On the Shoulders of Giants

 

Change everything you know about the future...

The trailer from Water on the Rock's latest SF feature On the Shoulders of Giants went online yesterday, and what a corker it is. Obviously I'm biased, because I act in the thing, but as a hardcore sci-fi fan this stuff really tickles my inner geek.

I play Navigator Hyatt on board a super-advanced spaceship in the 23rd century, on its maiden voyage to test out the new Einstein-Rosen Drive. Several things about this role excited me. First, I'd get a laser gun. Second, I'd get a jetpack. Third, it would likely be the closest thing to Blake's 7 I'd ever to act in, (one of my all-time favourite TV shows.) Plus there's a talking computer called CAARN, and I happen to think that talking computers are cool...

We filmed this in the Spring of 2010, over the course of six or seven weeks, inside a derelict church in the centre of Leeds. But you wouldn't know this to look at the film, which has every appearance of being shot in a professional studio. And this recording space served us so faithfully, realising everything from Zepethar's quarters on the Leviathan to the barren wastelands of Theta-25L. Our director, 'Captain' Kenneth D. Barker, put his colour key skills to good use by shooting many of these impressive vistas against a green screen, allowing for many of the breathtaking visuals to be painted in later.

So it had been two years since I last donned Navvy Hyatt's Doc Martens, but I was chuffed and excited when Kenneth asked me to return to the role in February to record some extra voices for the project. And as if that wasn't exciting enough, I soon discovered that Hannah Rosbon, Vicki Glover and Waleed Khalid - actors from my upcoming film Life on Earth Retold - had also been offered voice-over roles! Brilliant! (See the video below.)

On the Shoulders of Giants is due for release in the Summer of 2012 via www.wotr.co.uk. Everybody involved in the project worked with relentless friendliness and enthusiasm, and if only 1% of that love ends up on screen, it'll still be one of the finest and most honest features out there.

*Hyatt over and out*

5 Years Later... 'Life on Earth Retold' Theatrical Trailer

Mark your diaries, circle your calendars, take the day off work... on Monday 9th April 2012, Life on Earth Retold will arrive on DVD at skerratt-media.co.uk. Check out the all-new trailer above for a taste of what's to come. And see if you can crack the Hidden Code...

The very first shot of LOE 2007: Spike giving a Palaeontology
Lecture!

As you will know if you've been following my blog, I didn't plan the release to fall at this time, and yet it's worked out rather well. Come the 9th April, it will have been one year, (though not quite to the day), since I started writing the script, meaning the whole production process has taken a neat and tidy twelve months.

More signifcant - and wholly more deliberate - is the fact that the 9th April, (to the day, this time), marks the fifth anniversary of the Life on Earth series. Yep, on that day in 2007, (which was also a Monday!) Spike Ombre, along with Mack the faithful laptop and his digital friends, went online with Episode One: Fiends Reunited, in which a demon-possessed Ezra Lord attempted to raise a long lost civilisation fom the ashes, which just happened to be buried beneath the cathedral city of Lincoln!

LOE 2007: Spike chats to his laptop, Mack, as he strolls home
through Lincoln.

It all started because, frankly, I was bored at university. I was doing a Drama degree, (and yes it's a solid, proper academic subject, before I get letters), but I was only in lectures for about nine hours a week. I felt like I was losing my mind.

And then one evening - I remember it vividly - I was telling Richard Cooper (Ezra Lord) how I was desperate to get back into filmmaking, but I didn't know how to do it! I'd need a cast, a crew... I couldn't have Spike Ombre alone in his flat, just talking to himself, and fighting off... himself! At which point Rich laughed and coyly remarked, "knowing you, he'd probably just talk to his computer!"

The preverbial lightbulb lit up, my eyes widened, the penny dropped (further than ever before), and I grinned widely... "That's it! That's perfect!!"

LOE 2007: The mysterious Ezra Lord arrives at Spike's flat...

I never imagined, five years on, I'd still be doing it. But then, I love all the characters so much. It's a cliche, but they really are like best friends, or relatives. Sometimes I go a while without speaking to them, and yet when I do, it's like we've never been apart.

So do watch the trailer for Life on Earth Retold, and if you enjoy it, please could you share with / pass on to your friends, because I made this stuff to be seen, and I can't afford an aggressive billboard campaign just yet, (I'm saving that for the tenth anniversary.)

And on that note - see you in 2017, for Life on Earth: The Hoverboard Invasion. 

The Frustrated Musician

Being a kid was very frustrating. I was desperate to write stories, but at 3 years of age my grasp of written English was non-existent. So, I used to scribble colourful masses of nonsense onto A4 paper, give them a good staple, and present this to my parents as A Book, which I'd then translate as we flicked through.

If only I could get away with that now! I don't think my teddy bear friend would be amused...

Today, I'm at the same stage with music. I can't play an instrument for toffee, except perhaps the Triangle, but I wouldn't boast too loudly about that if interviewed. I have a whole album of material in my head, words and tunes all fully formed and ready to go, but I can't do anything with them! I couldn't even write them down as music! Now, I know that Every Good Boy Deserves Football, (or at least I thought I did), but then, what is this??

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Bachlut1.gif

I'm told, on good authority, that this is hand-written musical notation by J.S. Bach no less, (co author of A Whiter Shade of Pale! *eh eh, Matthew Fisher!*) But just look at what he's done! Far from Every Good Boy Deserving Football, this Bach character has seen fit to draw in extra lines (?!), meaning that not only does Every Good Boy Deserve Football, but Every Good Boy Deserves Football Because Bach Can Add Extra Dots And Dashes That Carry On For All Eternity Up Up And Off The Page Making No Sense Whatsoever And Thus Thwarting My Plans Of Ever Grasping The Language of the Dietonic Scale, (and yes, T, O, U, P, M, N, S, W and L are now officially notes.)

So in 2007, I met up with my friend Ian, waving the above at him, maroon-faced and in a fluster. No sooner had I proven that the Good Boys Deserving (of) Football are then followed by a FULL STOP, he smiled symapthetically, and volunteered to make music on my behalf.

The end result is the above video. The music and lyrics are my own, as is the singing, (did you know my mouth could make TWO kinds of sound??) And Ian played the drums, guitar and mixed the thing. Do give me a grade, because I value your feedback, but remember, no lower than a G, (refer back to my rant.)

And also, an informal request. If there are any musicians out there, preferably with half decent recording equipment, interested in working on tracks of a similar ilk to 'Brother,' then please make yourself be known to me! alex@skerratt-media.co.uk Just don't get me started on the Diuretic Scale.  



Sooty at the Garrick, London

Back in November of this year, Richard Cadell asked me to do something I've never done before: write a theatre script. For Sooty. For the West End! This was scary for two reasons. One - it's the West End. And two - I've never written a proper play before. I would class myself as a TV scriptwriter, who can't bare ('bear' haha!) to have a scene more than a page long. The Oldest Life on Earth for example, (one of my films), had about 70 scenes in 30 minutes. That's some pace! The thought of penning an hour-long stage venture, (effectively, one looooooooooong long scene), didn't, ahum, 'play' to my strengths...!

I don't have a picture of Sooty at the Garrick, so here's a totally fake
one of me doing some writing. Courtesy of Ken Boyter, (left, with
a moustache.)

Only once have I attempted this kind of writing - whilst at University, as part of my degree. Luckily for me, Richard Cadell failed to research this. Admittedly it would have been tricky, given that all copies of Dislocation! Dislocation! had been burnt, with anyone directly related to the project having been hunted down and retconned. So - after a quick phone call one wet Monday afternoon, in the pub of all places, the 'scene was set' for my return to that most 'closet' and clandestine of worlds, where people start sentences with "darling...", where 'Stage Left' and 'Stage Right' are ALWAYS the wrong way round, and where 'Codding' has absolutely nothing to do with fish, (go on though - 'haddock' a guess...!)

Luckily, I wasn't alone in The Creative Process. Once again, like old times, me and that fellow from Doctor Who: A Natural History of Fear gathered around Richard's notepad in Cheltenham and told awful jokes about Mo from t'market and choux pastry, (okay - I told awful jokes.) And after eight hours, Mr C handed me a dozen pages of scribblings and officially commissioned me to tranform them into an hour-long theatre script. "Darling, thank you!"

Credit where credit's due - most of the ideas in it aren't mine. Richard normally comes to me and Wink with a rough idea of what he wants and we help him to 'flesh it out' with meat, bones and, yes, cod. I suppose my main contribution is to the dialogue, ('cracking' word jokes, yep, and bad ones), and I help to give the thing some structure and pace. Yes, this play will move, but hopefully the audience won't. Oh and there are songs too. Original songs 'what we wrote'! See you at Christmas Number One, Mr Cowell, the Facebook campaign starts here.

So, if you find yourselves anywhere near the Garrick Theatre in London this Christmas, do drop in and see our mutual teddy bear friend. There's a present for every child apparently, with Norman Barrett, (the bird man: http://sooty.wikia.com/wiki/Norman_Barrett), Father Christmas, (http://bit.ly/sLMcZs) and a surprise, (http://bit.ly/u5CIAo)!

There are more details on performance dates / times here: http://www.thesootyshow.com/live.php But for now, so long, and thanks for, umm, all the fish...

Life on Earth Retold: Teaser Trailer

I am chuffed to announce the first Teaser Trailer for my biggest and craziest project to date!

Click here to have a look - the first footage from Life on Earth Retold:

The format of this project has evolved since previous blogs. During post-production, I found myself unable to escape the fact that these two films are a pair and that they belong together. So - the proposed two releases will now be one release, one bumper Life on Earth Retold DVD with its two separate episodes, now subtitled 'Episode 1: Paralysis' and 'Episode 2: Genesis.'

I think this will serve the project much better. It's really hard work promoting a film, and my Former Plan meant that I'd have to do all the leg-work twice over, within about three months! That's a lot of trailers / film festivals / networking events. And also, Episode 2 needs Episode 1, quite muchly. Episode 2 resolves the chaos dealt out by its predecessor, including its Game-changing Cliffhanger, (and that's one up to me Who fans, because these plot details have much less chance of leaking their way onto Gallifrey Base!)

So, look out for the complete Life on Earth Retold DVD at skerratt-media.co.uk in Spring 2012! And enjoy the Teaser. Comments and feedback always appreciated and taken on board :) Thanks x  

My 2nd TV Debut...!

In 2001, my dad and his partner responded to an add in the TV Quick to appear in a documentary about why men leave their marriages. Inevitably this meant that they wanted to interview Yours Truly. Not only that! They wanted loads of other little bits of atmospheric footage, that as a filmmaker I totally know the technical name for. All I can remember is that Fred, the French cameraman, wanted them to look "very artistique...!"

So, a few mornings later, I was awoken ridiculously early by my father. "Come on son, up you get!" came the suspiciously chirpy command. I'm nearly 13, I thought. It's very strange that my dad's come to get me out of bed! Then I looked up, and there was Fred, along with his sound man Andy, wide-angledly capturing these precious moments of askew hair and panda eyes in this wholly-realistic, very artisic... documentary...

And thus the art commenced: eating baked beans with my step sister, (artisically), going up onto the Chevin and looking down on Otley, artistically... and some lucious panning shots of me jogging round Garnett's Field, ridiculously, as I was terribly unfit.

Then there came the REALLY big one: the interview! Which they did twice, because "there was a technical fault with the first one." Yes! Read as: "you didn't say anything nearly meaty or discriminating enough for us to broadcast the first time round." Or perhaps it wasn't artisic enough. Who knows. But - it didn't matter. I was going to be on telly. This was terribly exciting, especially for a bashful, naive 13 year-old.

And then it happened. Or rather, it didn't. Gone. GONE! I was edited out. 'Why Men Leave' became 'Why Men are Cheating Layabouts Who Leave Their Poor Wives For a Bit on the Side' (not the official title.) Shots of my dad were regraded to make it look like he was sitting in a dungeon, and my stepmum was dressed as a prostitute in a bright red top with a fag, (guess the gender of the director!!) No wonder they cut me out. Being neither a prison warden or a hooker, Fred's art must have been somwehat lacking when I told the interviewer what great people my parents were.

But I shall not be bitter and twisted! (Haha much, I hear you cry! :P) Because on Thursday, 3rd November 2011, Richard Cadell got one up on 'Why Men Leave' by artisically inserting me into an episode of 'Sooty.' And here it is: the first ever picture of me broadcast on live TV...

Don't pinch yourselves. This is real. Those are indeed my legs! And what an artistic golf swing I've got going on. Thankyou Mr C, I really owe you one :) And if you ever want a documentary making about yourself, your parents, or anything else, then I know precisely the TV company that won't feature you...! (Grrrrrr!)

And okay, here's a slightly nicer picture of me and my chum Wink T:

   Such happy memories of this shoot. An experience I'll never forget - my 2nd TV debut :)

Sooty: Welcome back!

Nb. Skerratt Media hasn't made the new series of Sooty! (I haven't anywhere near that kind of money!!) But I (Alex) was on board as co-writer with Richard C and Wink Taylor.

What a lovely day :) After the Hit massacre of 2004, my feelings towards that yellow bear were, errm, mixed, to say the least! For those who don't know, Sooty did the TV equivalent of getting in with the wrong crowd, 'smoking stuff behind the bike sheds' and allowing himself to be led by a Brazillian cat called Miki, whose intentions were suspect to say the very least.

The writing team! Please note - I didn't take this picture!!
(Thanks Sarah xx)

But today - Monday 5th September at 10.10am... he came back!! Out of rehab and stronger than ever!

I was so excited to see The Wedding up on my screen. And never in a million years did I think I'd have anything to do a single episode, let alone co-write an entire series! I've waited 24 years to see my work broadcast and suddenly, like the proverbial buses, 'two come at once' - two transmissions on the same day!! Brilliant! Thank you :)

Then there's the other wait, the 7 year one, those long, dark years where the airwaves were officially Sootyless, save for the occasional repeat of Robo Richard or similar. They were a painful 7 years Sooty, (although Robo Richard had its moments.) Stay with the good crowd, steer clear of that Miki, but most important: hey, welcome back!

See Sooty every weekday on CITV at 10.10am and 1.25pm - (Freeview 72, Sky 621, Freesat 602!)