This article is an information text provided to members of the Kent Film Makers group on Facebook.
It will be replaced or removed at a future time.
Overview of The Video Players
A film-making collective structured in a similar manner to an amateur-dramatics society, but for the creation of filmed performances only.
Participation should be regarded as non-professional / past-time, in that while money is committed for environmental purposes (inc. costume etc.), recompense of all cast and crew is through net profit sharing. By joining up to TVP, please do not assume a fixed, regular income or salary, if any recompense at all ! We get out of TVP, what we put into it !
Who am I?
My name is Craig Robinson, and by trade I am a Chartered IT Professional, but with film-making skills going back as long as those attained in IT (before 10yo). My professional career is both in Software Development (nearly 40yrs) and in Teaching (over 15 years).
Today, while Chartered and having skills in IT, my highest post-graduate academic qualifications are in Design for both Digital and Performance Events.
My main film-making skills are CG, Scriptwriting, Direction and Cinematography. I have taught Performance for Film and TV at non-compulsory education academies and schools.
My Organisation
I own a number of companies concentrating in Software Development, but also a company specialising in Education – Edukus ltd.
Within Edukus are two entities used within the Film Making context.
Goth Studio is utilised as a production organisation but has not seen active use as the majority of my work has been non-commercial.
The Digital Storytellers Academy is a non-compulsory education / club which teaches film to both youth and adults. It was due to begin full operations in Medway in 2020, but due to suspicions regarding how COVID was proceeding, we aborted full opening until we knew where it was all going (retrospect proved us correct).
A decision has been made that the Digital Storytellers Academy will not begin operating again in Medway until September 2021, due to similar suspicions regarding third wave etc. with additional sites opening at a later date once stability is re-established.
The final part of this film structure is The Video Players – an organisation which has been going for a number of years but has been silent for quite a while. While a separate group in its own right, TVP is also a member of the IAC (The Film And Video Institute - originally called the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers when Amateur still meant 'non-commercial' and did not have implications on skill level). The IAC run a network of film-festivals across the UK and as the British component of UNICA (the world-wide non-commercial film making organisation), and being in existence since 1934, which is as long as the Oscars) also provides access to international non-commercial film festivals as well.
It is The Video Players which is being resurrected by this invitation to membership.
The Video Players
The Video Players is intended as an organisation loosely mimicking that of an Amateur Dramatics Society – the main difference, as the name suggests, being in that the goal is film production.
An open invitation is being made for [principally] people who are interested in being in front of the camera for the production of a range of short films to be made in the Kent area (or near, based upon location requirements). Crew members are also invited, but with the understanding that some sort of performance may be required - this is all because of the imbalance in recruitment that tends to occur in non-industry film production.
Actors of ALL AGES AND SKILLS are welcome - the aim here is to be as inclusive as we can, in all meanings of that word.
All current films in the script collection have been designed to be filmable in the low-to-no budget realm, or for a very small set of resources that were available at the time of writing.
It is intended to additionally aim for specific genres using sub-groups. One specific genre planned for example, is the Esperanto film market - this is for mercenary reasons, being a specific, high interest audience; allows for production of both Esperanto and English productions from the same script (i.e. they can be made in both English or Esperanto, or both); and with wide opportunities in a sizeable world-wide viewship.
Production is based around the availability of members.
Recompense is arranged as a profit-sharing exercise, the breakdown of which is fully published in the organisation’s production website for fairness.
Some additional funding (on a per-film basis) will be provided by the organisation (i.e. locations, costuming, production equipment where required). How much is deliberately limited - the intention is to focus mind-sets on low-to-no budget production, and not aim for a particular bar.
Existing production equipment will also be provided by Edukus (ranging from lighting, to laptops, handicams to 6K BMPCCs)
An aim is to expand possibilities by creating a small green-screen studio in the mid- to long-term, as well as establish an ongoing web series to maintain ongoing interest of an audience.
If you are interested in becoming part of The Video Players, please contact Craig on facebook by PM.
We are going to be organising a Teams video-meetup to answer any additional questions and talk about the collective in the near future.
Please do not make contact via this website - communications are currently not being monitored.