August is done - let the fun recommence ...

Well - that's August behind us!  It's been a month of journeys, days off, deep thought and extreme heat!
So now we get to work on the costume and mask for the next filming sequence.
I've been designing the mask for a couple of weeks now and am ready to pull it together ... watch this space!

Establishing sequence, soundtrack . . .

I have not been into a sound studio for such a long time.  Luckily for the engineer, I didn't burst into song as soon as I stood in front of the microphone!  But - yeay - we have a voice-over track ready to be spliced to the opening sequences and our film is making progress in a very positive way.

      My excursion was very exciting.  I drove out into the open countryside on a perfect, sunshine day.  The scenery resolved from the rural to the just plain 'wild', and so wide open John Ford could have made a feature out there! So I trundled along, wondering what the session would be like.

     My visit to the studio couldn't have been sweeter and I can only thank award-winning producer, performer, multi-instrumentalist and audio/visual technician Carl Frearson of Solo Recording Studios for making it so easy.  Carl and I have never met before, but he could not have made me feel more welcome.  Apart from the mysterious ringing drums (!) we didn't have a hitch and the session was over all too soon.  I look forward to going back there with Heartsfelled himself in the future.

    As it's an introductory sequence there really are no secrets.  I hope the effect will be to leave you feeling like you want to know and see more. So, you can visit the "under development" website click through the slides and listen to the track here.

Enjoy

The quiet before the storm!

Well, I went on a trip to visit family in Cornwall.  Pete, Zak and Tina went off to be filmed, make films and compete in some pretty awe inspiring swords play contests and Julia is occupied with her puppies .... everybody from the opening sequences shoot has m elted away for a while.

But now I'm back in my studio and I have new costumes to get ready.  To be more precise I now need to model the masks for the three demons,

• the Silken Tretraw, This is a a wolf demon that dries up the land and prevents crop growth) ;  
• the Thirsty Higghorþ (​pronounced High-hoarth), this is a golden wild-boar demon which makes its living by drinking all the oxygen and goodness from the air as in an extreme heat wave when the air and the earth are dry and barren ); and 
• the Miserable Maghmaugh [​pron: maw-maw] this is a dwimor or ghost but also based on a wild stag (hjort)  which dries out all the water and sacred wells.

Designing and creating these has been an ongoing project - now it's time to bring them to completion and, well, release my inner demons!!
Of course when I'm ready I'll let you have a quick look.
Don't forget to "follow" our blog.
In the mean-time don't forget you can support us by getting yourself  a copy of the saga poem upon which this film is based here.

The costumes - they speak for themselves

Julia Gant surpassed herself - the costume changes ran lik clockwork all day and the costumes, many of which she made herself, were beyond superlstive.

The introductory sequence for our film, Heartsfelled tells The Identity Stealer, is designed to establish the notion of our storyteller, Heartsfelled.  It tells us about the magic of the eternal human trait of stroytelling and points out that if we look, and listen .... we can see the ghosts of times past and hear their stories.  

Our location, Ayscoughfee Hall, has existed since 1450 so there have been many, many generations of people there - our ghosts of times past  reresent those people but also lead us to the special doorway to the Museum of Stories and Heartsfelled himself .... 

I cannot express in words the beauty of these costumes.  Enjoy the smiles and special moments shown:

The Ghosts of Times Past -

Brother Scut

Heartsfelled: Day One - What a Film Crew!

It really was the very best day's filming for Heartsfelled.

Zak Holland and Patricia Buck working on the design of a shot.

There's a great deal to be said for good preparation.  In our case this meant that Pete Buzzsaw Holland (Director) and Zak Holland (Director of Photography) of Zak Wylde Productions  came and met me  on location at Ayscoughfee five days before the shoot.   
Consummate professionals that they are, they spend a careful, patient day walking through the shots, identifying potential issues and preparing for what was to come.  It was fun - but more importantly it meant that the big day, the real shoot, was both fun and fantastically well executed.
The locals were highly entertained as we paced out, sometimes acting out the sequences to see how they would go.  We walked all around Ayscoughfee's gardens talking about 'ghosts' here and supernatural people there!  Highly imaginative but possibly a quite amusing to the people who did not know what we were doing.

Then came the big day - Day One on location:

Pete and Zak take a well earned break - Zak is dreaming of chips!

Pete is one of the most patient, clear and calming directors I've ever watched.  Although most of my prior experience is with live events - I have been present on quite a few tv and film shoots in the past and am just knocked out with how smoothly this day went.  

The sun shone all day!

I've come to learn that clear sunshine sky does not simply mean that we had a nice sunny day together - it means that we had good, strong, consistent light with no cloud to vary the light levels and not even little drifts to cast annoying shadows!

Patricia observes as Zak lines up and frames his next sequence

As for Zak - cinematography is an art and Zak has a true artist's eye.  His signature shots, the framing, depth and composition and his understanding of how to bring a flat script to life all come together to mean that this film is already a product I am deeply proud of.  The Heartsfelled project has demands of its own, being fantasy, myth ridden and a little fantastical - it needs a particular set of skills to make it work.

Now we can't forget to mention Tina Holland - she is the organisational glue that holds this team together.  Heartsfelled could not be in better hands.  Here we see her and Zak in the quiet Crew Room at Ayscoughfee . . . . once again it's all about the careful preparation.  No chips in here Zak!!

Quiet crew room - no chips in here Zak!

   

And so the filming begins ....

Wow! It was such a lovely, hot, sunny Thursday when Heartsfelled writer & producer Patrica Buck (that's me folks) met on location at the beautiful Ayscoughfee Hall with Co-Director Pete Buzzsaw Holland and our highly talented Director of Photography, Zak Holland (Zak Wylde Productions).

     We had a fabulous day testing and refining the script, pacing out shots, and thoroughly preparing for what we will be filming next week.  Next Tuesday's shoot will be a costumed extravaganza. It's designed to introduce the setting for Heartsfelled's hidden Museum of Stories.

     Ayscoughfee Hall dates back to 1450 (the timbers for the roof were felled in 1420 and left to season and dry for a goodly long time!). So the introductory sequence will incorporate the the 'ghosts' of times past, glimpses of folk from across the eras, spanning over more than 500 years.

       I can also  tell you that the music for the opening sequence is going to be provided by a very popular, traditional  Celtic musician and singer.  I am so excited about this. No commercial artist will release a license for the  use of their material unless they fully approve of the project that their name will, potentially, become associated with.   As is often the case where contracts of Agreement are involved, I cannot tell you more at this stage.   Just join us in being excited - and realising that such an endorsement can only do our project good.  
     Look for more photos and lots of post-filming news on Wednesday 4th.  For now I'm off to organise sumptuous costumes into the right order for the day, make sure we have all the appropriate wigs, gloves, hats and goodness knows what else to make our ghosts of times past look just perfect, oh - and to make sure we have plenty of water, fresh fruit and other goodies on site for the day.  So until Wednesday, have fun everybody, I know I'm going to.
Don't forget to click on Follow to see updates of our progress, share the smiles and fun along the way.

Book Launch

Well, I have two book launches to announce!

This week I am happy to announce the publication of a selection of childrens poetry, "A Joyful Jumble of Poems" 
I've been involved education for over 20 years and many of the verses in this little collection are designed to encourage good reading, and a love for words and poems. Net profits from this book will go towards the Heartsfelled film fund.
At a mere £5.99 plus P&P this is a good addition to any child's bookshelf.

Click here to grab youself a copy

As if that wasn't exciting enough - I am proud to announce the publication of "Fireside Epics".
This is you chance to get a published copy of  The Fyrdhwæt Saga which is the set of verses upon which our film is based, and as a bonus alongside this The Wolf-Water Warrior another set of verses telling the tale of a fenland hero.

Click here to grab youself a copy for only £7.99

What it's all about . . .

Excitement is building.
We are getting ready to go to Ayscoughfee very soon and start filming our first sequence. 

Our special actors, looking wonderful in the glorious costumes provided by our costumier Julia, will soon be among the perfect settings of Ayscoughfee Hall and grounds.

We will be creating an establishing sequence that will draw our audiences into the location, and will set the magical, mythical mood for our Story Teller, Heartsfelled to tell the saga of the Identity Stealer.

For those of you who have not yet had the chance to read our earlier blogs and messages - Heartsfelled is a storyteller, as old as time and as wise as any story. Fyrdhwaet, "The Identity Stealer", is the warrior at the center of an Anglo-Saxon style saga poem written in the 21st century by artist and poet, Dr. Patricia Buck. All brought to life in this unique production, and with brilliant live-action, ghosts, demon battles and more .....

Don't forget to click on Follow and see our updates, watch the progress of this project.

If you would like to get yourself a copy of the orginal poem, The Fyrdwhæt Saga, along with a bonus poem, The Wolf-Water Warrior for just £7.99 then click here and treat yourself.

Location dressing .....

Strange small things cause excitement in my life! ....
Today I received, through the post, a small hank of horse tail hair!  I shall be washing, straightening, and tieing it to an appropriate cane to make a horse-hair fly swat! This will go with a Pith Helmet and one or two other artifacts that will be one of the props-sets in the Museum of Stories (Undercroft) amongst which Nigel/Heartsfelled will be located.
I am smiling 🙂

Looking and listening ...

I am always looking and listening for this project!
     At the moment I have three ongoing tasks:  I am working with our curator, looking for the artifacts that should be in the Museum of Stories.  We won't be filming there for a while but I have to get the mise-en-scene sorted.  I'm also listening to lots and lots of music to select the perfect track(s), especially for intro and outro sequences.  I am also working on the artwork and pagination for the revised copy of my book from which the Identity Stealer was born.  I am an artist by trade (alongside being a teacher and a writer) so hours at my easel drawing is home-sweet-home for me. I am looking forward very much to meeting another artist on June 6 to discuss some really cool collaboration work for the film .... more on that exciting news in due course.  Oh, make that four tasks ...  pretty soon I shall be meeting with costumier and wardrobe mistress Julia to get ready for the filming of some ghosts of times past in early July ... now that is going to be a lot of very colourful fun! 

No Ordinary Day Off!!

What do film-makers do in their time off?  You may wonder!

Well, if you have been able to look at the background information on Team Holland you might have noticed their involvement with the Aisle O'var Backswording Clubbe.  I can tell you this training club is quite a wonderful thing.  It is very far from being just a bunch of folk with swords.  Through patient guidance, precise discipline and first-class teaching and training methods (I am a long practicing Life-Long Learning teacher, so I feel confident to say all this),  Team Holland are at the heart of the lives of Aisle O'var members of all ages, from all walks of life, and with all manner of personal goals to meet.

SO - I was invited to the annual Aisle O'var banquet this weekend and I am so glad I went!  Not only did I meet some of the walk-on and action actors who are going to enrich our Heartsfelled production for us, but I also witnessed the great respect, camaraderie and team spirit that this particular group engender. 

The theme for the night was Star Wars, so much costume, and lightsaber japery ensued.

.... Oh and I ate good roast hog (sorry was that roasted Banther?), done on a proper open fire spit roaster, relished some fun Wookie Cookies, watched with glee as the teams played out games and battles.

My Point?  Yes - you've guessed it - what filmmakers do when they are having some time off is they make films!  It is always a privilege to see our Director of Photography, Zak and our Choreographer / Co-Director Pete when they are filming.  Their creative approaches always skillful .... even on a merry Saturday night in an orchard down in the Shires. 

http://backswording.webplus.net/

Locations, Locations ....

Ayscoughfee Hall

Anywhere you might go in this human world …..

If you step through the right gateway,

at the right moment in time,

and if you keep your eyes and your mind open to all of life’s rich possibilities …

then you might just come across a little bit of magic that has been spinning around our world since the very beginnings of time …

Because when time began – the Story Tellers were born!

And the Story Tellers are ancient, traversing time and space and in an intricate dance all of their own.  They are the keepers of fīfmægen (fif-mehjan) That’s magical power.  And it is their place in this world, to this very day, to be weaving the secrets of men and telling the magical, mythical tales of mankind.

But will you look? Are you prepared to see into the shadows that run deep under the trappings of our modern society?   Are you prepared to listen with your heart for the voice that goes unheard? 

Step through the long forgotten door . . . . 

Isn't is a glorious place!  To find out more about Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding and it's glorious, rich history, visiting times and so-on check it out here: https://www.sholland.gov.uk/ayscoughfee

We are privileged to be granted permission to film at this glorious location.  After much searching, soul searching and investigations of round-houses, Anglo-Saxon halls, Anglo-Saxon houses, fields, woodlands, rocky places, ancient places and goodness knows what else, we have finally settled for a combination of this  location and the wizardry that can be performed by the amazing Team Holland under the auspices of Wylde Productions.

Discovering The Museum of Stories

Once we'd established the setting for the film, Ayscoughfee Hall, Spalding, and been granted the privilege of filming there, it fell to me to design the setting for Heartsfelled and his small audience to occupy and share the poetic saga of The Identity Stealer!

After a while, the "Museum of Stories" just came into being.  Of course!  Because Heartsfelled is a timeless, ancient, traditional Storyteller, it makes sense that he occupies a Museum of Stories.

Today the museum has a curator, (yes, really!). He is, amongst other things, the curator of archaeology at the Spalding Gentlemen's Society Museum, but he has generously agreed to curate the Museum of Stories while Heartsfelled himself is busy elsewhere.  Together we are gathering and preparing story artifacts, not just for The Identity Stealer but for many of the other stories of which Heartsfelled is the custodian.

Working on this is fascinating and very pleasing ... as you will be able to see for yourselves when the film is released.

Here's a short video I made when I discovered the space where the magic will be made to happen .....

Here is a short video our Director of photography, Zak, made when he discovered Ayscoughfee ...!

Meet Team Gant

Imagine my absolute delight and the big grin on my face when I asked my friend and wonderful orator Nigel Gant to be the character Heartsfelled for my film production, and he said; "Oh, I studied and learned to speak Anglo-Saxon English a few years ago!"  Like everything else related to this project, Nigel is just the right person, at the right time, n the right place.  Alongside Nigel, I get to work with his delectable wife, my very good friend, Julia.  Julia is a musician, a re-enactor, a historian, a textiles historian, costumier and a food historian to boot.  Between them, Team Gant truly are the icing on my cake:

Meet Team Gant:

Here's Julia

Visit her wonderful site here to learn more about how 4and20 Blackbirds specialize in Medieval, Tudor, Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian food preparation and presentation outdoors or indoors. They bring historic food displays and demonstrations to heritage sites, living history events, museums and stately homes.

And, here's Nigel

Nigel is a natural raconteur, storyteller, orator, actor and re-enactor.  He is a bundle of fun, and because he reads well and widely, full of interesting knowledge.

Meet Team Holland!

It came to my mind in December 2017 that I'd really like to revive my four-part poetic saga of The Identity Stealer. Of course, the book will be re-published and illustrated (I am an artist, illustrator and portrait painter).   But I wanted more than that,  I decided that wanted to make the film of the book!
So, enter Team Holland . . . I couldn't have had better support and more energetic contributions -
Team Holland are making the making of my film not just possible but downright good fun!

Meet Pete, Zak and Tina Holland:

Their motto is "Live life to the full" and they most certainly do that.

All three are seasoned special action actors, playing film roles individually and together.

All three are specialist weapons experts, rock climbers and historians.

Zak is also a very fine gymnast and is currently earning high grades at university, putting the formal edge on his studies and becoming an unsurpassable filmmaker.  Zak's production company, Zak Wylde Productions, offers directors, cinematography, state of the art editing, voice-over and voice action work plus, of course, the whole package including the three very experienced actors.

Here's Pete 

Pete is co-director, actor, and advisor on the Heartsfelled, The Identity Stealer film project:

He's also all these things:- 

Martial Arts Instructor with over 40 years Martial arts experience Style - TE-MA Traditional English Martial Arts - Weapons and Hand to Hand Grade - Master at Arms - In single sword, Sword and Dagger, Sword and Buckler, Quarterstaff, Cudgel, Great Stick, Hand to Hand Black Belt in Freestyle Karate Black sash in Kung Fu Also experienced in Taekwondo, Wing Chung, Kick Boxing, Cornish Wrestling, Bare Knuckle Fighting British Academy of Dramatic Combat qualified (Theatrical sword and unarmed combat) British Federation for Historical Swordplay UK Steel Backsword Champion 2008 and 2012 UK AOBC English Country Backswording Champion 2009 and 2012 ....

Visit Pete at - www.petebuzzsawholland.com/

Here's Tina (Pete's wife)

Tina is advisor and actor on the  Heartsfelled, Identity Stealer film project:

Tina can also do pretty much most of the things Pete can do. She is a specialist action actor, weapons woman, and martial arts artiste.  

And now meet Zak

Zak is co-director, Director of Photography advisor and actor on the  Heartsfelled, Identity Stealer film project:

Zak Holland is an Actor, an independent stunt performer, and has worked in many choreographed film fight sequences. He has worked on many productions throughout his time in the Film and TV industry such as (Justice League 2017), (The Halcyon 2017), (The Crown 2016) and has worked as a creature performer in films such as (The Girl with all the gifts 2016).

Zak is highly trained in armed combat (sword fighting) as he is four times UK Backswording champion 2014-2017. And is also heavily trained in other Martial arts such as Traditional Kung Fu and Kickboxing.

He is also a top-level Gymnast and has competed at National level in the men's pairs.

Zak has been acting from the age of 4 when he joined Stage Coach, which has led to many Stage performances. He now continues to play an active role in the Film and TV industry alongside his work in University studying Film and TV Production.