Propshak Ayrshire

Located in the heart of Ayrshire, Propshak has become the go-to location for creative talent in props, fx and combined with their community focused training academy that is opening the doors to talent from all walks of life the propshak is the place to be and the place to be seen in the Scottish industry.

Working with some of the best and brightest in the media industry, the teams work can be seen across genres from theatre to film and TV with clients ranging from the BBC and Netflix to stage production, it is no surprise that they are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the industry and earning a reputation for their workshops that are giving opportunities to learn and hone artistic skills in the creative fields.

The workshops are designed to be about community accessibility with a fantastic team of staff and volunteers training the next generation prop makers and fx artists in everything from masks to moulds, and so much more.

Propshak offers services to meet the needs of the smallest to the largest productions and pride themselves on the quality of their work and commitment to industry standards.

To learn more about Propshak and their work see:

Propshak Website.

Propshak Instagram.

Propshak Facebook.

Propshak YouTube.

Foreboding: Fractured Applauding The Team

One of the things we applaud and stand with is people who take risks and create on their own terms, seeing the team behind The Foreboding: Fractured do exactly this with a cleverly done horror that takes classic tropes and scenarios and makes them fresh.  

The premise of the film is straightforward and a classic of the genre with the teenage group heading into the forest to camp and telling scary stories over the fire and finding themselves caught up in the tale in a way that they did not anticipate. 

While the styling is simple, the cast and crew did a stellar job of making this their own with some subtle nods to those who came before.  The acting is naturalistic with character types being laid out smoothly, giving each of them a chance to develop and build to a grand finale that is chilling in its substance and still a classic that will have you jumping in your seat. 

From the camera work in the opening that is simple and clean to the more “found footage” style as the story progresses, you can see the passion behind this film and that a tight budget is not enough to stop creatives being creative. 

The Foreboding: Fractured, is a classic example of what can be done on a low budget with passion and deserves the accolades that will inevitably follow when it hits the festival circuit in full.  

Our prediction is that the people behind this are the ones to watch for the future as filmmakers and actors, they are gearing up for big things and this film is an excellent, creepy start on the road. 

To learn more about the film see:

IMDB The Foreboding: Fractured.

Horror Scream Video Vault Interview.

Blazing Minds Interview.

Podcast Interview.

Dark Forest: A Cinematic Short

Cinema started with the short film and it has been a long tradition of movie makers to take this process and work to create something fresh, a story that is strong enough to stand on its own and convey a message in a short amount of time, Nevis Studios is now stepping into that arena with their new crowdfund project: Dark Forest.

“In the gripping thriller "Dark Forest," Detectives Danny and Fiona pursue a serial killer terrorizing the Scottish highlands. The tension escalates as they close in on the elusive criminal and search for missing victim Anna Frey.”

With a creative vision that will open up doors to creativity as well as jobs, the team behind this crowd funder for Dark Forest, are looking at an expansive and long reaching movement of cinema.

Crowd funding is a common practice now and gives people the opportunity to be a part of the creation of cinema and the team behind Dark Forest are open to the challenges that this creates and see it as an investment in not just a film but in the process.

To learn more about the company or the project see:

Nevis Studios Website.

Nevis Studios Facebook.

Nevis Studios Instagram.

Dark Forest Campaign.

The Foreboding: Fractured

We are always impressed when people take risks and put together projects big or small to showcase their talents, The Foreboding: Fractured is just such a project and with the cast and crew currently doing the media rounds we will be talking in more detail with them soon but could not resist taking the opportunity to start that rolling with a featurette of our own on the film and a little preview set of images from the award winning film.

“Entering the woods for a simple camping trip, four university students find themselves hunted for reasons unknown. With their fates being intertwined in this place, how can they ever escape? Perspective is everything.”

With interviews already in motion, we were lucky to be able to get some of the images from the film and to be able to talk to Peter Tilley about his involvement and will be expanding on this soon in the meantime we suggest you check out their other interviews and IMDB to learn more about the film and to see the team talking about the project:

IMDB The Foreboding: Fractured.

Horror Scream Video Vault Interview.

Blazing Minds Interview.

Podcast Interview.

Frustrations Within Casting

Being an actor or working in the creative arts has always been something of a passion led career path with many feeling they cannot get a foot in the door thanks in part to the ability to gain parts, an agent, or that elusive and somewhat necessary profile with the #1 casting directory. This has come to a head now and people are feeling pushed out with the system being called elitist, we at the lost creatives wanted to share some insights and options that are gaining ground and opening doors to people with a few added options that even at the lowest budgets, can make the dream become a reality with strategic work and a little planning.

As regular readers will know, we advocate for indie film and the creative talent behind it from the cast to the crew with our own allegiances being openly stated.

We are happy to endorse creative and commercial avenues of filmmaking with companies such as New Village Video and HOD TV being two of our favoured routes,

*It is worth noting that HOD TV has parameters that you need to match to get through their vetting process, we have this in a document and will share with those who require it through email.

In casting terms, it is not quite as simple, there are certain sites and companies that have all but cornered the market and are seen as the gold standard, this however, has been changing slowly and we want to talk about 2 of those options and are open to hearing from new services that may appear or alternative options at any time.

vShowcards: a game changing paid for service with a dedicated team who not only help and support their members with advice, but a multi-faceted company that takes on actors and crew giving them a manageable route to showcase themselves and promote their skills to multiple audiences and welcome new and established talent because the site was built by actors, there is more understanding of the challenges out there.

Casting Callback: a free at point of use service for the UK, I personally checked out the layout and actors pages to see how it works and I am impressed, the company ethos is simple, they want to the creative arts to be open to all backgrounds making it one of the best of the free services for its open platform and honest approach to the industry.

With just these 2 options under your belt, it offers up scope in particular to new entrants, and with the media market slowly getting back on its feet with global financial concerns, it shows that no matter what your background, no matter your financial status as an actor or filmmaker, there is a means to promote and market yourself and fortunately, in this content hungry age, platforms available to sell your work.

Lost Creatives will be using these platforms both for casting and for promotion over the next year and focusing on opportunities outside the mainstream with digital TV and film being our goal and of course, supporting creatives across the spectrum with the blog being open to those who need support to promote their projects.

We will be talking in our next blog about commercial avenues for short films and touching on team building for projects with small budget.

Indie Film Thoughts

There is a lot of concern at the moment with the BBC daytime drama Doctors being cancelled, it was a mainstream way for people to gain a foothold in the industry and seen as a staple of daytime TV for many. People are naturally, wondering what this means for those entering the media market from the cast side to crew.

Changes to the market are always difficult to navigate and people are now looking for alternative avenues within the mainstream but overlooking the potential of commercializing ideas in the indie sector and utilizing avenues that are already in place such as HOD TV and the fantastic New Village Video whose platform is focused on the indies and the classic old school “straight to video” movies or the more familiar “streaming service original.”

Talks are underway for collective motion to pull new and emerging talent into pools and building something fresh. What this means is the indie scene has an opportunity to build a new network, a new platform and create.

With this in mind The Lost Creatives is willing to support and to start we want to share the books and sites we feel will be a major benefit to this:

Distribution and sales avenues.

HOD TV submissions a specialist in horror and thriller, the terms are fair and commercialization is possible, a full breakdown of the requirements is available, just drop us an email and we can share the details.

New Village Video, a friendly, open minded team who accept all genres of film and advocate for the indie scene while supporting and selling projects with success.

Books

Don’t F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie by Ivan Peric, a fantastic and personal insight into creating a feature film with a low budget, Ivan talks about the perils and offers up his own tried and tested path to creating a film and getting it sold by planning strategically. A real must read and a part of the lost library of books.

Opening Doors For Working Class Actors by Patricia Jones, a wonderful and open insight into the world of an actor giving you a clear and honest way to start out as an actor. Patricia Jones is a wonderful lady who talks honestly about her journey and gives pointers to those who would otherwise feel they cannot make the leap into the arts.

Cast and Crew

vShowcards, an alternative to the main networking and actors/crew sites, vshowcards is actor run and supported by various casting agents, production houses across the world, and offers a cohesive platform for you to market yourself to the media landscape.

Over the next few weeks we will be exploring avenues of marketing and other elements of the creative industry with a view to showcasing the potential for the indie scene.

New Village Video

As we are all aware there are major changes in motion in the mainstream market of film and TV, which is leading to the question “can the indies step in and entertain us?”  Happily the answer is yes, and sites like New Village Video are stepping up to the plate with gusto and bringing old school values and entertainment back to the market.

Focused on the best and brightest of the indie, art, and grindhouse movie scene, New Village Video is about the charms of a video store combined with the best of the digital age. 

Indie film is the heart of much of their work and their films have that “straight to video” feel that is somewhere between nostalgic and innovative, offering you the chance to support new and emerging talents, filmmakers and artists in a way that is entertainingly quirky.

What this means is there Is an option for us out there who have lower budget visuals and tongue in cheek chic films that are about pure entertainment, getting films out there and opening the door to genre based films that focus on the popcorn chucking entertainment, and scares that a good movie should.  From a filmmaking perspective New Village Video is the modern version of the VHS for hire route that gave us cult/underground movies that went from backyard films to schoolyard legend without the need for a PR team.  

Giving power to the indies is just a small part of what this offers, New Village Video is set to become the digital film archive for those who just want to entertain.  Worthy of checking out on all fronts: from consumer to artiste, the potential to showcase your work, make money on your investment, and have your film seen is enough to tip the scales in their favour and as someone who appreciates movies, and has a set of goals that include schlock horror, this will be top of the list for me to showcase my own films and with their commission rates in the favour of the filmmaker, it is without question a good time to be an indie filmmaker in a fluctuating market. 

To learn more about New Village Video or to discuss submissions see:

New Village Video.

Submissions at New Village Video.

IC9: A Glimpse Into The World of Film Courtesy of vShowcards

The Lost Creatives team always appreciates when we are given insight and a little bit of the background to a project and as always vShowcards has been part and parcel of that by bringing to our attention the new police drama IC9.

Tackling the controversial and very contemporary issues of people trafficking and illegal immigration, the film looks at the personal as well as the professional from a police woman’s standpoint as she hunts for her sister and discovers a startling, dangerous truth about her own family coupled with the harrowing insight into the world the trafficked people find themselves in.

With a stellar team both in front and behind the camera including such leading actors as Georgia May Foote (coronation street) and Richie Campbell (Grace, liar, ITV) and of course vshowcards founder and all round actor of note Darren Tassell who has (with permission) given us access to the documentation and files for the project.

vShowcards works hard as a casting site and has also played a part bringing in such excellent talent as Richie Campbell, and Georgia May to peoples attention thanks to their savvy use of social media and contacts, each member of the team of course brings their unique talents to the table and add dimension to a nail biting script by Kyle Titteron and Gulshan Singh making this more than a film but a true showcase of talents.

With filming underway at the moment, stories and images are leaking out that show not just a cast and crew enjoying the work but adding to a film that is gathering attention not just from social media buzz but from interested parties looking to the project to see what is happening in the business including bloggers, journalists and potential viewers who are seeing snippets and images sneaking through, the anticipation for this film is rightly high.

IC9 is a large scale UK indie production that is a showcase of talent, ingenuity and intrigue. A truly welcome project that will hit the high notes and with the support of vShowcards and many others who are seeing the potential of cinematic projects and how it can be achieved with the right people backing you.

Naturally, we will be happy to support the ongoing work and cannot wait to see the final film, we will be talking to key team members about the project itself looking at the casting process, making of, and what the future is for the production team.

For more information on vShowcards and what they do see: The vShowcards Website and stay tuned to the blog for further updates on the project.

Talking Books and Films With Ivan Peric

Over at The Lost Creatives, we are big fans of Ivan Peric and his book on filmmaking, taken from his own experiences and offering a solid plan for making and selling your work that resonates with our team. We are extremely thankful that he took some time out of his schedule to talk to us and open up about what he has been doing since the launch of “Don’t F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie!”

You are returning from a break after the release of your successful and lauded book “Don’t F*ck Up Your No-Budget Movie!” What have you been doing in that time that you can share with us?

Thanks for this question as it touches upon something that we don't often hear about, and that's taking ''breaks". Taking the time to not do anything and just relax. You scroll down your social media feed and all you see are people pushing the ''hustle'' and "grind'' lifestyle, it's rare you see someone talking about taking it easy and pacing yourself.

“The reality is that everyone needs to take breaks every once in a while in order not to burn out. This is especially true for us artists and digital creators.”

Most of us have full-time jobs and families, so all the extra work we put into our projects ends up taking a toll on our bodies. Just like any car, it doesn't matter if you use it for work or leisure, the mileage always accumulates. So that's what I did, I just took a break from it all, acting, writing, producing...My agent was sending me auditions and I just couldn't get myself to do them. I was physically and mentally drained.

I had written DFYNBM during the pandemic, the editing process was a lot of work and a lot of back and forth with the editors, then the publisher released it pretty quickly so I had to be on my toes and start promoting it right away.

With the uncertainties of the pandemic, everyday life at work, and writing this book, I never got to take a step back and refocus. After a few months ''off'', I now feel great and motivated to continue working on my plans for this book and other projects!

You have spoken quite openly about how your workflow has changed thanks to your experiences in filmmaking, taking you from actor to director/producer to give you control over your projects, how has this affected your style as an actor overall, and is it a method you would recommend?

Yes, I would definitely recommend any actor to pick up a camera and produce something themselves! It's the best experience and you get to see through the eyes of a producer and director. For me, understanding the process gave me much more confidence as an actor.

Once you get to understand how things work, you put much less pressure on yourself. Most young actors are very self-conscious, always wondering what everyone on set thinks of their performance. I was like that, always looking for that validation. By becoming a director yourself, you get to understand that performing is not that complicated and it often doesn't take that much of a ''performance'' as some actors might think.

It definitely grounded my acting style. Every subtle moment is blown up by 1000% on the screen, so it made me understand that less is more because the camera catches everything. You also get to understand the point of view of the director much more.

I remember being a young actor and being devastated by any notes a director would give me after a take. I would take it personally and couldn't understand why the director didn't like my performance. But the truth was that the director never disliked my performance, he just wanted to see something different and push me as an artist. Producing also makes you appreciate every single person on set. You see and understand that everyone has an important role in a production. You just respect everyone more, and out of that respect comes better performances because you want to contribute as best as you can to the project.

What is next for you in the creative arena? Do you have any new projects planned? Will
you be taking your method on the road and teaching the Ivan Peric method of filmmaking?

Every time I come back from a break I want to do it all! I feel inspired to act, write and produce! But I know I will have to focus on one thing at a time. I wasn't 100% satisfied with my book launch as it was rushed by the publisher and I didn't have much time to market it before I had to take a break. So the first thing on my list is to continue to push my book and get it out there to as many people as possible. Yes, one of the ways I will be doing this is by starting workshops for aspiring filmmakers. I would love to have seminars all around the world and inspire others to start making their own movies.

My main goal with DFYNBM was to inspire people who might not have a big budget, or any budget at all, to produce their own feature films. I believe these seminars can complement the book very well by being not only inspiring but also informative and entertaining.

I have so many stories and anecdotes I would love to share that didn't end up in the book! I will start locally here in Montreal, then hopefully expand to the rest of Canada and the US. The next goal after that would be to go overseas! I will also slowly get back into acting. I already have a few auditions lined up that seem like fun. There are also some unfinished scripts I'd like to work on and hopefully produce.

What advice would you offer anyone entering the film or TV arena as an actor, producer, or director?

Make sure you are getting into it because you absolutely love it. Don't do it for some kind of fame or fortune because there is a 99.9% chance you won't get it. Do it from your heart and not your ego. Take classes/workshops, and learn as much about your craft as you can. Watch a lot of movies and shows!

There is a lot of great content out there and so many outlets where you can expose your work. There is no excuse these days, the technology is affordable and platforms are always looking for fresh ideas. Finally, just do it! Pick up your digital camera or iPhone and just go out there and shoot. If you're an actor, record yourself doing scenes or shoot skits to keep yourself sharp, and never give up!

To learn more about Ivan Peric and his work or to purchase his excellent book see:

Ivan Peric Website.

Ivan Peric Instagram.

Ivan Peric Facebook.

Ivan Peric Twitter.

Ivan Peric Youtube.

Don’t F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Amazon UK.

Don’t F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Amazon USA.

Talking Film and Starting Out With Alex Chalatsis

As part of the upcoming new team and production house Dead Origami Films, we have been lucky enough to talk to Alex Chalatsis about his entry into the industry and what his plans are for the future.

Can you give us some background on yourself and your career to date?

I’m from Greece and currently studying Drama & Theatre at Royal Holloway University because I think England is the best country on this side of the Atlantic to pursue this dream and eventually work in the entertainment industry. I am currently working on productions laid by Dead Origami Films and really enjoy my time there, working with equally passionate people to create something we are truly proud of. My resume is still relatively small mostly due to my age, but I am working on enriching it with quality projects as the years come.

Indie film commonly requires that crew multi-task, have you found yourself working more than one role on a project and what do you feel you have learned from that?  

 Yep, crew multi-tasking is a thing alright… I have done my fair share already. It really showed me how much useful it is for a filmmaker to be informed about everything because they are all connected, and I am interested in walking that path, learning about everything as much as I can. Filmmaking feels like cooking in some ways to me. You have a lot of separate ingredients that you try to figure out the correct amount to put in and make a tasty dish. You better know what each ingredient is and does!

You are part of a newly formed film production team, what is your role, and what is the plan for the company?  

 I’m fortunate enough to have found like-minded people with a similar vision of what they want to do in the future. The plan as of now contains 5 short films. Our current one is “Brutus” which is a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Act I, Scene II). Next, we’ll be doing “Garmr”, which is going to be the surrealistic exploration of a deranged WWII sniper. After which we’ll be doing two more modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and “Romeo & Juliet”, and finally “Iscariot: House of the Red Door”, all of them challenging and exciting in their own ways, building us up to our first feature film planned for 2024.

“My role in all of these will vary since I’m interested in various roles in filmmaking and still trying out and willing to learn new stuff, so I will be a little bit everywhere, I guess… I like to be involved in films and keep myself busy, I really enjoy it.”

What advice would you offer to people looking to enter the arena of film and TV in the digital market?  

I think I still haven’t broken into that “arena” myself to advise others in the first place, but I would say be nice to others. It’s advice that would be helpful in life in general and regarding filmmaking, connections are really important since you end up spending a lot of time with each other on set, it would be better if you get along! I hope in a few years I will have a more insightful answer.

To learn more about Alex and his upcoming work with Dead Origami Films see:

Dead Origami Films Twitter.

Dead Origami Films Facebook.

Dead Origami Films Instagram.

Dead Origami Films Youtube.

Talking Acting, Filmmaking, and Storytelling with Kate Perry

Having caught Kate Perry’s fantastic character-based showreel on her Twitter account, we couldn’t resist reaching out to talk and getting a little more insight into the woman behind the video and talking about acting, filmmaking, and storytelling with such a talented performer.

Could you introduce yourself to our audience and give us a little background on your work? 

Hello, I’m Kate Perry from Derry, an actor/writer/sketch comedian from Northern Ireland. My passion for storytelling began at ten years old, watching Westerns in a town called Dungannon. I’m from a family of twelve children so my elder brothers would take the younger ones to ‘the pictures’ on Saturday mornings to give my mother and the neighbors a break. That’s where I fell in love with storytelling, westerns, and cinema. I loved the genre for blending the comical and serious, farcical and cerebral, highbrow and lowbrow. I believe these elements have influenced my style of writing ever since. 

I have written one-woman shows, sketches, radio plays, and short films. I live in London now but prior to that, I spent time in South Africa, the US, and Ireland. 

You have been sharing your showreel via Twitter, which includes a series of comedic characters, can you tell us more about this and if there is a plan to expand on the concept? 

I began my writing and performing character comedy while living in San Francisco doing spots in the evening at a club called The Marsh. I had a full-time job at the time as an events manager so never thought of making the commitment of moving into the arts full-time. However, due to the encouragement of friends and co-workers, I developed the characters which eventually turned the 10 mins spots into a one-hour one-woman show. I toured the show in Ireland to critical acclaim, came back to the US, quit my job, and returned to Ireland to live in Dublin. I continued acting and writing and wrote a sketch show called Do Not Adjust Yourself for the Dublin Fringe Festival which led to writing opportunities at BBC NI, which led to commissions for BBC Radio 4 and RTE Radio 1. I also went to college for the first time in my 40s and did an MPhil in creative writing at Trinity College and then a master’s degree in screenwriting at the Institute of Arts Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire. I moved to London in 2011, kept performing, and eventually took The Very Perry show to the Edinburgh Fringe. On the back of that, I was invited to the San Francisco Theatre Festival and The United Theatre Solo Festival in New York, where The Very Perry Show won the best comedy award. I have been working on other projects ever since but now I'm back writing new material and developing other comedy characters.

You have a short film currently doing the festival circuit and winning awards, what can you tell us about the project and how it came about? 

I was originally commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to write a fictional short story for a series called Under My Bed with the remit of exploring memories and stories of what characters might have found stashed away in the dark. I called it Ruthless. 

I came up with the idea of a ten-year-old boy who finds a prosthetic leg under the bed and how he uses it as currency to get something he desperately wants, which is the latest T. Rex album, Electric Warrior. He has also recently lost his mother, his father has shut down emotionally and they are stuck in a mire of grief. The problem is that PJ is skint and his Da is on the dole so PJ comes up with a cunning plan to get the dough, involving a pawnbroker, a sock, and a prosthetic leg.

I wanted to explore that sense of loss lifted with moments of comedy and lightness using the backdrop of the troubles and the glam rock movement happening in Northern Ireland. In Belfast, in the early 70s something was in the air and it wasn’t a bomb, it was a revolution. Glam Rock was drowning out the noise of armored cars and as British soldiers patrolled the streets, kids were glued to Top Of The Pops, entranced by Marc Bolan, the androgynous, satin-clad, glitter-god. 

In a nutshell, the prosthetic leg and a T. Rex album become the conduit for overcoming grief. After I wrote the radio play I knew it would make a good film so I adapted the story to a screenplay and applied for funding through Northern Ireland Screen. Luckily they liked the script, I found a producer and we shot the film in Belfast in 2019. Ruthless is currently on the film festival circuit and has won 5 awards so far and been nominated for six so I’m over the moon for team Ruthless. 

Is there a particular role or project that you are working on at the moment you can tell us about and is there a particular role you would love to be cast in?  

I am currently writing a children’s book called Saucepan Eddie. Hard to talk about as it’s in the early developmental stage so not sure where it is going….but it’s going somewhere. 

As for a role I’d like to be in, I was cast as one of the Yoga Mums in season two of Ted Lasso and would happily jump into that lycra again!

To learn more about Kate Perry and her work see:

Kate Perry Twitter

Kate Perry Youtube.

Kate Perry Website.

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! By Ivan Peric

As an accomplished filmmaker and actor in his own right, Ivan Peric has become something of a maven for the digital content market and with his book “Don’t F*ck Your No Budget Movie” takes you through the hard-earned and hard-learned process that took his passion for acting and film to a wider audience, detailing the process with retrospective ease to help others in the same place.

Working backward, Ivan Peric talks about his own experience of starting out as a filmmaker taking the mistakes he made, the lessons he learned, and compiling them into an easy-to-follow and frankly common-sense manner that will change the way you look at digital filmmaking and selling your product.

Many new and established filmmakers have the belief that “If I make it, they shall come,” and focus on film as an art form rather than a commercial venture, which if you want to make a career out of this is the wrong approach and often leads down the path of shelving a project. What this book focuses on is taking the art, and the commercial, combining the two, and producing work that will be a showcase of your talents and commercially viable.

What is really refreshing about “Don't F*ck Your No-Budget Movie” is the candor with which Ivan approaches the process, he openly talks about how hard it was to make things happen and why, giving a first-hand view of what he did, how he achieved it and what pitfalls he faced in the journey.

As a team, we can see the value in this book and fully endorse it, our team has worked behind and in front of the camera for over 20 years and we decided that we wanted to focus our energy on producing for ourselves which we had a broad idea of what was involved from previous work, however, taking that knowledge (along with our contacts in distribution, casting, etc), alongside the stellar advice offered by Ivan Peric in his book, we can clearly create a path that will reduce the process of creating a TV or film project and streamline it making it a much more cohesive journey. *It is worth noting even with the experience we have it is always good to source additional information and add to the arsenal of information we have in our pocket, which this book did by verifying our thought processes and giving a clear and concise plan that filled in certain gaps in our knowledge.

To learn more about Ivan Peric or to purchase the book see:

Ivan Peric Link Tree.

Ivan Peric Twitter.

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Amazon UK. (Kindle, Paperback, and Hardback)

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Amazon USA. (Kindle, Paperback, and Hardback)

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Barns and Noble USA

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Google Books.

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Apple Books.

Adding To Our Book Collection

With the Christmas and New Years’ break in midflow, we wanted to take some time to add to our collection of books for work both in filmmaking and of course in makeup artistry (at the behest of our creative director JamesC). Naturally, with Boxing day sales, and gift cards in our pocket it was a really good time to add to the collection and give us time to read up on new techniques and look at some other perspectives.

Of course, we wanted to share the top 3 books that have made our list and give a brief overview of why we bought them starting with:

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie!: Inexpensive Filmmaking In This Content-Hungry Age by Ivan Peric, aside from the title (which immediately grabs attention) this was one that from the chapter list alone spoke to the team because it does talk in terms we are thinking and puts the emphasis on the commercial aspect of filmmaking, so we did purchase the book in hardback for our collection. We will be going into more detail on this book for the blog soon with the support of the Author, so stay tuned.

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Amazon UK.

Don't F*ck Up Your No Budget Movie! Amazon USA.

A Complete Guide to Special Effects Makeup 3 by the Tokyo SFX makeup workshop, was a real plus as it will add dimension to the collection and be in line with our second makeup-oriented book, which is one that will be bought in again as a backup. Focusing on cuts, scars, and wounds, this book offers up a different perspective on techniques that we are really interested in and want to integrate into our work next year.

A Complete Guide to Special Effects Makeup 3 Amazon UK.

A Complete Guide to Special Effects Makeup 3 Amazon USA.

Special Effects Guide Of Real Human Wounds and Injuries By Mr. Benito Garcia iii, a must for anyone interested in film and TV makeup, this is a truly graphic and comprehensive book that covers different aspects of bodily injury and shows you in real terms what they should look like making it entirely possible to replicate this with special effects.

Special Effects Guide Of Real Human Wounds and Injuries Amazon UK.

Special Effects Guide Of Real Human Wounds and Injuries Amazon USA.

We have other books coming and within the collection but these were real standouts and worth sharing as we move forward with our own plans and goals.

Project Development With The Team Behind The Memento Mori Portrait film

With an important and historical message, the short Memento Mori Portrait film is tackling a heartbreaking moment in Western history and bringing it to a wider audience.  

Having already won 7 awards for the script, the film itself is a love story with a twist, looking at the voices of those left behind and mixing in science fiction, imagination, and memory to create a beautifully sculpted narrative that takes the Holocaust and gives voice to the people who were lost with, the pink triangle badge, being the symbol of their shame and degradation.

An excellent team of filmmakers are already behind the project with accolades across genres and a collective CV of note, this film is a project designed to showcase their work, the story being part of a larger tapestry, it is a moment in time that is important to highlight and a story that deserves to be heard. 

The importance of the message this film creates is part of the reason it is being made and shows that there is still a long way to go with certain rights in the global narrative.  

To learn more about the project or to offer support see: 

Memento Mori Portrait Fundraiser.

Memento Mori Portrait Facebook.

Lumino Films.

Talking Acting and The Vshowcards Site With Alex Reece

We are incredibly proud to be able to talk to some of the leading talents in the UK about their careers and plans, with a CV that spans the world, and a down to earth attitude Alex Reece is not only an actor of note but the co-founder of vshowcards the newest talent spotlight site to hit the market and create a storm.

As an actor you have had a varied career, can you start by telling us about yourself and the work you have done?

“I’m an adventurer at heart. I love new experiences and extreme ones too. I’ve traveled and lived on different continents and learned languages and studied martial arts and cultures as diverse as Capoeira in Brazil and Kalari Payatttu in India.”

I’ve lived in the mountains in Spain where I scratched a living working for the local farmers and builders. Acting is an extension of that. It’s a way of going to new places, from a perceptual point of view… investigating new characters and immersing myself in different stories. It’s a great adventure.

What has been the highlight so far of your career and is there a dream role you would like to take on?

There have been several huge highlights… getting flown to Canada to do a great role as a Hindi speaking English spy ( I’ve been learning Hindi since doing a huge movie Sajjan Singh Rangroot with Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh) and working with Daniel Craig on the Heineken Skyfall Commercial and getting cast as the lead villain in Danny Patrick’s latest movie ‘The Aryan Papers’ - Danny won the Cannes Film Festival Best Director for Independent film in 2021 and to be working with is just huge.

What advice would you offer to a new or aspiring actor?

Get proactive. Don’t wait for the jobs to come to you. Keep at it, the craft, the marketing, the networking. A powerfully positive mental attitude is your best asset. And get a vShowcard. It’s the best way to put an actor’s professional information all in one link.

You are one of the founders of vshowcards, can you tell us a little more about the site and how it works?

The vShowcards site lets Actors put all of their information in one link. This saves the casting directors so much time. These days you need to have all your links in one place. A vshowcard is the next best thing to actually meeting people. Meeting people is the best way to connect and network, and the vShowcard is the best link to send to people so that they can see as much of you and your work all in one place.

To learn more about Alex Reece or to discuss booking see:

Alex Reece vshowcards.

Alex Reece Twitter.

Alex Reece Instagram.

Alex Reece Facebook.

Alex Reece Spotlight.

Alex Reece IMDB.

Creating a Story and Building the Brand

When Lost Creatives was first started it was about a journey and finding a path, in that time we have covered a wide range of people’s stories and given a voice to some amazing filmmakers who have helped bring our creative narrative as well as their own, to the public domain.

Over the next few months we plan to add to the stories in a more visual sense, with so much of our work having to be held due to publication terms, it will be fun to finally be able to showcase the work that has been done in the background by our creative director and head of makeup JamesC. Some new portfolio pieces are being finalized with the JamesC portfolio site (frustratingly) taken longer than planned we will be reverting back and reworking the current site with the new content and bringing in a much more cohesive workflow across the sites we already have with the additions of showcasing his work as a photographer into the bargain.

When it comes to production, there is some light at the end of a long tunnel, we have chosen two TV shows to produce along with two short films that we will use as entry back into the market, and with our work with some Amazingly talented filmmakers when it comes to cost, we have been able to work the angles and find additional avenues of marketing, sales, and of course open up our team to different potential projects outside of horror and thriller.

Naturally, we will be working with vshowcards who have been fantastic and are rapidly gaining ground in the production realm and have even got Bollywood on their side which is an amazing coup for the team.

In the next few weeks, we will be making a return to social media with the Lost Creatives and Lost Agency Instagram being updated with new work and some experimental shots we have been playing around with as part of a planned concept.

More news and updates on The Lost coming soon.

Making No Mercy a Boxing Odyssey

When it comes to indie film the process can be arduous and full of obstacles but the outcome is worth every step. Tackling not just acting but producing, directing, and more we talk to Louis Findlay about his latest film No Mercy, a film about the darker side of boxing, taking the gloves off and looking at it from a different angle.

Filming a project on this scale is a big undertaking, what have been some of the challenges you have faced in the process and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for this project was money. I must have spent around £2,000+ on the project which is all I could really afford. Most of it was my own money and then the rest was via GoFundMe. The way I overcame potential challenges prior to filming was by writing locations I knew I had access to and casting friends I had worked with before. Then it was literally asking a LOT of favors from everyone else. One challenge I wasn’t prepared for was COVID. We literally had the training montage to film which is one of the most important scenes in any boxing movie,  so we couldn’t wrap it till we shot that but no one knew how long lockdown would last.  I felt about pulling the plug on this project so many times when the going got tough, but I just had to fight my way through it (no pun intended) 

The style of the film is very close to the docudrama or docusoap style, do you think that will change how people will look at the film and the people involved?  

Yeah, I hope so. The main focus was about making these characters feel real and forget people are actually playing these parts. I wanted to show this working-class family who are incredibly close, who have had their ups and downs and a fair share of family drama but at the end of the day, you can relate and fall in love with them.  I wanted it to feel natural and I think the visual style really helps to sell that. THAT and the fact everyone just bossed their roles. 

What was the motivation for this project in particular the look at boxing and the behind the gloves side of the business?

 My dad used to box back in the day, not professional but had a few bouts. He tried getting me to do it as a kid but I felt bad hitting people in the face. I have fond memories of his Mike Tyson VHS tapes on the shelf (which eventually made their way to the loft.  Dad and I watched them a few times when I was a kid and I thought it was pretty cool but had no interest in pursuing it other than working the bag and pads in the gym as I got older. 

But I think what makes any boxing film great is the story outside the ring, I think southpaw is a great example of that because he’s fighting for his daughter, not about being champ.  For my film, I wanted to focus on the darker side of boxing which is reflected in some of the dialogue and the way the promoter goes about business. I took a lot of inspiration from DareDevil, between a prize-fighting father and a son who looks up to him, but behind the scenes the promoter is dodgy. I also threw a lot of personal stuff from my childhood into the project too. 

There have been many who have taken the step over the line from actor to director/producer and worked both sides of the camera. Do you think this is something you will continue between acting jobs as a means to not only showcase your own concepts but to create opportunities for others in the creative fields?  

Absolutely, 100%. I had no idea how to get into the acting business when I left school so I started making my own films. In essence, I’ve learned other skills along the way by doing that such as writing and learning how a camera works.  But I’m very much a person who can’t sit still, I don’t wait for the grass to grow and if no one is going to give me the roles I want then I’ll go out and get them myself. I could’ve been waiting years for a role like this and it may have never come my way.  I think it’s so important for actors to make their own work and if I can help others out along the way and offer opportunities in front or behind the camera then that’s what I’ll continue to do! 

 What is next for you and your team? Do you have any projects in the works that you can tell us about?

 Yes, I’ve got a micro shortcoming very soon that we shot on the sky in Trafalgar, a short film called RoadKill that I had hoped to turn into a feature and a drama coming very soon which is about a man confronting someone from his past revisiting some disturbing memories. I have also just written two new features. 

What advice would you offer to someone starting their journey as a filmmaker and actor?

As I said, don’t wait for the grass to grow. It is so easy to make a film nowadays, we all have a camera in our pocket so just write something and film it.  Find like-minded people who can help you and if you’re really nice to people they’ll go out of their way for you. If you don’t ask, you don’t get - simple! 

*I would like to add a huge thank you to everyone involve and in particular Marcus O’Brien, Brandon Bailey, Dan brooks, Richie lamb, Gerard, and Keith Scott.

To learn more about the film or the team see:

No Mercy Trailer.

No Mercy Facebook.

No Mercy Twitter.

No Mercy IMDB.

Talking Film, Scripts, and Starting a Business With The Champ Films.

We have been watching the indie scene for a long time and a name that pops up frequently when talking about scripts is Tom Reynolds (AKA The Champ Films) who has become a go-to for monologues, film scripts, and with plans now in motion to produce we wanted to talk to Tom about his background and motivations.

Can you tell us more about yourself and your background? 

Born and raised in Reading, Berkshire, I grew up obsessed with films & sport. I studied English Literature for 4 years and enjoyed writing my own stories & plays which were always great fun to perform. When the lockdowns started, I decided I would get back into writing and when I started, I couldn't stop. 

As someone who writes scripts of varying lengths and styles, what is your favorite genre in terms of creative potential? 

At this moment, it is definitely horror scripts. horror allows you to tell a story without necessarily being limited by facts or reality. if you can imagine it, you can write it in a horror film. having said that, where I am right now in terms of available budgets for films etc, I am limited to what I can actually write in order to keep the script realistic for Production. 

What is the plan for your business as you go forward: TV? Film? Commercial? Documentary work?

The plan is to focus entirely on Films right now. As of today, I have 10 feature film scripts completed and the goal is to produce projects one after the other in a conveyor belt style system. Each script is more ambitious than the last and the whole business plan is geared towards progression.

As we move further into 2021 what is your strategy and goal set for the coming months? 

The goal right now is to find other like-minded filmmakers to join the team in order to move into Production. Specifically, I'm on the lookout for an ambitious Producer to join the team. The industry has been hit hard over the last 18 months or so and I want to do whatever I can to help bring it back stronger than ever. By bringing in the right people to join the team, I'm hoping we can all work together to create good quality films with the sole goal of providing entertainment and a bit of escapism for the viewer. In addition, I am looking to gain investment and have launched an early crowdfund for my 1st feature film in order to build a pot as big as possible to cover all film-making costs including wages for all those involved.

What has been your biggest challenge to date as you build your business? 

So far, the biggest challenge has definitely been finding other like-minded people to join us.  This is completely understandable as obviously, I am new to the industry, and thanks to covid canceling all in-person festivals, I've not been able to meet like-minded people in person. Not knowing anyone in the industry or having any good contacts has also been a real challenge but hopefully, this will all change in time, particularly if I'm able to move my 1st script into Production. People will then realize this is a genuine venture and will hopefully want to be a part of what I am hoping to achieve.

What has been the best part of the journey so far?

Without a doubt, the best thing has been all the amazing people I have met so far through Social Media. The response I have received from the various networking tweets I have sent out has been really incredible. The Twitter entertainment community has welcomed us with open arms and we have made some awesome new connections. We have made contacts with so many incredible Actors and Actresses and have worked directly with some of these people to develop characters that have found their way into scripts that I have written. Indeed, some of these performers have even performed monologues which I have written, and that has been fantastic. This has helped raise our profile and has enabled some people to see the sort of writing I am looking to do. The feedback, both positive and negative that I have received from the Twitter community has been invaluable.

If someone wishes to donate to your debut film crowdfund, where can they go to donate?

We currently have 2 crowdfunds collecting donations for our first film:

Gofundme The Champ Films Campaign or here on buymeacoffee,

Thank you in advance to anyone who decides to help us out!

If people wish to keep up to date with what you are doing, where can they follow you on Social Media? 

Here are all of our current links,

Twitter.

The Champ Films Twitter.

Thee Tom Reynolds Twitter.

Savage The Film Twitter.

Instagram.

The Champ Films Instagram.

Thee Tom Reynolds Instagram.

Fundraisers.

The Champ Films Set up Gofundme Campaign.

BuyMeACoffee Link