Friday 26 August 2011

More Life on Earth Cast Members

The final cast members of the new Life on Earth! From left to right: Helen West, Nick Blackshaw and Michael Thackray.
May I introduce the final three actors of the next Life on Earth episodes!

Playing the feisty and decorous Assistant we have Helen West, accompanied by the animated Nick Blackshaw as the mysteriously-named Writer. Ooh....!

Finally, lurking in the shadows of an abandoned theatre we have Michael Thackray as The Reaper. Mike has been a Jack-of-all-Trades on this film serving as both willing thesp and production assistant, although he may be better known to 'fans,' (hiya mum!), as the insane Brodrick Denando from The Oldest Life on Earth. 

Helen, Nick and Mike will be appearing in 'Part 2' of the film, Life on Earth Rebooted, which is being aimed at a Spring 2012 release.

Part 1, Life on Earth Retold, will hopefully be with us this Christmas!

Monday 22 August 2011

Filming wraps on Life on Earth Retold!

So after 3 months of pre-production, 12 days of filming, and with 800+ shots in the can, filming has finally wrapped on the next two Life on Earth episodes!*

The final shot - filmed indoors at the Bradford Playhouse,
can you believe!
*Almost. I still have one more scene to do - a brief exchange between Spike and Mack. Very tiny!

We finished yesterday afternoon in Bradford. We had to move very quickly as there was no mains power at the location, and my 2 camera batteries only have about 100 minutes each. Thus, we captured an incredible 80 shots in 3 and a half hours, which is madness, but a testament to the professionalism of my lovely cast and crew.

I'd like to offer my thanks, therefore, to the following - in no particular order:

Rose Nadin-Pummell (my mum!) and Sarah Skerratt - for letting us film in their home, for their patience, and for all the food and drink they laid on.

Nicole Skerratt and James Billingham - for letting us film in their home, and for being so nice about my ridiculously early arrivals!

Allan Robinson - for welcoming us into his shop, (Discount Stationery in Otley), for a wacky evening shoot.

Doug Thompson - for letting us film at the Bradford Playhouse, three weeks on the trot.

The members of the Bridge Church in Otley - for letting us film in their sanctuary.

Kenneth Barker - of Water on the Rock fame, for the loan of his tripod, and the copious amounts of moral support and encouragement.

Phil Skerratt (me father!) and Sara - for putting up with my antisocial hours, as well as my mood swings.

Adam Cooper - for being a fantastic 'stunt double' and cameraman.

Richard Cooper - for co-creating the whole thing.

Mike Thackray - for juggling production assistant / acting responsibilities so deftly.

Mark Pearson - for chipping in with camera duties.

Waleed Khalid - for being such a calming influence on the set, (and for actually being on the set - so lucky to have him.)

Hannah Robson - for sticking with us for so many shoots, and for being everything I wanted Sadie to be, and more.

Vicki Glover - for stepping in at the last minute and making me question why I didn't cast her in the first place.

Alissa Juvan - another last minute life-saver, who took an extra role with a mere 2 days notice!

Helen West - the third life-saver, and a very talented performer. Thank you!

Nick Blackshaw - a true theatre pro... thank you for being undeterred by the bizareness of out-of-sequence shooting.

Ken Boyter - for all the creative input, and for travelling 3+ hours for each shoot, sometimes for just a couple of scenes. Truly inspiring.

Alex Hewitson - for being so commited and enthusiastic from day 1 and before.

Sam Chipman - for being so flexible and patient. He was with us for one of our toughest shoots, and nothing seemed to faze him.

I hope I haven't missed anyone! It's been a crazy few weeks so my apologies if your name isn't on here, (you're probably one of the most important, but don't take it personally - for one of the shoots I very nearly forgot the camera!!)

Stay tuned for more updates.



Sunday 7 August 2011

Life on Earth: Presenting the Cast!

The cast, from top left to right - Hannah Robson, Alex Skerratt, Waleed Khalid, Vicki Glover, Alissa Juvan, Alex Hewitson, Sam Chipman and Ken Boyter. 

So here we are, after three months of pre-production, may I present to you the fine cast of Skerratt Media's next project. The twin films, Life on Earth Retold and Life on Earth Rebooted, star Hannah Robson as Sadie Brown and Alex Skerratt as Spike Ombre.

Joining them will be Sam Chipman, Waleed Khalid (Enoch), Vicki Glover (Freya), Ken Boyter, (The Counsellor), Alissa Juvan (Lynne) and Alex Hewitson (Baron), with more to be announced.

In Life on Earth Retold, Spike ventures into the mind of Sadie Brown, hoping to uncover the truth behind her nightmares. But as he delves deeper, through a labyrinth of disjointed thoughts and possibilities, an old memory is awoken, and it is watching them both...

Life on Earth Retold is on schedule for a Christmas 2011 DVD release, to be followed by Life on Earth Rebooted in Spring 2012. Both will be available via skerratt-media.co.uk.

Stay tuned to this blog over the next few weeks if you want to hear my thoughts on the filming and see some pics!

Bye for now.