Filming Tweedy the Clown

As any Doctor Who fan will know - all timelines converge on Donna Noble.

In my case, all timelines converge on Cheltenham, which is where I found myself a couple of weeks ago, on a grey, rainy morning in April. It's where we filmed Theo the Mouse. It's where I pass through every time we hold a Sooty summit. This time, I was on my way to meet a clown - Tweedy, to his friends. I was concerned we wouldn't recognise each other, having never met before, but given his dazzling quiff of red hair and my deadpan demeanour, there was little danger of that!

He'd asked me to film and edit a short 'episode' of his show, written by himself and a chap called Andrew Emerson, in which the unfortunate Tweedy the Clown finds himself working in a theatre as a stagehand for the somewhat uppity Mr. Boss, played by Richard Alan. They are awaiting the arrival of a high-profile singer, (I like to think it was Lily Allen), whose extravagant list of requirements sends the poor clown into a bit of a spin.

Tweedy had secured a wonderful location for the 7 hour shoot - a theatre just a few minutes from the town centre - and a dream environment if ever there was one. No background noise, no freak weather, just the actors, the props and the stage lights, which the in-house technicians very kindly set up for us. And then they left us to it. That was it - we were away! Tweedy and Richard took to the stage and started running through their lines, (the interplay between these two characters accounts for roughly half the minisode.) During a break, Tweedy admitted he was most concerned about shooting the dialogue, not the slapstick. I admitted I was most concerned about shooting the slapstick, not the dialogue! Between us - we had it covered! (I hoped!) I'd been a little antsy because I'd never shot this kind of material before. Tweedy was climbing up a stepladder, swinging off a stepladder, walking a stepladder across the stage, running in circles with his signature broom... It required a lot of fast camera moves and I wanted to make sure I did the work justice.

I think I did. Well - I got paid anyway!

Even nicer, it was one of those rare occasions in "the Industry" in which we actually wrapped early. A whole 3 hours early, in fact. Always better to have too much time than too little, (gave me chance to munch on a fourth sausage roll.) This was largely down to Tweedy's rigorous preparation. When it came to shooting the quite complex routines, (like, climb up the ladder, fall over, lie flat across the top of the ladder, forward-roll off the other side, swing round, collapse onto the floor), Tweedy just got up and did it, in one take. I could then punch in for a couple of close-ups, and that was it, we could move on.

So yes - great fun, but a very long day with lots of travelling, and lots of asking people to shift out of my reserved seat on the train home, ("Oh - shall I move then...?" came the disheartened reply - happens every time!) Hopefully the finished video will be available for the world to witness soon.

In the meantime, here's a rather good one from Tweedy's YouTube channel. It's a promo for one of his live shows, called Tweedy's Lost Property... Enjoy!

The Oldest Life on Earth DVD is now FREE!

When relationships end, some people go mad, some achieve madness, and some have madness thrust upon them. I managed all three when I decided to make my first proper film, (and start a business!)

The Oldest Life on Earth was the DVD that launched Skerratt Media as a website and a studio, way, way back in the Year of Our Lord 2011 A.D., when Amy Winehouse was still alive, the Higgs-Boson was theoretical, and Tom Daley had yet to present Splash. 2 years on, I've still got copies left, so I have decided to offer the DVD for free.

Spike Ombre fights off... someone!

Continuing the story of Spike Ombre, a self-proclaimed 'professor' with a passion for gadgetry and all-things ancient, the film follows him trying to piece together his broken memories. He knows he died, and yet he is still alive. His friend Rachael said something important, but he can't remember what. And then there's the elusive Cunabula, and the number 33... This incomprehensible weirdness by no means reaches a definite conclusion, and yet, in some ways, the story is very self-contained, and can be understood with repeated viewing. It's hyper-niche stuff, with a concept that makes Steven Moffat's writing look linear.

So, if you're in the mood to be mentally stretched, order your free copy here! There is a £2 charge for postage and packing, as I suspect my local post office will be unwilling to dispense freebies with the same gay abandon as the Skerratt Media employees, (well, me!)

The above link will also take you to an exclusive preview clip, so to make sure you're getting the complete Spike Ombre experience, have a gander at this rather confusing trailer as well:

    

CD Goings-on as Menston Discs Arrive!

My office hasn't known what's hit it this week. The world's smallest workhouse, Skerratt Media H.Q., also known as My Bedroom (to passers-by), is now drowning under a sea of shiny Menston Green CDs. For those out of the loop, the production is a radio comedy starring former Doctor Who Colin Baker, and the estimable Wink Taylor, (Basil Brush's personal assistant!)

The Menston invasion has begun!

Interestingly, these CDs are not going to be sold on my website. In fact, they're not going to be sold anywhere! (I'm not a hoarder, in case you were wondering...) Nay - these discs are going to be used for promotional purposes, given away to friends, family, sworn enemies, and hopefully strangers. The CDs will act as living, breathing adverts for the production and for Skerratt Media, as a pamphlet or blog can only say so much, and I want Menston Green to speak for itself.

So I'm going to start shipping these out to unsuspecting members of the public over the course of this week, starting with the cast! (That's right - nobody's safe!!) And then to magazines to see if they're interested in reviewing it, (realistically, so they can put it on their desk and forget about it), and then to the local press to see if they'd like to run a feature of some sort, (realistically, so they can put it on their desk and forget about it), and then to the BBC, (who, realistically, will point me in the direction of the FAQ page on their website, so I can put my request to them in 300 characters or less, like a slightly laid-back version of Twitter.)

Ooh the bitterness! Haha. No, I'm not bitter. Such a waste of energy, bitterness. But I am persistant!

Anyway, I only have a limited number of these, so if anyone would like a copy for the purposes of reviewing or featuring, please get in contact with me via my website.

Of course, to the casual listener, Menston Green is still available as an MP3 download for a very respectable £3, and can be found here.

"May the Force be long and prosper!" - Dale Delaney, Menston Green