We were delighted and more than a little nervous when a good friend, photographer and filmaker, Paul Adams and his business partner, PR guru Gary Cartmell came to The Keep to shoot a short promotional film for us.

It's a strange and uncomfortable feeling for me to be on the 'wrong' side of a camera, especially when it's recording every faltering word and unfathomable expression but these two pros were great at settling my nerves.

Jules demonstrated her legendary ninja skills here, remaining hidden, despite two cameras and a tiny shop. In a highly controversial decision that the movie industry is still reeling from, her one speaking part sadly didn't make the final cut.

Whilst Paul set up his kit (a surprisingly compact and efficient set-up), he showed me the storyboard he'd created - a sketched outline of the planned shots. And after some helpful pointers regarding the direction of conversation and a mic clipped to my collar, it was lights, camera, action!

“Just like that.” (A reference for the younger readers there).

Gary positioned himself out of shot and prompted me with questions (which were to be edited out in post-production), no doubt hoping to receive a coherent and succinct response. Instead I tripped over my tongue, lost my train of thought and generally wondered what I was talking about.

With the 'talky bit' done (I suspect there's a more technical term for this), Paul concentrated his camera on the shop and contents, then spent some time capturing footage of Clitheroe and its surroundings.

In the afternoon we changed location to our house to get some footage of work in progress.

With our own parts in the bag, it was down to Paul and Gary to work their magic in the editing suite. It's a real testament to their expertise that despite my inexperience and nerves, they created such a professional and informative piece.

We are extremely grateful to them both and tentatively await next year's Oscar nominations.

Here’s the finished short film:

About Picture Desk Films

Specialising in commercial shorts rather than more expensive corporate video productions, Picture Desk Films create engaging content for use on social media, staff training and news distribution.

They supplied us not only with the main film, but also an adapted version covering our Artwalk event, plus shorter clips specifically aimed at social media.

The whole filming process took just one day and the finished product was supplied a few days later. If you or anyone you know are looking for professional content for their business or event we can highly recommend Paul and Gary.

For more information see their website:
picturedeskfilms.co.uk

Caught on camera