Many years ago, back before I had seen Vanilla Sky and Full Metal Jacket, I used to go on and on about Jacob's Ladder. I remember being blown away by the twist ending, and how it turned the entire story on its head. Then this other film came out in the 90s called Sixth Sense. I remember all the critics and how they banged on about this film and its twist. So I went to see it. Bruce Willis' character got shot in the stomach, and then the story jumped forward in time. And I was like "Hang on, in Jacob's Ladder, Tim Robbins' character got stabbed in the stomach, and then time jumped forward!" - and suddenly I realised what was happening.

Although I was a little pissed at the director, M Night Shyamalan, for 'borrowing' a lot from my favourite film, including the twist ending, I was impressed at how the film was executed. I looked him up on imdb and looked forward to his next film Unbreakable.

Unbreakable blew me away - the twist was just absolutely amazing, and to date I don't believe I have seen a better structured film - I loved how Shyamalan worked the comic book mythology into the film. The pacing was well set and really let the characters develop. Shyamalan went on to say that all his films are supposed to be like 'feature length' episodes of the Twilight Zone; I LOVE Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. I used to watch them when I was a kid, along with Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Tales of the Unexpected. So I then found myself looking forward to Shyamalan's third film, Signs about crop circles.

Signs was a financial success, but a filmmaking disaster. At the box office it took in over $400 million. But it was one of the most contrived pieces of writing I have ever seen on the big screen. I remember wondering what planet the highly regarded US critic, Roger Ebert, was from when he called the film "The work of a born filmmaker". You can bang on all day about how clever the film was using aliens as a setup for something bigger, but actually it wasn't very clever at all. As one Amazon reviewer put it: "My only problem with this film is that 2/3 of the Earth's surface is covered in water." I then started to think that maybe Shyamalan wasn't as talented a writer as he was a director. Some kind of switch has flipped between Unbreakable and Signs. Maybe he was starting to take his work a bit too seriously? God knows.

And so I waited for his next film, The Village to surface, and actually expected it to be a disaster. And on the basis of reviews so far, it seems it is. Even Roger Ebert hated this movie. This is one of the most vicious reviews of The Village I have read yet! I don't know what happened to the director of Unbreakable. Hopefully the reactions to this film will give Shyamalan food for thought, and he'll rethink a few things then get back to his old self. Fingers crossed.

I had a very encouraging chat with Steve Hoper today, the composer who worked on Mnemosyne. He said the music is nearly completed and it has totally transformed the film for the better. It has also given me food for thought about the beginning of the film. A few people reacted badly to the picture lock of Mnemosyne a few months ago, citing that it was never set up correctly to be a puzzle film. Therefore, the guys in question thought it was a regular film and couldn't get into it. I then added a new beginning that 'sets up' the story for the viewer so they know it isn't going to be anything run-of-the-mill. However, Steve today said that with the music it is blatantly obvious, and that the beginning now gives away too much. Steve said the music is more atmopsherics than harmonies, but that it creates the mood in such a way that it literally transforms the film. Back when I conceived this film in early 2003, I was aiming to make something really different; something that stood out from the rest of the low-budget DV community. I believe that this project is close to achieving that, but everything must be perfect. We have yet to mix down the dialogue and lay on the foley. I'm really looking forward to moving forward in August and finally being able to get a final cut out there.

Steve mentioned that the music is going to be delayed because the director Janis Vingris needs a score for his film 'White Beast' ready by mid-August. If he doesn't have this, he won't have a finished film by that date. If he doesn't have a finished film by that date, he won't be able to apply for funding for his feature. It's a huge chain reaction, and remember that this guy is a professional filmmaker who does it for a living. I'm not really on any deadline, other than that people have been waiting friggin ages for my film. So I am happy to stand aside, and let Steve work on Janis' film. The music will still be ready by the end of August which is when Rob and I have scheduled the mix-session. Steve's reaction to the film has really made my day. For more information on Janis Vingris' film, 'White Beast', check out this link.

During the weekend I got to see Spiderman and Spiderman 2 for the first time. What great little popcorn flicks! But was I the only one who noticed the rather dubious metaphors running through the films?

Evidently not.

You don't even want to know what I thought was going on with Spiderman 2, but it was pretty close to Tarantino's analysis of TopGun. Quite amusing.

I just read an interesting article in one of the British Tabloids about veteran director, Ken Russell. It turns out his new film is a real low budget affair, with 76 year old Ken the scriptwriter, set builder, producer, director and cameraman on 'The Mystery Of Mata Hari'. Read the full article here.

I spoke to Rob Whittaker today (Sound Recordist/Design - Mnemosyne) and we agreed that I would travel to his studio in Birmingham for the third week of August to mix down the music, dialogue and sound. He said that depending on our progress, we might require a second weekend in September. I am hoping not, as this film has dragged on for too long, and I need to put it behind me so I can focus fully on Quiddity.

I've been working so hard lately that I haven't had time to do much at all; not even watch any films! The good news is that I have been in dialogue with a fellow employee from one of the London Offices. After the article went out I had some really interesting people contact me, one of whom was Kyle Sparks. He is an actor, originally from the United States, now living in the UK. We have arranged to meet in August, so I can describe the movie, Quiddity, to him in more detail. The film requires lots of American actors living in the UK, as lots of the stuff set in the states will be shot over here. So far I am looking at filming in Chatham, Letchworth and Lewis in the UK, and Missouri, Arkansas and possibly New Jersey in the US. The film is pretty large scale.

I was also pleased to see Canon finally have their XL2 camcorder available. I will have to run some head-to-head tests between it and the Panasonic DVX-100 at Optex one day to see which is best.

A few months ago I contacted the people who run my company's newsletter to find out if they would consider publishing my article on Motivation and People Management. The article was published on the Raindance Film Festival Website as an Indie Tip, but I thought a lot of IT Managers could learn a few things by reading it. Well what eventually happened was that the company did a story on me. The other day they sent it out to all our employees (And the company has a lot of employees!). It was kinda cool, as I got a lot of feedback from various closet-filmmakers embedded in the firm.

In other news, I touched base with my composer and sound designers who all said they will have their jobs finished by the end of July. So we are still on for a final cut of Mnemosyne by the end of August.

Okay - heard about this really cool film coming out soon which is supposed to be like a mix of Seven and The Cube. The film is called SAW. The poster for this movie looks really cool. Check out the IMDB page for more info on this flick by James Wan. I seem to be constantly disappointed by low budget horror flicks, but this could be the film to finally end this cinematic losing streak? Check out an interview with the director of Saw, here. The page contains a link to a review.

Today I saw a classic that I really should have seen before. Full Metal Jacket. I was blown away. It is possibly the perfect film, as I just cannot find fault with it. I hear a lot of people liked the first half set in boot camp, but hated the second set in Vietnam. God knows why? They were both very appropriate and necessary halves. The attention to detail from Kubrick was incredible, and you really can see with his films that he wasn't just directing actors, but also conducting the cinematography and sound. I wish I had seen this sooner.

It's been an amazing weekend. After the week I have had, which involved a lot of 12 hour days, that is exactly what I needed. No more progress was made on Quiddity this weekend. I had a lot of people waiting on me to review film scripts and only got through a few.

The great news is that on Saturday I saw an awesome tennis match. My co-producer, Hak, journeyed down to watch the match with me, and it served (excuse the pun) to be a brilliant dose of inspiration. So much so I ended up using a chunk of Sunday to write a new article: Mental Resilience, Determination and Inspiration.

I was just informed that the book Make Your Own Hollywood Movie will be published in September. This book contains a lot of behind-the-scenes stills from my film, Mnemosyne.

One other piece of exciting news. Two Belgian filmmakers going by the name of Another State Of Mind have recently finised their film Marla, which incidentally cost 400 bucks.

I have not yet had a chance to view the film, but am getting BroadBand soon, so I should be able to review it here in the next few days. The film uses proper film lenses via a MINI35 contraption that the guys built themselves. If you visit their site and go to the Bonus section you will find a link to a comprehensive 'how-to' guide so you can shoot similar looking films. I have to say the end result is incredibly close to film; the lighting, composition and overall look are stunning. One wonders what results could be achieved using a combination of the Panasonic DVX-100 and the MINI35. The great thing about this, is that the whole kit can be bought for around £70 and is very easy to assemble. My hat goes of to Olivier & Sebastien. Good work, guys!

I spent this weekend in Leeds working on my feature, Quiddity. It has proven very difficult to write, and over the two days I only accomplished five pages! Unfortunately my flat is situated right next to a brewery and church, so I had a sensory assault from my environment which made things more difficult. Excuses aside, the scipt is coming on well. It is a challenging film to write, but I am enjoying it immensely. More news soon.

Kevin Gates, the Letchworth based producer/director, has finally announced that his feature film, The Unseen is complete. I have seen the film and will be interviewing Kevin soon on the site. In the meantime, check out his interview with EOFFTV.

After watching the film, I decided to write my own MetaPhilm interpretation of the movie (You should read Tarantino's interpretation of Top Gun!). My interpetation is that The Unseen is actually a metaphor for adultery, and how a person's world can be ended if they allow themselves to become consumed by this monster. I'm taking the piss, of course, but here it is anyway:

It's about a woman who designs speciology software who hates herself because of the way she cheats on her husband. Although she hates herself, she can't help it as her monstrous urges seem to sieze her at the unlikeliest moment - almost like she is being taken over by a monster. Anyway, one day she arranges to rendez-vous with her lover, a man named Dawson, in the Lake District using the guise of a businesstrip to meet some speciologists. They agree to meet at a petrol station. Her car crashes on the way, falling into a deep forest. She climbs out and makes her way back to a nearby town. Her phone is full of messages from her husband, demanding to know where she has been, as she didn't check in at the hotel. She finally gets home and the house is deserted. He has taken everything and left her. The neighbors know. Her family know. She thought he was the first to find out, but actually she was the last...

I actually had trouble trying to figure out who was infected and when - the movie quite cleverly sets up red-herring after red-herring. Director, Kevin Gates had the following to say: "The Unseen is too deep and metaphysical to give a simple interpretation. I like to keep the ambivalence going as long as possible. People will ponder for years as to who was infected and at what point they became infected..."

I was back in Chatham for a few days, but go back to Leeds tomorrow morning. Ash dropped round today with his partner in crime, Stewart Taylor, who is a local from this area (Gravesend). We discussed the sound and foley for Mnemosyne. We also agreed that they (aka The Theme Team) will compose for my next project, the feature film Quiddity. Although Steve Hoper is my current composer, he has a lot of work on at the moment, as his business Tonic T-Shirts is really starting to take off (Elijah Wood was spotted wearing the company's gear). I don't want to give too much away about the feature just yet, but will reveal more info soon. It's cool that I am *finally* getting around to the film which this whole website is dedicated to.

I also got the publicity train moving for Mnemosyne. I called up the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation and spoke to the PR people there. I have yet to contact any newspapers, although I did cc the editor of The Comet in on my e-mail to the heritage foundation for their story. My diary may go quiet again for the next month, as I am working long hours and very hard in my new job. In August things will pick up a bit, as that is when the Mnemosyne will be finished!

I turned 28 on the tenth, but due to my workload, was only able to get out last night to celebrate my birthday. The talented composer, Steve Hoper turned up at the end of the night. He is preparing to work on a new film by Latvian director, Janis Vingris. The film is called White Beast and was shot on Super 16mm for approx £8,000. It sounds very intriguing and from what Steve tells me, this will be a seriously good film. Steve introduced me to Janis and his sound designer, Eve Cuyen. They all met through Talent Cirlce, a free competitor to Shooting People. Steve mentioned that he should have the music ready by July. Ash has started the Foley, so my plan for a release in August is still very much on cards for Mnemosyne.

Want to know how? Read the first in a new series of articles I am publishing as a compliment to my quick start guide to filmmaking.

Hakan, one of the co-producers of my film Mnemosyne has launched his own website today, called budgetfilmmaker.com. It contains my 3 ultrashorts that I made when I first became interested in filmmaking, as well as the trailer to Mnemosyne. All other filmmakers out there should send your material to this site, as it has been getting quite a few hits.

Not a lot has happened in the last few weeks. I have copied the CDs containing the DAT sound on and mailed them to Rob and Ash. Ash has also partnered up with a producer from Meopham who has kindly agreed to let us use his studio for any ADR work that we need. He and Ash will work together on the Foley with Rob. Other than that, things have been pretty quiet. I've been working on technical articles for the journal ASP Today and an article on Motivation and People Management for my company's newsletter. I will have my apartment in Leeds by the end of the week; I can then start spending more time on my next film project which is still in its infancy.

I just wanted to extened my congratulations to two dreamers from France: Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa. The two writers (who had never even made a short before) were both given a chance to make their directorial debut, Dead End (Buy it here) last year, and it really is a superb horror/comedy with a touch of the surreal. I am very impressed and hope to see these kind of chances being taken more in the industry. This will become a cult classic, there is no doubt in my mind. I urge everyone to go get a copy of Dead End - you'll be impressed at the originality, execution, and overall idea. Very refreshing.

I have been posted to Leeds as part of my new job, so I have been settling in for the last week. There has been no progress with the films. My feature is half into second draft, Mnemosyne is still with the sound guys, and I have yet to start writing my next short.

I spend weekday evenings either out and about in Leeds, or stuck in my hotel room. There have been a few social events lately, but over the next few weeks I envisage I will have ample time to get down to work in the evenings and do a lot of writing. I am enjoying my new job, and my stress levels are low. I feel that May/June is going to be the inspirational peak of the year for me, so it is important I get something done soon.