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.

Building Your Team Featuring Vshowcards

Something I have seen quite a lot of when on social media is the individualist aspect of marketing, by that I mean promotion of just one aspect of what you do as a creative, forgetting that when it comes to a shoot be it film, TV, or photographic it is a team affair.

One of the biggest reasons we say this is because our own creative director JamesC has reached out to the team behind vshowcards and will be working with them to assess a proposal for upcoming projects.

Networking, promotion and just old fashioned relationship building over time can be a difference maker in the world of film and TV, we rely on each other to make a shoot run smoothly and efficiently so having good relationships with the team make a huge difference.

With Vshowcards you have access to the a huge number of professionals within industry that will support your moves and if you reach out are willing to help and support, you just need to ask.

From an industry standpoint there is so much more than just your skillset to consider, you are a part of a team, the machine works because we do and supporting each other is the way to move forward and building your team is a lot easier when you have all your information at your fingertips and know you can reach out to others with questions.

To learn more about the Vshowcards set up or to join see:

Vshowcards Website.

Vshowcards Facebook.

Vshowcards Twitter.

Vshowcards Instagram.

Vshowcards YouTube.

Project Notes

A habit our creative director JamesC picked up when living in India that we are actively pushing again, is keeping a notebook and pen to hand, ideal for writing down phone numbers or emails, sketching ideas for photos or as we know he did frequently, outlining plots for TV or film projects.

JamesC has in the last few weeks come up with ideas that will work as short films for festival entry or expanded into a much longer concept that need to be padded to suit the plans for 2023.

Festivals are going to be a very heavy focus of the work ahead, we have spent a lot of time checking options of annual, quarterly and by far our most favoured, monthly film festivals that take film and photo projects.

Of course our favourite book for filmmakers “Don’t F*ck Up Your No Budget Film” by Ivan Peric, plays a heavy part in our thinking because this insightful first hand account of low budget creation is designed to shape your work into a commercial project and works well with our own thinking and add to this the very savvy and again, first hand account of Patricia Jones book “Opening Doors for Working Class Actors” which when combined with Ivan’s book has the scope to create a great combination and open up the projects we have to fresh talent and with the right focus and marketing (kept within a budget) see a series of smaller films and Web TV projects built with a commercially viable slant that will benefit all involved.

We will be using the Vshowcards site for casting and actively encourage people to check them out not just because we think it is a fantastic network site, but for the various casting calls that are available.

Expanding notes on our plan will be slow released through the blog and we will be working hard to get this push running with the Lost Agency supporting it and of course led by our own JamesC who will be front and centre with upcoming interviews including the Behind The Scenes Podcast, amongst the other elements at play.

Stay tuned for more updates and sneak images of our notes.

Introducing Dead Origami Films

We are really pleased to be able to introduce the team behind the up-and-coming Dead Origami Films who have been making waves in the circuit. With a new project on the cards, it seemed to be the perfect time to talk about filmmaking and their collaboration with vshowcards.

You have been working on some smaller projects as a starting point for your new production company Dead Origami Films, can you tell us more about how you came to do this and your background as a team?

I had written the script for our first short film 'Ellipsis' and I was trying to find a crew to make it with through my university but I really wasn't getting anywhere until I met fellow students, Alex Chalatsis and Nikko Turner (who had the same roles). We found that we not only worked exceptionally well together but that it was a team dynamic and with a group of skills that stood out on set as well, to very positive notes from others. We'd already begun talking about doing other films together by that point, but after we finished shooting Ellipsis we set about bringing that dream to life through the foundation of our production house, with Tequila Carter who was a producer and SFX makeup artist from Ellipsis, who we found to be incredibly resourceful and passionate.

Whilst Alex and I have known each other for about a year now, it's amusing to think that Nikko only joined us six months ago and Tequila a month after that, when I feel like I've known and worked with them all for much, much longer - we've got an unusual kind of symmetry that makes working together fun and effective. We all have weaknesses and strengths that complement each other and more than that we're incredibly passionate about what we're trying to build as a team.

You are working on a new short film at the moment, what can you tell us about the project and your plans for this film?

Absolutely, it's called 'Brutus' and it is a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (Act 1, Scene 2) which we're shooting in Southend-On-Sea in late September. It portrays the titular Brutus and his fellow senators as a group of gangsters plotting to kill their boss in a pub. Narratively, the film follows Brutus' journey through a single night as he wrestles with the decision to murder his close friend for the sake of his people and the consequences of that emotional turmoil on his marriage.
I'd tentatively call it a proof-of-concept piece as I do have interest in the possibility of adapting the entire play into a feature eventually, but by the same token, I'm adamant in my desire to make this film feel capable of standing on its own two feet as well.

One thing that has been noted is that you're working alongside vshowcards: what was the motivation behind this and how has it affected the dynamic of your projects?

I became aware of vshowcards at the Southend Film Festival, where I'd just watched the feature 'Fixed', which had cast Darren Tassell, one of their founders. I'd already been thinking about doing some modern adaptations of Shakespeare for a long time, but it wasn't something I took seriously until I met Darren and thought to myself, "That's my Brutus!". From there things snowballed, and it became Dead Origami Film's next project.

I had a meeting with Darren shortly after the festival and he told me more about vshowcards and what they were trying to do with it and I decided to try casting the film through their network, which I found to be a brilliant asset. It was more the case that I just found the people I felt were perfect for the roles there, rather than the idea that I set my sights on casting through vshowcards exclusively, a fact evidenced by my casting Kim Gjersøe who I'd worked with on Ellipsis. But how vshowcards is set up, just lent itself naturally to helping me make clear-cut casting choices.

With Dead Origami Films now moving forward, what is the goal of the company in film terms? Do you have a genre or particular theme you want to continue with?

Well, we've got four more short films slated for production after the Brutus. 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 (Macbeth + Romeo & Juliet), which brings us to 'Iscariot: House of the Red Door', which I'm extremely excited about in terms of our set design and visual effects.

Through 2023/2024 we've been talking about doing our first feature film, which will be named after and inspired by Victor Hugo's 1829 seminal novella “The Last Day of a Condemned Man”, which will philosophically and morally explore the mindset of a prisoner sentenced to death.

Nikko and I are blessed in that we have incredibly specifically similar tastes in film, heavily leaning towards the surreal and dark themes in general which pairs well with Tequila's love of horror films. Alex loves anything starring Tommy Wiseau, but we forgive him for his sins. I think those themes ring true in a lot of what we're planning on doing over the next few years, but on a personal level I wouldn't want to see us pigeonholed into doing just one genre of filmmaking, I've certainly got aspirations towards making other kinds of films.

What advice would you offer to people looking to enter the film/TV industry based on your own experiences?

That's a challenging question to answer as I imagine most people's situations would be quite different from my own. I'm lucky in that I found a group of people who believe in me and in each other and want to see where we can go with that belief. For us, that extends into developing a youtube and Patreon community with a large amount of content we'll be developing from next month - this allows us the opportunity to not only get in practice as filmmakers between short films but also ultimately, develop a financial stream that will allow us to function self-sustainably in the future if need be.

“I think I only have one piece of advice worth sharing that is as true to life as it is to filmmaking. Find yourself good people to enjoy life and create art with, people who will embrace you for who you are and you them. It might take a lifetime to find them, but they are out there.”

To learn more about Dead Oragami Films or their project work see:

Dead Origami Films Twitter.

Dead Origami Films Facebook.

Dead Origami Films Instagram.

Dead Origami Films Youtube.

Finding Solutions

Finding solutions is a big part of the work we do, from our creative consultation work with the Sons of Adonis brand to blogging about shows, The Lost Creatives was built around that concept and we are truly grateful to the people around us, in the last few days our dear friend Keziah Nyam-jim who has been bringing her immense talents in the business world to the table and supporting our changes with some advice, gentle nudges, and more than a few laughs in the process, she has been talking us through options that we would otherwise have missed.

What this means, is we have a much clearer end goal and thanks to Keziah, a timetable to work to, and someone outside of the creative world we live in who is going to give us a critical eye that is much needed looking over the work and plans. Something that we highly recommend.

There are also updates we know are coming to the vshowcards site which will make a huge impact on how we work, and open up doors to projects for many people in the arts and media that will be a gamechanger. Our creative director JamesC, will be amending and changing his own profile with vshowcards and adding the link directly to the website to make promotion a little easier overall.

More updates will be available soon so stay tuned.

Travel and Meeting Contacts Featuring vShowcards

We are really pleased when people reach out, especially when our contacts who have taken time off, come to us to talk about working on something fresh which has been happening a lot recently especially with photographers and a few actors who feel that the time is right to start working on smaller projects to stretch their muscles a little after the uncertainty of the last two years.

Naturally, this has given us the impetus to think a little more deeply about concepts and start stockpiling items that may seem strange but will in the long term be of advantage to us, such as the mix of ready-made prosthetics, butterflies, and other items that would on the surface seem strange.

In addition to this, we are planning a trip to London, part buyers trip and part meet up with friends, although the timing for this has been a little tricky due to family commitments, there are advantages to this that aside from being able to shop, we can discuss plans with the team at vShowcards gaining further insight their upcoming changes (which look to be amazing), our creative director JamesC is already a member which is another reason we want to sit with them and work out some details and add to his profile with strategic work.

What we are planning for is trips to the major makeup retailers, meeting with clients/friends, then returning to Scotland to work on additions to the sites across the board. There is something to be said for this plan that goes beyond the obvious networking, it really is about finding new sources of inspiration on route.

The scope and potential of this trip should be interesting and be a welcome break from the background work we have been doing.

To learn more about JamesC or the vShowcards site see:

JamesC vShowcards.

vShwocards official site.

Christmas Consultations and Other Business

The Christmas season (and by extension New Year) is always interesting for the Lost Creatives team. Our creative director JamesC has been working with a few regular faces pre-show in a private capacity to plan out makeup for the stellar talent Alex Robertson, currently appearing as Dame at the Falkirk Town Hall, alongside his usual work with brands.

As an old friend of the company Alex Robertson has been a supporter and a real boost to our morale, and to have him come to JamesC for advice was a genuine pleasure, he is not only an exceptional talent on stage but a respected character actor for a wide range of TV shows, indie films, and much more, so to be able to support him was a real pleasure and in truth a running laugh as he is a comical person to be around with self-deprecating humor that always makes us laugh out loud. For further information on the show, Beauty and the Beast, click here.

On top of this, we have been doing other types of consult work from PR advice to script work breaking down the financials (in basic form) to help a few indie projects that were stuck with a few minor details. We are incredibly proud of the work we do and appreciate that people see us as a viable source of information and of course promotion for their projects.

In the New Year, we are going to be taking some calculated risks and going public with our work which till now has been for clients and we have had to sign waivers preventing us from showcasing the work, frustrating but nonetheless important for our growth as a team and a company.

While we finish off some of the background work we have before we close for a few days of well-earned rest, we wish all our followers and everyone in the media industry a Merry Christmas, we look forward to coming back in the New Year with more news and updates.

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.

Hitting Deadlines

Working from home and doing multiple blogs, consulting with production companies, and doing costings for projects has been fantastic, it has allowed us to be a part of the creative field and opened up conversations with potential collaborators for the next year. What it also means is we have been able to set deadlines for work and give ourselves flexibility on the stock we have with a view to curating and adding what is needed for the near future.

As you can imagine we are now close to one of the deadlines for an in-house project, small, but nonetheless important. So within the next 10 days, we have to complete a minimum of 3 shoots that will be submitted for a competition we have had our collective eye on for a while now.

It also has been a good time to work on a marketing plan for the new year, which is scarily close and our creative director and head of makeup JamesC has now got a profile with the fantastic vshowcards which is in need of some small updates but is officially live!

Something we have discussed at length is websites, JamesC will revert to his old website soon with some much-needed changes as we have a huge amount of his work saved on the old site, we felt it made more sense just to edit and relaunch versus a rebuild.

Another option we are reviewing and giving serious thought to is an electronic notebook to reduce our paper use or at least a tablet with a good note keeper app, with so much in the market changing we are working to keep on top of this and be as practical about our work as possible.

Stay tuned for updates and further information.

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.

Talking Acting and Directing With Paul Andrew Goldsmith

We wanted to take a look at the life of a full-time actor and creator, asking questions about the journey and upcoming projects with the help of Paul Andrew Goldsmith we were able to gain a little more insight into the world of an actor/director as he prepares for his new work.

Can you tell us a little about yourself, your career, and your own projects and plans? 

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

I’m Paul Andrew Goldsmith, a professional creative based in little old Norfolk. I’ve had a very varied career including theatre, film, and TV work, and particularly proud to have been able to make my full-time living from the industry. It’s nowadays so hard to actually describe your profession, I act, I direct, I write and I teach. I literally do as much of anything I can in order to earn a living. I consider myself really lucky to be able to do so. Though let’s be honest we can all forget about 2020. 

Alongside my current project, my first feature film, I’m excited to get back to directing the  Warner Bros show, ‘The Polar Express’ this year and taking our street theatre show, ‘Ulysses’ out in the summer. 

So far in your career has there been a milestone that you want to share or a project you are particularly proud of? 

When I first started out full time as an actor I set various goals to achieve, 1st theatre tour, 1st film role, getting on spotlight, 1st agent, and so on. I think it’s always wise to have a stream of achievable targets that can adapt as you go but you must start out small so you don’t feel like a failure early on. It’s also worth keeping that list to always look back on to remind yourself exactly what you have achieved and how far you’ve gone. I think this is very true for the past year of lockdown when many of us have felt it’s not happening. 

As for milestones that make me particularly proud, I think it’s probably two. The first time I got paid for my work and secondly the first time I was able to pay others as a result of my work. It’s an incredibly empowering feeling to be able to bring employment to other creatives through things you’ve created. Again, especially after the past year. ‘NOTE I promise that’s the last time I’ll refer to the unwelcome visitor of 2020. 

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced so far as either an actor or as a director? 

Self-doubt and imposter syndrome for both. It never truly goes away however many years you’ve been active and how much work you’ve done. However, you can dampen it again by reminding yourself of the things you have achieved. 

You have a new project that you are crowdfunding. Can you tell us a little more about it and what was your motivation for creating it?  

When I was first starting out as an actor, I wanted a job to help earn yet be flexible enough to enable me to book acting work. I became a support worker for adults with learning disabilities. I found that I was a natural with the work and soon became a home manager before eventually opening my own day service. During my time working in the industry, I was alarmed at some of the treatment that goes on, intentionally and unintentionally with lifestyle choices being decided by care plans and risk assessments. I felt true freedom of expression and choice was regularly blocked and very often just to suit a particular organization rather than the person paying for those services. At the time I realized there were stories to be told, particularly a situation I observed with two service users who were clearly in love, yet kept apart. I began noting things I noticed that I felt could become part of a theatre show or film and now, some years later, I’m ready to bring it all together in a film. 

SAGACITY –

When a support worker realizes two men with learning disabilities have fallen in love at a daycare center, he fights for their rights to form a full relationship but is thwarted constantly by governance, staff members, and the care home management. 

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

I’m currently sourcing funding for the film in a variety of different ways as it is essential for me to be able to pay all those involved. Sadly 2020, Damnit I mentioned it again, wiped a huge amount of my savings out so I’m starting again from scratch. 

We’re all in the same boat so I’m asking people to just ‘Buy me a coffee’ from as little as £2 or to follow/share media as much as possible to raise awareness. 

Is there any advice you would offer someone entering into the creative arts and media? 

Believe in yourself. Be open to every opportunity, often the small things become lifelines and away into something far more. Get to know others, but always work based on what’s best for you and what works for you. Whilst many will claim there is, there truly aren’t any rules to what the industry is for you. It’s the arts, after all, it’s supposed to be for everyone. 

To learn more about Andrew Paul Goldsmith or his current projects see:

Paul Andrew Goldsmith Vshowcards.

Paul Andrew Goldsmith Twitter.

Sagacity Campaign.

Sagacity Twitter.

Sagacity Facebook.

Tackling The JamesC Website

We have been talking (via Twitter) about taking down our creative director JamesC’s website and completely overhauling it with a mix of his work from previous shoots, and of course new editorials mixed with additional TV/character-based concepts. That is now in motion and for the next two weeks, we will be doing the wrap-up work with a view to having a profile with vShowcards that will be central to his marketing as a makeup artist.

Taking this step has been really scary, as you can imagine, but it was a necessary move that we felt was long overdue, and with so many changes in motion to the market overall, we did this with a view to the long-term goals of the Lost Creatives and it will give a more focused and cohesive look to his work. With this in mind, we are debating adding a further 3 sites to the Lost portfolio making the overall theme of our work more cohesive and taking much of our business internally which will give us a stronger control over the imaging, marketing, and projects we tackle.

For those interested in keeping up with the news and updates JamesC will continue writing for our blogs and is still on Twitter. The new site is mostly complete and will be focused solely on his artistry work, while The Lost Creatives expands with him at the helm we will be working on the development of TV projects, short films for festival entry, and photo projects, to name but a few of our plans.

Showcasing Talent: Introducing vShowcards

What started as a dream and project on paper has become a force to be reckoned with in the casting world, vShowcards is fast becoming the place to be seen and has garnered attention from casting agents, directors, actors, and more as the team takes their passion for acting and all things media, and offers up a new portal for talent.  

Building on their own experiences as working actors, the team behind vShowcards has gone one step further than the average casting site and brings back the personal to the process with their social media presence on Twitter being part of the discussion, supporting, and promoting each other, whilst talking about their own frustrations within the business giving the whole thing a more family feeling, taking the isolation out being an actor and putting the emphasis on friendly support that is refreshing for talent and has in short order created a series of questions about their status in the market, a positive move that has taken them from outside the bubble to a companion and contender.  Talent is being seen in a new form and it is to vShowcards credit that they are building on the successes of the initial launch with a host of new elements to be revealed soon. 

Looking to reach out to creatives across the spectrum, vShowcards is the epitome of a new wave that has been steadily building across the film and TV realm as digital platforms become more common, the need for artists and creatives has increased with the traditional sources losing ground to newcomers like vShowcards whose dedication to their clients, focus, drive, and passion, has shown them to be open to new ideas and avenues with an eye for detail, the sites entire ethos is built on showcasing and supporting people versus collecting names.

There is a raft of digital production houses that are looking at the site and seeing the potential for productions built entirely with vShowcard people, an accomplishment that is new for many and shows the scope and talents of the people already in place.  

Leading the way and taking on the market with a fresh perspective vShowcards is more than just a casting and crew site, it is the future of the industry’s new wave and a force to be reckoned with.  

To learn more about vShowcards or to join see:

vShowcards Website.

vShowcards Twitter.

vShowcards Facebook.

vShowcards Instagram.