Personal Update

Ok, so I've had some coffee and I think that's it's probably as good a time as any to write a small update on what I'm up to at the moment, if only to reassure people that I'm still working.

Over the past three months, I've been working for Silverback Films as a technical assistant, launching myself into the exciting world of Avid and motion-picture workflows (Silverback Films, previously Wild Horizons,  are best known for their Disney Nature projects, Chimpanzee and African Cats). This is, in general, a fairly familiar experience to my work as a Production Technical Assistant at Icon Films, except that I'm no longer required to look into the logistics of acquiring camera kit, only the technicalities of accommodating various different formats (HDCAM SR, RED RAW, etc). Whilst camera manufacturers all attempt to reassure you that this is a painless process, as I've mentioned in a previous post, the land of formats, codecs and software can be a bit of nightmare, especially when mixing footage from several different formats... so part of my job is ironing out those difficulties and testing workflows.

Additionally, my new role entails 'building' edit suites and establishing connections to shared storage, either via high-speed Fibre-Channel or Ethernet. Despite the on-paper complexity of running and maintaining Avid Media networks, Avid, to their credit, make day-to-day maintenance of such intimidating infrastructures quite simple, and the advantages of shared storage far outweigh those of individual hard-disks.

Of course, it would be wrong of me to say that I've slipped seamlessly into the role, and I'm very appreciative of the patience that my colleagues have had with me whilst I battle the steep learning curve.

Alongside my normal job, I've also been continuing with a few freelance projects, including some web-design of all things. Until very recently, when the expedition came to an end, I built and maintained a website for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Instituion, the results of which can be seen here: http://www.greenlandsfrozencoast.com/. Whilst I don't actively search for work in web-design, I do find all aspects of the Internet rather fascinating, and enjoy the challenge of creating content for it... I'm just a lot more comfortable within the realms of Final Cut Studio (which I haven't forgotten about, of course).

Meanwhile, I continue to experiment with Avid Media Composer and Symphony from a creative perspective, engaging with its nuances and discovering why it has become such a successful industry standard.

Anyway, I think that's probably enough writing about myself for one day. Thanks for reading.

Development Films

For the past few weeks, most of my time has been dedicated to twelve training programmes for Development Films. It's been a long while since I filmed or edited something based on a narrative script (the vast majority of projects that I undertake at Blue Sky are shot and assembled using the same documentary methods that a news and current affairs programme might use), and it's made a welcome change.

What makes this project particularly special to me is that I not only performed the role of second camera and editor (shooting on a Sony PMW-EX3 and editing on a Mac Pro with Final Cut Studio 2, but I also took on quite a bit of producing work, finding suitable locations and cast according to the guidelines set by the client.

The video presented below is currently being shown at exhibitions across the country (Adrian, Kay and Richard will be at the NEC in London tomorrow).



The first series of Development Films is due to go on sale this Autumn, available as a DVD or digital download from The Development Company.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea...

Uncannily, it's a double bill of yet MORE watery-themed projects to talk about today.

I'll kick things off by first introducing this clip from Team Insight's video, charting their run up to their epic rowing voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. That's right - rowing 2935 miles, from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, to Antigua! And all in aid of charity!



I have to say, this has been one of my favourite projects to edit together, partly because it provided me with an opportunity to experiment with a few fancy effects, such as compositing and a bit of Apple Motion, but also because the guys had a really good sense of humour - something that I capitalised upon.

Their eventful trip was also blessed with some pretty decent footage. Three cameras were on-board the boat throughout the journey, two of which were fully waterproof and able to capture the action below the waves, as well as above.

You can find out more about Team Insight and their incredible feat at their website.

From one favourite, to the next. Students at Churchdown School recently participated in a project that melded together dance and illustrative art into a theatrical performance. Pupils were encouraged to explore new forms of expression in response to natural and man-made architectural forms in and around Gloucester. Gloucester being a city that grew up around docks, this mostly involves a lot of water.

When I was actually filming the performance, I had this underlying fear that I would never be able to recreate the dance in a flattering light. Stage performances do not always transfer themselves seamlessly onto film - the camera almost bottlenecks the performance and (for lack of better words) seems to suck the soul out of it, so this was my attempt to compensate for that loss. Rather than merely documenting the performance, it's an extension of it. Cue a load more compositing, filters, masks and colour-correction.

Enough talk and philosophising! Watch and enjoy!

Mark Coote 3

This episode, Mark expresses his intentions to fight to protect the green spaces of Gloucestershire.

The film was edited by myself. The majority of the sound was also recorded by myself with a boom-mic.

Mark Coote 2

After the initial success of my first programme, local Conservative candidate MP, Mark Coote commissioned Blue Sky to do a further six for him. They'll be posted up on his website once a week, in the lead-up to the local election.



For this first episode, we visited Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham, where Mark used to attend, and catch up with one of his ex-teachers.

The film was edited by myself. The majority of the sound was also recorded by myself with a boom-mic.

Mark Coote

Behold! The fruits of my labour, now available on Youtube and Markcoote.co.uk!


A short film made to support the local Conservative electoral candidate, Mark Coote. Edited by myself, working for Blue Sky Event and Media, Cheltenham.