Filmmaker-Blog

The First Rung

So, here I am. First blog entry. What do I write about? Well the first thing that comes to mind is how I came to be here writing this entry.

Oh go on, it’s not a long story. In fact I dare say it’s quite interesting.

Flashback four years ago. I’m fourteen and just discovering that being a footballer is a bad idea because I’m basically not good enough. Luckily I had found something I was passionate about, rather than something I could ‘make a living out of, probably.’ After creating a 10-minute documentary on D-Day which won first prize in a national competition, not only had I found something I was good at, but something I truly loved doing.

However since said documentary I had done several more for class projects, and was ready to make the jump from non-fiction to fiction. I didn’t have the option of taking media at my high school, and had never written a script before. It was January, so a good New Years resolution would be to learn these things so I could at least catch up in time for College.

I did not do this. By May I had written a feature film script.

Blind ambition is brilliant sometimes.

I did have some perspective though, as I wrote it to be low budget, factored in locations and cast so the characters were easy to play (they were effectively blinkered versions of myself and my mates). Shoot it on a DV camera in the holidays. Simple. However my aforementioned lack of knowledge meant I needed some help.

At the end of May it was time for high school’s two weeks of Work Experience. I was lined up to work with a Lancaster based production company called Workshop Productions, who I’d met at high school a year or so previously. My thinking would be to simply ask for some pointers while I’m there, and use the tips to make sure my first feature wouldn’t be a total disaster.

Instead they offered to help me make it. You see Workshop Productions aren’t just a production company. They have a focus on bridging the gap between education and the industry. They have a focus on giving people like me a chance to become a film-maker. There aren’t many production companies like that around, and I was able to be in contact with this one.

Blind luck is brilliant sometimes.

The story that follows leads to me directing, writing and producing my first film at the age of 16, and all the stories of pre-production, production and post-production can be, and will be, stories for different entries. This entry was about how I’m here. The answer could be blind ambition, blind luck, or the passion I have for filmmaking. Or it could be Workshop Productions who (apart from signing me up to this blog) gave me the chance to make my first feature something special.

But so far this me, on the first rung of the massive film industry ladder staring up and aiming for a place at the top.

Blind ambition is mental sometimes.

Other posts by Ashok Baker