money. I hope it’s been informative to anyone who wants to do this stuff, or it’s just a fun read for the casual reader of any kind of literature on writing and filmmaking.
The Wilding is in Post Production, as is my own film, The House on Lidderman Street, then there are the screenplays I’ve written which I hope will see production in 2025. I probably should continue charting my journey, at least until Lidderman Street is all finished and does whatever it does.
Entries will no longer be daily going forward; only as and when. It now becomes a journal in real time.
Thanks to everyone who has subscribed to this Substack. Please recommend it to others if you like it. If I’m going to continue with it, I’d like to see the readership grow.
So anyway, we’ve come full circle. This journal, which began with the production of Baby on Board, will now see this (perhaps) final entry of the year with me telling you that the film itself will be released on YouTube on Christmas Eve at 8 pm GMT.
The countdown is up and running HERE!
It’s the little film that could. Made on peanuts, it has gone on to win awards at festivals up and down the country, including Stephen Volk’s win for Best Screenplay at the Lytham Film Fest and the Best Local Short at the Birmingham Film Awards.
I’m very proud of the film. I hope you like it too. Please watch and LIKE and, perhaps most importantly, SHARE! Also, please Letterboxd it! Thank you.
Anyway, that’s all folks!
For now…
Merry Christmas.
