Welcome to the official Camberwell Studios Blog. Here you can find out about the latest news and goings on at the studio, special offers and deals on production packages, and exclusive insight into the latest and best in class film and video production techniques. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Readers, These past few weeks have really stretched the studios capabilities and this was highlighted and bought to the fore by the arrival of the London Film Academy. They had a huge prep session here and were we were able to offer some consultation for their large production. I love logistics, love it, love it. Organisation is not, repeat, not my strong point, but working here as studio manager has really developed this skill and now I find that with the correct 'to do' lists, prioritising and common sense I am able to provide a detailed schedule of logistical requirements to the point and to the right budget. Clients have been assisted by our consultation and our after-booking care. Sit in our lovely canteen area with a free cup of tea and lets hammer out a shot list and tech list too. If I don't know the answer Ill know someone that will.
Camberwell Studios are proud to offer this pre-booking/apres-booking effort to make things a whole lot easier. The London Film academy enjoyed a discounted 'get-in' and get out rate to make sure that their booking day went smoothly. The consultation involved shooting up at 6 metres on our scaffold tower with a wide angle lens. This was to determine whether or not that marching 12 soldiers into studio 1 would work. After some carefull planning and floor markings and scratching heads we came up with a solid plan. Studio 1 required an extra bit of paint on the floor and some extra green screen walls added and as you can see from the below pictures our space can be tailored made for any type of shoot. Including:
See some of the extra prep work we did to make the London Film Academy's production work for them
The consultation time was a great way to prepare both the client and us, the studios, into the shoot ahead. it made the whole production day very effortless.
Thats it for this edition. We are drawing to the end of our Studio day give-away prize draw so get entering now!
Hi Readers,
We start with a look at a local band who are starting to make big waves on the mainstream circuit. Who are they? The one and only (well 2 and only) Aluna George(Band Members are Aluna and George so sorry If I let the cat out of the bag on that one guys but I'm guessing that will be one of the questions you will get asked alot from journo's with your success so you'll have to just get used to it I suppose!!!!!)
Aluna is a local girl who made her first few videos here at Camberwell Studios. People are starting to rave about her and her synth junkie band member George. You can't turn on a Radio station without the name being mentioned. Take a look at some of their videos below....
In the next few blog's we will look at our previous music video clients and ask the question. Where are they now? Most artists will be rising steadily on playlists around the country but some of them will have not given up the day jobs and given up on the dream. Onto sadder news now. Please have your tissues ready...
It is with great sadness I bring to you the news that all of our goldfish from the below blogs, have all died. http://camberwellstudios.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/fish-called-marilyn.html http://camberwellstudios.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/to-fish-tank-in-sky.html http://camberwellstudios.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/im-forever-blogging-bubbles.html
R.I.P Marylin - Flushed - Beautiful gold and white fish with a beauty spot. She was the 1st to go. She put up a good fight but unfortunately swim bladder disease got the better of her. She slipped away quietly The twins - 1x Flushed 1x buried - The silver fish who were so alike it was difficult to name them individually. the male of the 2 lasted the longest and was found dead this morning James - Buried with his sister in our garden , May ( Our longest serving fishy friend) James has seen many a shoot come and go from his watery residents.
This edition of the bog has some dark undertones to it but please don't worry. Camberwell Studios is Still London's Brightest Film and Video facility so bear with me in my fishy mourning period. I will adopt the goldfishes greatest weapon to aid my grieving. I'll try the 'Ignorance is bliss' approach, which are thier terrible terrible memories and then soon I will have forgotten about them. Hang on... what was I saying : )
Those of you waiting for a lighter note to this part of the blog will have to wait. Below are some great images for you that show some of the darker shoots we have here. The include our prize draw winner who scared a little girl (shooting a fluffy pink Barbie Toy advert in Studio 1) with his music video mask while posing for the prize draw winners picture below.
They are looking make a music video with their prize along the same dark lines as the below images of a set build shoot in Studio 1. The set was a chair-bound character haunted by the grammaphone he cannot touch that brings up representations in a ghost like form of a small child. See pictures below.
Along the dark and blackout theme this week we present a collection of pics of our darkest shoots. In a true magazine advertorial, tenuously linked - style it co-incides with the screening of the film trailer teaser of 'FEST' a gory British horror drama that premiers soon. Continue to read with the lights on....
Some prize draw info now.
We are still waiting for our prize draw winners to come back with their finished pieces but Jamaine (pictured below) who made his music video a few weeks ago is among the front runners to complete his edit first.
In the next edition of this blog it will be a special Prize draw winners blog, showcasing all of the winners, their work, their finished videos (hopefully) and their moves for the future.
Hi, Hello, Greetings, Squawk, Miaow, Hiss, Avid readers will know that here at Camberwell Studios we are very fond of our fish, and animals in general, which is why we have been very lucky over the past few weeks to be in-undated with critters of all shapes and sizes. Thankfully though they didn't all come at once as the cat that starred in a Studio 2 shoot had a beady eye on our goldfishes, had the dog, from a Studio 1 shoot, been in we could have had a crazy sort of food chain and eco-system right here in these very green walls!
Throw in a snake, a Perigrin falcon, and you would have had all sorts of feathers and flakes and scales flying about the place. (We threw in the seagul for good measure!) We move onto some other interesting stories from the Camberwell Ark.. I mean studios... From animals to animal behaviour. Our recent band shoot encompassed an Elvis mirror, some swordplay, citrus fruit and flowers being burnt to a crisp. No, I wasn't taking acid with the band and their roadies, it was a series of objects deemed cool and retro enough to be burnt, live in Studio 1.
Chatting to the band members I was explaining how un-rock & roll it was to make a video based on my previous experiences. When I first started working here at the studios I was under the impression that bands were going to be like crazy animals throwing TV's out of windows in an orgy of drugs and sex. I was wrong. The craziest it got on this particular shoot (pics above) was a small band disagreement as to whose cigarettes were lying around in the green room and one of the worst offenders in the band throw a lime down our driveway! Not quite plaster-cast penises (Motorhead I think!) and snorting lines of Ants (Ozzie Osbourne) is it? I'm glad the lads in the band were clean living as it means they can concentrate on normal life, working hard, practicing and gigging which, in this ever purse-tightening industry, is what you need to do to survive. This leads me on to my next mention. We have identified around 100 members for the Indie Membership scheme and have been adding members as and when they pop up. Please see below for info.
Camberwell
Studios are proud to present the 'Indie Membership Scheme'!
‘Young?
Creative? On a very tight budget?’
If this is you then please read on.....
Camberwell
Studios have worked with many young creative’s living in south
London (and working in Shoreditch!) that have many smaller personal
projects on the go, but maybe don’t have the budget for a full
professional set-up.
Then
this could be the scheme for you!'
Designed
for Indy producers, solo artists, students, novices, Camberwell
Studios recommended partners and previous clients. Independent
film-makers who can operate last minute, and can get a small crew
together to put those storyboards, pub ideas and graduate
masterpieces into a visual reality…
…FOR
THE FRACTION OF THE COST!
The
aim is to provide very affordable studio space for creative's that
have tight budget constraints, have their own kit and can work to
last minute call ups.
'Looking
for a Studio, in green, with camera op, for a half day?
The
Studio’s come pre-lit with dolly, track, mini-jib, black-out drapes
and all of the kit you would need to film your masterpieces. Set up
is provided by a professional technician so you get the availability
email, you book, we plan, you turn up and shoot!
If
you become an Indy Membership Member and If we have a slot free in
one of our Green screen Studio spaces that week then you will receive
an email alerting you to the availability of our Studios and if you
have projects that have been sat on the backburner for a while, then
this is the perfect opportunity to book with us at a very lost cost.
Indie
Membership Scheme
could be used for:
Music
videos, EPK’s, performance recording
Development
projects
Test
shoots,
Pilot
shoots
Game
show format testing
Set
build days
Training
sessions
We
have received some very good feedback for the Indie
Membership Scheme
and lots of filmmakers have been giving us their ideas
Its
FREE to join, all you need to is fill in the small form and you will
be added to the mailing list for updates, offers and low cost, last
minute Studio space that is hard to say no to!
What
are you waiting for? They say nothing comes for free... Well it does
now (Not free but close to) So if you are like the band I mentioned in the 1st section above then get in touch. If you can get your ensemble, your contributors, the artist you represent or yourself ready, with a few days notice then we can offer our services at a massive discount.
Stuart Manages a band and would like to do a music video in our Studio 1. Involving a padded cell and face masks. maybe Ill get to see some of the wilder antics with his proposed shoot. Maybe they'll be as conscientiousness and hard working as the guys from the band I'm talking about....
Here's what Stuart had to say about winning the prize draw. ''Winning the studio time prize was fantastic news and great timing''
I manage an up and coming rock band Never A Hero
(www.neverahero.net) and with them having just finished their new
album, we were just in the process of looking at what to do for the
next video
The last video was the first single Burning Skies" off of the new
album "Bleed between the lies". It turned out great and so we knew
the next one had to top that one.
For the eagle eyed amongst you - you may spot Bruce Jones (aka Les
Battersby) in the last video.
You will also see that Never A Hero perform in straight jackets and
masks so when a padded cell got mentioned, it certainly got the old
creative juices flowing.
Nothing is totally set in stone as yet, but it is looking like the
video will be for the song "Screams of Silence" and we have indeed
got thoughts on a padded cell theme.....with a few Never a Hero
twists of course and knowing this band, there will be a thousand
changes between now and shoot day.....so apologies in advance to the
amazing folk at Camberwell Studios
For anyone looking to check out the band please connect with them at
any of the following...
(A picture of one of the band members claiming his prize. He scared a child shooting a Barbie Doll advert in Studio 1. She said he looked scary! )
Congratulations to Stuart and also to Jamaine - who was the 5th winner of the prize. He shot his video here last Friday. He still has some location shoots to complete but here are some pictures below
Pleasecontinueto enter the prize draw and send us your ideas as to what you would make with the Prize draw worth upto £1000!
I am back from my Honeymoon with my beautiful new wife Claudia. Sad to be home and cold but excited to hear of all the things that went on in my absence.
Firstly we had the Olly Murs and Caroline flack shooting in Studio 1 for the XtraFactor for ITV.
Caroline did her very best Niki Ninaj Impression and Olly did his best 'Dumb and Dumber'impression but getting his tongue stuck to an ice sculpture.
We also got a credit on the X factor show thanking us for our support
We also had David Tenant shooting in Studio 2. Unlike the Tardis studio 2 is as big on the
inside as it is outside. Here he is with our music video director Tai Campbell.
Please watch James May's, Things You Need to Know, all of which was shot in our studio 2 and involved alot of fishy reconciliatons, motorbike stunts in corridoors, greasy fatty food diets and much more backstage antics.
"Award-winning
writer/producer, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor graduated from Queen Mary,
University of London with a BA in Film Studies and subsequently
completed an MA in Creative Writing in Films, Plays and TV from
City University, London.
With
DreamCoat Productions she has established a strong dynamic voice
as a writer and producer. Her work has achieved worldwide
distribution through various prominent international festivals,
including being commissioned by Stratford Theatre Royal to write a
play"
I put
various links, just so you can pick one that you feel would
be better. They are all relatively short, including the short
film.
On what we
want to do in the studio, it is a short 60 second look at the
boxers anatomy as they prepare for a fight. We're hoping to get
both Chris Evangelou and Nicola Adams who recently won gold in
boxing at the Olympics.
The idea is
that the boxer is throwing a punch towards the punching bag and we
have close ups of their muscles as they do this, so close up of
biceps, sweat on the face, legs moving, chalk coming off their
hands, and as they hit the bag, we cut to them knocking someone
out in the ring. We're
looking to shoot everything in slow motion.
Previous prize winner update:
Jose, ' Beto' - 4am Films The below comment came after Jose's shoot and we are looking forward to seeing some pictures of the day too.
'Andy
and he was incredibly helpful. Only Joseph was with us during the
shoot and he too was a key piece during the process.
Not
only did the music video was shot, but also that ad for 4 am films
with actors Adam Loxley and Natasha (don't have her surname right
now) and we had a blast.
I
have to thank you and the people at Camberwell for your un
compromised support and aid, since without you, none f these little
projects would see the light of day.'
Previous winner update:
Jamiane - Musicbyjam - The below is an update on Jam's work and how he plans to use his winning studio day.
i've decided that i want to attempt to shoot scenes for 3 of
my songs, so essentially three shoots in one as the shots will
be fairly simple, roughly 2 hours each or so, as the ideas i
have tend to involve mixing plain footage with Black screen
shots of me preforming to cam, and in other songs, want to do
some more visual effects type of stuff. Thinking it would
Jumping off buildings, chroma keying people into location. Below
are some of my basic inspiration stages for the blog (Hope some
of these are okay to be used as there screen grabs from other
peoples video): -
I started by looking at other artist video's for inspiration,
while listening to my music to get a feel for how i would like
the videos to look and the themes: -
That's all for this edition. Many thanks to all my readers and its great to know that the Indie Membership scheme is getting alot of attention and I look forward to hearing more from you.
Babies, babies everywhere. My fiancées friends, my friends, ITV. Everyone's on about, having, had, is a grown up version of... Babies. Maybe (baby) its this time in your life where it all starts happening? Maybe theres something in the water that all makes us go breeding mad. Will the weather have an adverse affect on this? Will the heat be off in some relationships or will the longer, colder, boring days snuggled up on the sofa (in front of the TV, so maybe in my case this doesn't help the baby-making process) create more little mouths to feed? In the case of ITV's new series examining babies, it is a ratings winner but a logistical, sicky pain in the be-nappied bottom. Generally working with kids has its pitfalls, the working hours, the demands on the crew and the small chance of a perfect take all combine for some very creative directing techniques.
Yesterday, Studio1's crew were trying to think of ways, ( and mostly failing) to get a 3 year old girl to look into the camera. They could have just as well told her not to look into the camera as she was looking everywhere but. Last time we had a diminutive diva like that in the Studios was during music video for **** ******(that would be telling!)
We wish them all luck in the production, their children's development and most of the crew who received an unwanted crash course in behavioural science.
We move onto other creative ways that directors get the most out of their talent. Drive Productions had an action packed day of stunts, balls catching, high platforms and dancing that really stretched the possibilities in the space and the casts abilities. This happened during one of the rare hot days where we were able to open our big shutter doors to let in some fresh air so the riggers and camera crew could nip out for a cigarette but still be on hand to deal with anything. Studio 1 is best used in this way (weather permitting) and can be used as a great production area for set building, storage, art dept work and much more.
Large shutter is great for deliveries, kit and crew access and is perfect for long, hot shooting days. The crew can nip out for a quick fag during takes and still be part of the action. Shooting in this way has shown some great results
See our selection of other pictures on our Facebook page here:
Drives production was for the Olympics. It is to be played on a huge screen for all these lovely new visitors to see in all its glory. Camberwell Studios have been in touch with Film London who have excellent contacts, advice and projects to do with filming in London and for the Olympics. Although Camberwell is not near the Olympic site we have been placed on a list which allows international production companies to book soundproofed studios for all manner of reasons. Studio 1 is also great for athletic video projects as its a large space. Not quite enough for a 100m dash but big enough for the triple jump world record!
The Olympics plus many sporting events have shown some fantastic high speed, slow motion camera work so it was very interesting to see green screen high speed shooting with Chromacode Studios. James, the director, was using a Panasonic AGAF101 and shooting at 50fps. When used with an Adobe After effects plug-in called Twixtor, it gave impressive results. Using Stage Electrics bank of 5KW lamps we filled the space with light and let the performer really test the set-up with lots of fast dance moves.
We have excellent news for your readers and clients. We have been working in collaboration with Radar Music Videos.
We teamed up with Radar Music Videos for some mutual
promotion. If you're a music video director, check them out.
They publish live music video briefs from record labels and
independent artists, all have budgets. Directors pitch to make
those briefs - there's a small monthly fee to subscribe. More
details here: http://www.radarmusicvideos.com/home"
In collaboration with Radar Music Videos we are proud to offer some huge discounts to really squeeze the most out of those pitches!
Enjoy a huge 20% discount on Studio 1 for any purpose.
Perfect Studio Space for Music Videos, Cars, Set Builds and
Corporate ad’s too with lots of room for production staff to connect
to WIFI and be part of the production process.
Painted in green as standard we can easily and quickly drape the
floors and walls in black. Repainting (by arrangement) to white is
no problem (but usually an overnight job).
And we’re FLEXIBLE too.
Over the past year some of our productions here have included
Pyrotechnics and fire (within reason!), Water, Stunts and Animals.
We pride ourselves on a friendly relaxed approach to helping every
production get the most from the day. This is a great value film and
studio space for hire in central London and even better value when
booked exclusively through RADAR MUSIC VIDEOS.
Some prize draw news now. We are still waiting on both Sarah's edits (Jan and March winners) to come through but we have been assured we'll be the 1st to know. Beto, the April winner is still working towards an August shoot as is our May winner Jamaine.
A brief word from Beto who will be choosing a shoot date very soon.
''I
am a Mexican writer/director who came to the UK to learn how to make
films in the traditional way... by shooting on actual film. In my
time here, I have fallen in love with the culture and people of this
country (and yes, it's temperamental weather) yet my roots are
tattooed onto my skin.
I
singed up for the Camberwell Prize draw with no expectations and I
was deeply moved to hear I had won. I was proven wrong about not
having any luck at all. During my first visit at the studio I was
welcomed by its amazing team and their willingness to help.
Opportunities like this don't come often, if at all, so I am very
grateful to them all.
As
for the script, I am tiding it up to make it two or three pages max.
The
general idea is to make a promo for 4am Films to go on the website,
which will have a light tone and will feature some of our past
characters (a King, a zombie, a wrestler, a cartoon). The setting
will be a lot like a job interview with these people on the look.''
And finally.... Agile films have released their Alt J video talked about int the previous blog...
That's all for this edition. Many thanks to all my readers and its great to know that the Indie Membership scheme is getting alot of attention and I look forward to hearing more from you.
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