Friday 28 September 2012

Skerratt Media Teams Up with Theo the Mouse

I love puppets. They always do what you tell them, their comedy timing is impeccable, and they can shave thousands off your project's catering budget.

Theo the Mouse, aided by Wink Taylor, pictured here
with his human stage chum Wendy Abrahams.
So when Wink Taylor and Wendy Abrahams asked me if I'd like to direct and film their latest DVD project - for their puppet pal Theo the Mouse - I leapt at the chance. And trust me, that's the sign of something good. Very rarely do producery types like me "leap." We normally creep towards things, cautiously, with our specs on. But this was a no-brainer.

How to describe Theo the Mouse? Wink pitched him to me as a "cross between Sooty and Sweep" - someone with Sweep's big heart, but obvious dim-wittedness, and Sooty's quiet, but cheeky, 'know-all' demeanour. He's into slapstick, terrible puns, and delights in winding up his 'assistant' Wendy to tremendous comedy effect.

All this - and more - will be packaged into a fun-filled DVD consisting of three Theo the Mouse episodes, to be released towards the end of 2012. The final, shiny version will be available through my website, www.skerratt-media.co.uk, and at Theo the Mouse live shows.

Check out the video below to see Theo and Wendy in action!

Thursday 20 September 2012

Notre Dame Oscars 2012

Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College in Leeds means the absolute world to me. When I first arrived there as a shy, tubby sixteen year-old with very questionable hair, I knew nobody. It was very scary. I didn't think I'd survive the month.

The red carpet!
Nobody was more surprised than I to discover that, not only did I survive the month, I lived and breathed the place for two fantastic years. It was one of those rare periods of my life when I woke up every morning and actually looked forward to going to 'work'. The simple reason for this was that I loved my friends and I loved my subjects, (Theatre, Media and Classical Civilisation - what's not to like?)

So returning there on 19 September 2012 as an introverted - but still tubby - twenty-four year-old with slightly less hair was an absolute joy, (only "less" because I'd had it chopped - baldness has thus far alluded me.) And walking down St. Mark's Avenue not only felt familiar - it felt routine. I actually believed, for a fleeting moment, that I was on my way to a class. Suddenly I was back in 2006. Incredible.

Of course the reason for my being there was somewhat surreal. My filmmaker friend Kenneth Barker has, for the last few years, been the VIP guest at the Media / Film studies 'Oscar' ceremony, and has presented the awards for the students' coursework. But he was unable to attend this year, and very kindly suggested me as an alternative. I couldn't say "yes" fast enough.

Me at Notre Dame in 2004, and an example of the
bad hair I was referring to...
My responsibilities were simple: first, to talk a little about myself, (and it was "a little" - I am the King of Concise), and to hand out the Oscar statuettes to the winners of the various categories: best editing, best narrative in a music video, best comedy performance, and so on. And very well-deserved these prizes were. The standard of filmmaking in all categories was staggering, with each piece brimming with innovation and creativity. My particular favourites were the music video to 'Blessed' by Tom Fangs Feat. Shermanology, and the film short 'Left Bear' directed by the (immenseley) talented Joshua Palit.

My third responsibility was to pick my overall fave for the Judge's Choice award, and this went to the mini-documentary about a local indie band known as The Scandal, with their video feature entitled 'The Scandal - A General Perspective.' You can find out more about them here http://www.facebook.com/TheScandalLeeds, and please do, they're rather good. I chose this as my winner simply because of how well it flowed, and how quickly it grabbed, and sustained, my attention - not an easy thing to achieve, so hats off to the director Johanna Wilton.

And that was it. The students posed for photographs on the red carpet, and I collected my things and hiked back up St. Mark's for what (I hope) will not be the last time. Notre Dame is such a special place and, on the strength of what I saw yesterday, is certainly not dipping on its standards of love, encouragement and creativity. It was great to be back, albeit for one night.

And I finally got to see inside the staff room, (I'd often wondered...)