A Dan of All Trades

(by Rishi Thaker)

Bruce Springsteen - 'Wrecking Ball'

Another week rolls on by and a million more things get done on our list whilst a million more things get added on. It has also been a particularly exciting week for me as Bruce Springsteen released his five trillionth studio album ‘Wrecking Ball’ which I have fallen in love with (which may not surprise those of you who know me). Sorry Asch, can you give that album the engagement ring please?

Dan & Rishi filming Slaughter

So I promised a quick update about our involvement at this years Cannes Film Festival (the 65th one) in May. Stickmen Pictures will 100% be attending this year in the mind frame of assessing the opportunities for ‘Slaughter’ and also finding backers for future projects. This will require a complete head strong approach with plenty of preparation as from what we’ve heard there will be plenty of distractions and getting star struck is not an uncommon practice over there. We have a lot of ideas on how to do this but primarily we need to ensure the final version of ‘Slaughter’ is ready to parade. There is a confidence about our camp at the moment, as from the dialogue we have already had with industry professionals, we know what we have created with no backing is an unusual blueprint and one that will generate interest. I know I have probably laboured this point in the past but if it were not for the dedication and talent of the cast and crew opportunities like this would not have presented themselves, and so we have a responsibility to do you all proud in Cannes, which we will. There are still a couple of months to go before Cannes so more on this will flow through to you in due course. 

Dan producing Slaughter

On other fronts, this week we have completed a real basic visual edit of the sequences we shot in Jan/Feb (Prologue and the Brothers intro). Now we need to put in the sound, visual effects, colour edit and music. We also shot the additional Conway incerpts this week. All of these activities have required (will require) on some level the input of one man. His name is Dan. Dan as you know is the co-founder of Stickmen Pictures. He is the epitome of a man making sacrifices to follow his dreams. I have known Dan for 8 years and I have seen him lose his 20-20 eye sight, become wheat intolerant, go hungry and sacrifice many other far more serious things (I won’t print in fairness to Dan, but you just need to take my word for it!) which most people would baulk at, all in the name of film. As time rolls forward these sacrifices become harder to make but Dan still finds a way. This is why I want to lay the highest of tributes to him and make sure (if the world doesn’t end in 2012) that this year is the year where Mr Daniel Tee reaps the rewards of what he has sown in the past 8 years. Those seeds are on the cusp of sprouting f@cking high so I hope we can do our best to see it through to a dramatic conclusion. This one’s for you Dan. Vomit.

Cheers,

Rishi

Link: Slaughter is the Best Medicine

Back to Stickmen Pictures

Silence is a Golden Statue

(by Rishi Thaker)

So here I am again trying to deliver on my promise to keep you interested.

Over the last week I have been labelled, amongst other things, as arrogant, a sell out, and a knob sack. Who would have thought a video log would have prompted such emotion? For those of you who don’t know, I definitely am arrogant and a knob sack. But a sell out? I guess only time will tell but I haven’t really had anything to sell yet so a bit puzzled by this one.

Shhh...

So on we go and in a week where after looking at the Stickmen Pictures site a few gazes were cast on Hollywood. You’ll have noticed that a silent film ‘The Artist’, a throwback/love letter to a more romantic period of cinema’s history was the toast of the Oscars. Rightly so in my opinion but rather than the homage I think what was wonderful to see was that even in this day and age a film with no words can tell the most compelling of stories. Dan and I have always been supporters of this kind of story telling. A few years ago we were watching our first short film ‘A Mid-Summer Nightmare’ at a busy venue in the background over a lot of conversation and we were surprised to see that despite not being able to hear it the story was quite clear.

A MID-SUMMER NIGHTMARE

This epiphany subsequently inspired the music video ‘The Chasist’ (watch it a few clicks away in the music video section if you haven’t done so you naughty individual!). We shot that film with the intention that if you could not hear the music you would still feel compelled to watch the whole 6 mins! This characteristic of the music video kept us from egg on our face when it premiered in Aug’09 on Derby’s Big Screen in the Market Place.

THE CHASIST

What we didn’t anticipate at the premier was a fun fair and really awful speakers which kept the viewers from being able to hear any of the music on the Chasist. But due to the great images and inspired performances it did not hamper the viewing but told us we got something right. This is something we’ve tried carrying into all other productions where it’s been appropriate and thus we have another great quirk of the Stickmen Pictures production style! So in theory you should be able to watch all our films without sound and still be absorbed. Go and try it!
 

Before I sign off I want to acknowledge all of you that have been tuning in to these blogs and video logs. It seems to have dramatically increased traffic on our sites (website and facebook) which is giving us great impetus in the development of Stickmen Pictures as a serious contender in the film market. We need this if we are going to make a difference at places like Cannes (which I will elaborate on more next blog – apologies I meant to do it this time!).

Thanks again and see you soon.

Rishi

Slaughter Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Medicine

(by Rishi Thaker)

Greetings from the murky world of planet Derboo. In an attempt to keep you people interested I wanted to give you an update regarding the latest scenes that we are adding into Slaughter.

Firstly, Dan is now in motion and we are cutting the major action sequence which with, when finished, we officially want to challenge the opening sequence of ‘Quantum of Solace’ in regards to which is better. Granted we have an advantage in that we are making our scene after theirs but then we haven’t had $200 million to waste. In fact we had a grand total of 7 boys and a girl (inc Dan and I) to shoot the most exciting, thrilling and heart pumping zero-budget opening sequence in motion picture history! You’ll have a chance to see the evidence in some fabulous photographs taken by our man Mick which will be up on the site soon. The saliva is gushing like a waterfall sausage-side in Niagara.

Secondly, there is some tremendous excitement being generated by the new Brother’s introduction sequence. It is going to be action packed, and we are particularly proud of this one as it was one of our toughest shoots (temperature hit minus 10 degrees Celsius) and the 8 of us involved in it showed that with drive, determination and passion you can achieve anything. It was so rewarding knowing the sacrifice all involved gave just because they love making films. You guys were amazing.

Before I leave I want to say that I still don’t know whether General Melchitt is sly or not and that after watching Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in 3D (how I wish I could keep re-releasing the same critically slated film and still keep those cinemas packed – whatever you think of Lucas there is something to be admired here!) Asch has decided she wants to become a Jedi – poor girl has only just discovered Star Wars – and will like approx 3,000 of you claim to follow Jed-ism in the next census! What is she on?

Check out the caption game (https://www.facebook.com/slaughterfilm) and keep your eyes peeled for the next Blog where I will unravel some more of the Cannes plan!!!!

Rishi

The Ides of February

(by Rishi Thaker)

So here it is, 2 months into 2012 and I reckon it’s time to show you all my cards:

Firstly, I (and possibly Dan too but he’s a busy boy these days with all that CGI he has promised the world – no pressure) am going to be blogging more regularly (hopefully weekly at a minimum) so please tune in if you are interested to see where Stickmen Pictures is flying to next!

We recently completed shooting 2 new scenes for the juggernaut that is ‘Slaughter is the Best Medicine’ and have a couple more shoots on the agenda for March. The reason we are doing these new scenes is twofold:

1) Because we think it’s going to add even more to what we think is a great film
2) Ants in our pants (or in Laurence’s case – perished thongs)

I want to thank all the individuals who have dusted their boots and jumped on round 2 of the Slaughter Band Wagon, in particular a couple of additions to our cast in the form of Colin Murtagh (you terrorist) and the awesome Rob Reinaldo (my vote for the next Mr Universe!!!!!). We hope to have our additional scenes completed in time for…

…the Cannes Film Festival in May! More on this to come but I’ll be there this year so if you fancy it, book your flights and let’s ‘Slaughter’ everyone!

Finally does anyone know if General Melchitt in the final episode of ‘Blackadder Goes Fourth’ is actually being sly when he sends Captain Darling off to the front line or is he genuinely stupid for thinking this is what Darling wants? It only occurred to me recently that I don’t know the answer to this and on watching it again I am still unclear. If you know Mr Fry ask him for me!

Cheers Rishi

Stickmen Pictures 2012 Update

(by Rishi Thaker & Daniel Tee)

Hello,

Greetings from Stickmen Pictures. We are hoping 2012 is going to be a fantastic year for us all, as things start hotting up for Slaughter.

Firstly, we want to thank the cast and crew of Slaughter for re-engaging with us to complete a few additional scenes that will raise the standard of the film as a whole. These new scenes are shaping up well and we are excited at the prospect of the final product, which is set to be completed by May this year. For those of you who are interested, the characters of Vet and Conway will be the focus of a new action-packed opening to the film, set seven years in the past in a warzone. We will also be introducing the other characters in more fitting ways.

Secondly, once the film has been fully finished we will be taking a trip to Cannes to see if we can make further headway with the film. We are also looking for opportunities to get funding for our next project, which could be one of four ideas in the pipeline.

Thirdly, we are looking to raise funding from another avenue, our kind and wonderful supporters. These will be the Stickmen Pictures Members. If this interests you, please visit our Investors page on the Stickmen Pictures website: http://stickmenpictures.com/investors.html

We hope you have a great 2012 and one of our resolutions is to blog more often, so keep a look out!

Thank you

Rishi and Dan

Marketing 'Slaughter is the Best Medicine'

(by Daniel Tee)

As Rishi Thaker, A.D. Barker and many other film makers will attest, shooting a feature film can take a few days if planned well. Editing it can take several months, especially when doing visual effects. 'Slaughter is the Best Medicine' has been a labour of love and something I personally am very proud of, as are the rest of the team. Now, we're very much in the marketing phase.

At every stage along the way, having no money to work with has been an issue and one that's hard to get around. Large companies would spend many thousands of pounds to promote a film, but we've only got what we can put together from our limited resources. However, using these small resources we've been looking at the best ways to push 'Slaughter' forward.

Step 1: The very first step of the process was to get our film listed on Internet Movie Database (IMDb). This is trickier than first thought. They need evidence that the film is not only real, but is commercially viable and or of note. By providing them with a plethora of information and proof that we didn't just pretend to make a film, they eventually listed the title, which was a great step forward.

Step 2: The second step has been to send the film to festivals that are appropriate to the genre. What we were unaware of was that we'd need a massive amount of material to go along with our submissions. Whenever we thought we'd got enough information or press material, we'd find another section of the application to fill in or another type of photo needed. Michael Spiby's documentary photography of the filming days and various promotional images has really helped. People need visuals to back up what they read and that's something we've learned greatly over the last few weeks.

Step 3: The third stage is to have our film reviewed. We took the bull by the horns, having two test screenings before completing the film, which meant that we could tweak things to suit the audience's view about certain areas. It was unavoidable that doing things on zero budget meant the quality of certain production areas would be lesser than most mainstream films; what we've achieved has consistently been judged not as a low budget 'effort', but as a solid piece that stands well next to high budget cinematic releases. Not all the reviews will glowing I'm sure, but it's important to approach criticism in a positive way and learn from anything constructive. This stage also involves speaking to the press, but generally they will only get in contact when something significant has already occurred for the film.

Step 4: When the film is on IMDb, shown at at least one festival and has some decent reviews, the fourth stage can begin; the distribution phase. This is potentially an organic process based on success at festivals. It's about giving distributors access to the film and proof that it's of high enough quality to be chosen by the industry professionals who judge the entries. Independent cinemas often accept films directly from film makers, as long as they have been successful with audiences at screenings and festivals. Breaking into the mainstream is difficult for most independents without the support of large production houses or millions of pounds to spend, which is why there is a divide between the two. Speaking to as many people as possible about the project and promoting by any means is the way to reach the right people. The right people being distributors of the appropriate genre who are willing to take a risk on an unknown film. It can and does happen, so this is one of the things that we're hoping for.

I always wondered why many films would take two years to make it into cinemas. It generally isn't that the film isn't complete; it's because there are so many pre-requisites along the way to distribution, not one of which can be ignored. So, it's a grindstone that I'm happy to have my nose to. There are rewards along the way for cast and crew alike, the first of which will undoubtedly be to have the film shown at a major festival in front of thousands of people. After all, the goal of making a film is to entertain audiences. Let's hope this four step process is one that will herald success over the coming year.

http://stickmenpictures.com/film_slaughter.html

Photographs by Michael Spiby (Copyright © Michael Spiby 2011).

'Slaughter is the Best Medicine' Post-Shoot

(by Rishi Thaker)

For those of you who are interested I felt it time to give a few words on those who so valiantly braved the halls of Stanford, the warehouses of Derbyshire and the woods of Riddings all in the name of a film production that has been endeared to all our hearts over the last few months.

I know we still haven’t got the finished article out yet, but the anticipation has been heightened by your participation, and we are beyond the trepidation that follows the consolidation, for a project of such gratification that I offer you my congratulations.

It takes a monumental effort to put a feature film together and for the most part that is exactly the kind of effort we have received. I won’t hide the fact that this film production has been testing on many scales, but nothing is worth doing if it isn’t a challenge.

If you cast your minds back to June 19th/20th 2010, some of you may remember the question marks, the uncertainty, and the nervousness that will have undoubtedly occupied your minds as you auditioned for this film with a working title called, ‘Slaughter is the Best Medicine’. But you all came and had a go at trying to land a part in a film that from the onset was to have zero budget attached. Despite all our attempts to put you off by insisting there will be no money or expenses paid, you still were curious enough to take a gamble and more importantly take this seriously. And as we always claimed that the best improvisers were likely to get a role, there was another underlying factor that wasn’t made clear, but paramount to our decision too. This was that you needed to have that special personality that would make you give 100% to this film, without arrogance but with youthful exuberance. You needed to have the Stickmen Pictures personality, and I am so glad to say we got it right with you guys. You don’t need to read these words to understand what I mean, as you only had to experience the enjoyment of the Wrap Party on 12th Nov 2010 (some two and a half months after our woodland shoot) to understand what I mean. Barring the absence of three of the main cast (and this absence was totally justified on all three cases) every one was present and well. The camaraderie was beautiful and it was like you had never left the set. This kind of situation doesn’t come along very often and it’s a credit to you all that we all had some of the moments of our lives on this production (and the film’s not even out yet). I can say that I will take the memories of the past few months all the way to when I’m finally asked to choose Heaven or Hell (I think because of Asch I’m going to have to go for the latter!)

Now that’s the vomit stuff out of the way, so without further ado here are those ‘words’ I promised you earlier on yourselves.

Cast

Nigel aka ‘The Veteran’ – Nigel had the pleasure of taking lead in a feature film. What I enjoyed most about Nigel’s contribution to this film was his humour. In my opinion Nigel can improvise scenes extremely quickly and well, and his character Vet has a seriousness which intensifies the film. Thus Nigel needed humour to break the intensity so that this film didn’t end up being the Passion of the Christ. I know Nigel found it a huge challenge to take the role, but that came with the territory of leading a feature film. I can conclude that Nigel worked through this challenge like a soldier (ironically) and never let the role get the better of him. Nigel, I hope on reflection this experience will teach and spur you on to new and exciting film ventures as you brought a wonderful presence to this film.

Chris aka ‘Dustbin’ – Comedy is an exceptionally difficult thing to achieve well. If we ever need to have a laugh or a smile, the one instant thought a Stickmen Pictures faithful would have is Chris Battelle. Now I’ve blogged about the talents of CB before, so I won’t repeat myself, but what I will say is that CB is the light of the party for us. On screen he is comedy genius, and it’s no different off screen. Chris loves to make people laugh. My hope is for the world to one day get that special opportunity that was afforded to us all with Chris’s presence on our set. Congratulations with the birth of your baby girl. Natalie will be immensely proud of her dad when she’s old enough to see this film.

Gibney aka ‘The Cobra – As an individual who regrets nothing, we secured an outstanding performer in Andrew Gibney. In the beginning I could see Gib querying within himself as to whether he was doing the right thing by turning up to the auditions despite his well documented yearnings to make it onto film. And whilst the character of the Cobra came naturally, I believe that Gibney’s acting talents have huge dimensions that experienced film-makers would give their right arms for. Off screen Gib had a great desire to bring his own ideas and a drive which helped plough through the work. I think we have scratched a beautiful surface of potential here. Maybe one day we will be able to look forward to the reality show, ‘Cooking with Cobra…’

Ben aka ‘Big Bastard/Quail’ – Presenting you the star of ‘Die Hard in Derby’, we secured a major coup when 6 ft 2 plus Big Ben (sideboards et al) accepted the role of BB. Ben is a wild man enclosed in a teacher’s body. There is something about Ben which draws us all in, and this allows him to get away with anything from primadonna behaviour to ‘Fart Wars’ (don’t ask). Ben’s personality is larger than life and almost all of his ideas for BB were taken on, such was the potency of every thought that entered his mind for the character. Ben was fully aware that his character of BB could have easily fallen by the wayside in such illustrious company, but from the moment his heart was in it there was no chance on that ever happening. Ben, thank you for showing us all top class character play.

Edward C. Parker aka 'Scope' – Right now it’s all quiet on the Parker front as some of us take a punt on where in the world is this intense individual? You’ll probably never guess as it is a well versed habit (and talent) of Edward’s to immerse himself in new surroundings for a set time period whether that is a new country, or in the case of our film, a new person. Edward is an actor’s actor, and delves to the deepest depths of his consciousness to conjure as much material to display his new persona. Edward did not play the character ‘Scope’, rather he became ‘Scope’, and with that he consumed ‘Scope’ thereby leaving us all inspired by such focus. Edward gave a performance with such intensity, that his output charged pace of all his scenes, and this is a natural talent that I felt lucky to have witnessed.

James aka ‘Tracks’ – the man from Peterborough, came with a curiosity that evolved into much more than he would have anticipated in that first meeting which feels like light years away. As James begins to adopt Derby as his choice of occupancy more often these days, I can feel the air of excitement his presence brings. James is a passionate individual who has demonstrated on many occasions his dedication to his love for acting, and this production. James brought a high standard of attention to detail to his character, and always sought for feedback so that he could implement his learnings constantly. It is this humble quality, coupled with a great ability that saw James’ performance endear him to everyone involved, and it will no doubt do the same to everyone who will see him in this. If James maintains his perseverance he will see some great times up ahead in the world of film, and this will be just the tonic he deserves.

Dave aka ‘MLTDF’ – when I first saw Dave from a distance, I mistook him for the local thug, and during that first meeting after he suggested I had decision making skills of a female following a decision on whether or not to accept Dan’s offer of tea, Dave did not look like he was onto a winner. However, after he started acting and began showcasing his talent he was flying. We will all remember the superb Scottish accent Dave took on (you should have heard his Irish one in the audition – superb!) when performing his character, but I think that there is a more important quality to be highlighted with Dave. Not only was he a wonderful team player, Dave brought great insight into the world of method acting. Dave would talk and think like his character after hours, and I can only imagine what horror his Mrs would have gotten in the middle of the night when she may have thought in shock that some random Scotsman has violated their personal space. The devotion to his role enhanced the character of MLTDF from a cameo role, to a pivotal supporting character. And with that came the highest regard for Dave from us all.


Cilente aka ‘Frenik’ – Undoubtedly one of the toughest challenges on this production fell squarely with Cilente. It is a huge ask for an individual to get into a major character, get comfortable with the surroundings she’s never seen before, and act with people she’s never met before one week before the shoot! I was so pleased with the commitment and effort put in by Cilente, which ultimately saved the woodland shoot from delay. Looking back (even though we thought this at the time) you can all see how it would have been nigh on impossible to re-organise this. However the bigger thing for me was how much Cilente committed herself to every moment she played Frenik. It really made Cilente’s introduction to the cast seamless, which ultimately benefited everyone associated with this production. Cilente has always given it her all on the films I’ve made with her and a role like Frenik was just the kind she deserved. A truly wonderful effort.


June aka ‘Goldie’ – When June secured the role, we had a discussion on what Goldie was all about and our eventual conclusions were that Goldie would arrive on screen in moments with little to no dialogue. This coupled with the sexual mystique that makes up the character of Goldie was always going to be an awkward thing for us to ask in a person without making them think ‘Hey we just want to see a bit of ass and then you can go home’. June never misunderstood. She realised early doors what kind of paradox’s fell with the character, and committed 100% to delivering a vision that would not only get the pulse racing but keep the questions from the audience coming. June once quoted something loosely along the lines of if you believe in something, you must devote everything to it and that’s exactly what she did which is a great example to us all. This aside we must not forget all the help June provided to the crew as she helped with the food (I’m thinking barbeque!), with some of the make-up, and she even provided her own offspring to help with the shoot! June is a hardworking artist who deserves all her successes.

Andy/Cash Flagg aka ‘Conway’ – Andy is a writer. His talents extend to film producing, directing and more recently acting. However, at Andy’s core I believe his creative stream of choice is that which he pours into a script or a novel. It is this core which I think allows Andy to bring in an original perspective when it comes to putting across his other talents in this case acting. But at risk of going on and on and putting you to sleep about why I relate to his philosophy I will try and get to the crux of the importance of Andy’s input. Here we have a genuinely talented artist, who has much to offer if his shackles are removed (and in some cases I believe these shackles take the form of Andy’s own modesty). When he came rolling onto set to play the part of the callous Conway he brought a depth that fans of the 1980s action movies will relate to. This is what the film was founded on and Andy delivers with aplomb. I think in the future if Andy still decides to try his hand in acting, as he slowly finds new ways to bring his core creative stream to the fore he will be happy to find that there are whole new audiences waiting to see him.

Jak aka ‘Prof Black’ – Jak has monitored Stickmen Pictures for years from many angles. This has been his first in front of the camera for us and it was a gratifying experience. Jak has good experience in stage acting, and he was able to utilise that extremely well into conveying Professor Black. What was interesting was how easily Jak managed to slip into character that was an absolute arse, but that is in no way a reflection who Jak is (you knew I was going to get that one in!). Watching Jak incorporate himself into a character is a joy to watch as he will mutter the dialogue repeatedly as if he is having an internal battle with the words right until the point he wins, after which he will provide feedback. In a way it is like a mad scientist at work, which probably reflected why Jak fitted the character of Prof Black so well. Now Jak can claim he has viewed Stickmen Pictures from every angle, and I hope he has felt as excited about this, as we have to been in his company.

Dan aka ‘Bennet’ – Normally I tend to avoid talking about Dan as he’s usually bi-blogging with me, thus leaving question marks over the credibility of any comments on him. However I wanted to make some comments specifically around Dan’s acting and thus the major reason why I’ve done this blog on my own this time around. Dan loves acting, and is like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to the opportunity of acting. Sometimes, this excitement scares everyone else in the candy shop but over the years Dan has curbed his enthusiasm but still kept it fresh. Bennet was the best opportunity for Dan to explore his talent and whereas in the past Dan comes out to save us from casting issues, this time we felt the role was ripe for Dan. Dan gives much thought to putting a character across and is always full of ideas to make the character believable. It does not phase Dan as to whether the ideas are accepted or rejected, he will keep thinking and bring a method to his character. This is a great quality that hallmarks the cornerstone of Stickmen Pictures and underpins how much this production company is propped up by this one talented individual. Bennet will be a memorable moment for many viewers and this is due to Dan’s great imagination and commitment to his moment. Well done mate.

I would like to give a mention to Paul H, Phil and Mick’s Cousin Mark. They make cameos in the film and have really helped us in part of the film we didn’t have as much of chance to focus on. They came in at short notice and gave focused performance as well as help us with some of the foreign language that was required. Phil even lent us his car for a shot which worked really well!

Crew

Amika aka ‘Asch or that noise from Leicester’ – Asch is an enigma. She can be quite something to take at times and has a high spec motor powered engine which runs her jaw that even Arnie himself in all three Terminators put together would struggle to defeat. But this is exactly the characteristic we needed to keep this film running on time as you all so keenly felt. In contrast Asch is full of energy and ideas and sometimes being an assistant director shackled that instinct. It is for this reason why I think Asch did a wonderful job on this production as she sometimes went against her grain here to help complete this film. Those of you who really know Asch will understand that she is honest to her core and will tell you how she views things straight down the middle. It is difficult to find this kind of honesty when you’re working on a project that is so close to your heart as it can be tough to take but she always made sure that we never took the easy way out. It has really kept the integrity of the film intact. As well as this she even contributed to the storyboarding which relieved a lot of stress and improved our planning. All this coupled with Asch’s catering responsibilities really made her contribution invaluable (it saved us money too!) and I really think we would have had a lot of issues without her. We owe you so much Asch and we cannot thank you enough for your continued support.

Mick aka ‘Mick/Swiss Army Mick’ – I think multi-talented Mick did just about every single job going on this production. Mick was recommended by Dan and Andy (who confesses, “I would never think of making a film without Mick”) and I certainly got to know exactly what they were talking about. Mick can solve any problem. I mean any problem. You could show him a rash and he would somehow find a cure, and that’s the kind of ability Nasa would give their right arm for. Mick’s input in pre-production provided many solutions to many of our problems such as the bunker, chest shot, props and locations to name a few. Then on the shoot he helped with the make-up, camera for a whole scene, sound and even played an extra (twice!). And if this wasn’t enough he somehow found time to take some of the most extraordinary pictures you will ever see over the course of the whole filmmaking process. He has captured every emotion, every action and every reaction on stills and these really are of the highest order. We are lucky to have such talent standing side by side with us and his pictures will put the promotion of this film in excellent shape. Mick is now trying his hand with directing his own film and I know that if his dedication to that film is even half of what he gave to Slaughter he will have a quality picture to his name, and that will bring him the great success he deserves.

Loz aka ‘Isralite’ – Mr Laurence Caulton is a nice boy. If I had a good looking daughter (of the age Laurence would be interested in) and Laurence took her out for dinner I would know that despite all his male yearnings, Laurence would be respectful of her and show the most honourable of behaviours. Laurence will always look to do the morally right thing. Stickmen Pictures has become something of an obsession for Loz over the years and he seems to thrive at any opportunity to get involved. So much so that we turned to Loz for help during much of the pre-production where as from those early days Loz’s role was limited to sound capturing. When someone as pure as Laurence shows a continued interest in something there must be a wholesome quality about it. Knowing that Laurence regards Stickmen Pictures so highly and that he will give 100% each and every time he’s involved is to know that Stickmen Pictures not only has great personnel associated with it, but great personnel as part of it. Those individuals who may feel slightly uncertain of Stickmen Pictures in the beginning, always warm to us when Loz roles into town as his attitude is so positive and he is the easiest person to talk to. Loz is probably wondering at what stage I’m going to take the mickey as I normally seem to do in my blogs regarding him, but on this occasion I just want Laurence to take the plaudits he so richly deserves. Thank you for all your help from location to sound to grip boy to whatever else. It has been and is still very much appreciated. Next time I ring you shout it out over the phone. You know what I mean.

Baldy Chris aka ‘Baldy’ – In order to raise the bar in regard to sound on this feature we turned to Baldy. Just to make it clear, ‘Baldy’ is a self-inflicted nickname by Chris and it’s probably because he likes to wear no hair. Baldy is passionate about music, and he uses this passion to delve deep into what makes great sound. Technically, Baldy is the best person we have worked with in regard to sound, and he simply knows every little detail going in this domain. However, Baldy hasn’t had a lot of experience of sound in film-making (I believe the only other time was on short film Across the Styx) but he has learnt extremely quickly due to his passion. In every growing organisation you need individuals to take accountability of their areas otherwise you just don’t grow. We could place our trust in Baldy and this speaks volumes. Baldy is now embarking on the sound edit phase, another new experience for Stickmen Pictures, and hopefully with the dedication he has shown the film will benefit greatly.

There are many other ‘Slaughter’ members that I would also like to mention as their input has been key to the success of the shoot. Parimal took the role of clapper board man and general crew hands for the 3 day woodland shoot and although this may not be a built up as some of the other roles, Parimal’s attention was key to helping us move along quickly. It was a task that we cannot underestimate and we are reaping the benefits of this well worked discipline from Pari. Frosty also helped us for a few days and his willingness to lend me a hand will always be appreciated. Even though at times Frosty had little to do, he never ruled out his help. Ryan helped a good deal in pre-production with some of his great ideas and even ended up as an extra on the film. Ryan did ultimately become busier with his own personal commitments as things hotted up for the shoot but his participation has really benefited this film. Rik, Asch’s little bro (who has ‘identity’ issues because he is a western brown Leicester boy surrounded by people who think they are from Harlem) has grown in stature over the years I have known him. There’s still a bit of grooming work to do for which I will take account for but I was very pleased at his willingness to help the production as he set about doing whichever job was going. I’d like to call out Sachi who really helped on this film too. She assisted myself and Asch through some of the continuity areas and learnt a great deal about the detail of film-making. What Sachi is talented at is application and I am excited about what Sachi will apply in light of her experiences on this film. Cimeon (June’s lad) also put in a shift on this flick and I guess he learnt a lot about the field in which he is aspiring to get into. Hopefully when Cimeon collects an Oscar he will recount his experiences on our humble (but coy) production. Vars needs a massive show of gratitude. Not only did he help with the sound capture, he also lent his voice and expertise in sound to the production. On top of this he let us party at his place (along with Dan) and is ever happy to accept my continual presence at his home when I arrive there to do the editing with Dan. It must be annoying to see my face there constantly but I have never been made to feel unwelcome by Vars. I want to also thank Nathan (my cousin) for securing the lovely Stanford Hall for our warehouse scene. His perseverance (a wonderful talent of his) paid dividends in securing that place and he also fed some of you on that shoot with tasty Indian delights. Last but certainly not least I want to give a special mention to Nikki, who let all 30 plus of us onto her estate over 4-5 days to shoot most of our film. She is a remarkable lady who made this whole difficult process unbelievably easy for us and we cannot thank her enough. I hope that the beauty of her property will be appreciated on film, as much as it was when we were there.

Well there you have it. My thoughts on a project yet to be complete. I have tried to capture as many people in this as I could, but sometimes it’s not possible to give every single person a mention on a blog. If you have been involved and not mentioned I can assure you that your input has been greatly valued and you will appear on the film credits.

Myself and Dan have spoken at length of how this has been and is still proving a gratifying film making experience. We want to re-iterate what a pleasure to have worked with you all. Let’s hope 2011 will bring you your just rewards.

Good luck.

Rishi