My Review of 2011

Seeing as I consider 2011 to be one of the best years of my life thus far, it felt only right that I took a moment or several to reflect back upon the many incredible events that helped to shape the year for me. So here is a blog post doing just that! 2011 has been a real year of change, and it has not always been easy, but it has always been worth it, and it has always been special.

FILM - I got my first ever experience of life as a movie extra in July, working on the upcoming feature film Now Is Good (starring Dakota Fanning, Jeremy Irvine, Kaya Scodelario, Olivia Williams and Paddy Considine, and directed by Ol Parker) on the streets and piers of Brighton. Over the last couple of years I have had to (for a variety of reasons) turn down offers of extra work on, amongst others, Captain America, X-Men: First Class, Hugo, and Snow White and the Huntsman, something that has been absolutely gutting. To finally get my chance to work on the set of a big film, even just for a day, was fantastic, and one that I only hope will not be my last! You can check out Now Is Good from 25th May - see if you can spot me in the background! I'm determined that in 2012 I will work as an extra again at least once (NO WAY am I turning down working on Marvel or a freaking Scorsese picture again, not for any reason), so watch this space.

Also in July, I shot a short film entitled Whirlwind Summer Romance, in Southampton. Following a young couple's relationship from beginning to end over the course of one summer, Whirlwind is a 13 minute, slightly experimental project that was my first real experience of shooting something that I had worked on extensively. My two actors, Sally Paffett and Ryan Carter, were brilliant to work with and I hope to work with them again at some point in the future. Their performances are very strong. The film is something I am very proud of, especially as I did absolutely everything on it (script, storyboarding, casting, location scouting, directing, camera, lighting, sound, editing). It makes me think a lot about what might be achievable when I have a talented crew to work alongside me and nail those technical elements - the first test being my feature film Our Last Summer thid year, of course! Whirlwind was shown at Ventnor Fringe Festival 2011 and Shorts:Cut 2011 - although only small, local festivals, this felt like a great step in the right direction and a big confidence-builder. The short was also nominated for Best Film at The News Guide Awards 2011. Although it didn't win, getting nominated and being able to attend the awards ceremony were great experiences and two more things to cross off the list! Hopefully it will represent the first of many opportunities for me to take my film to film festivals and awards ceremonies. Next stop, the BAFTAs!

2011 also involved the writing of and planning of my feature film Our Last Summer, to be shot in April 2012. To have my first ever feature film screenplay written and finished was a big thing for me, feeling like a real achievement. It is now my mission to take that screenplay and try and make the very best film possible from it. Much of the latter half of 2011 was spent working on this very desire. Honing the screenplay, running cast auditions, deciding upon my (rather lovely) main cast, running the film's social media, cast photoshoots, getting someone on board for logo and poster design, securing the very important cinematographer role, sorting camera, sound and lighting equipment, talking to bands and singers about soundtrack contrubution, considering locations, budget, make-up, costume, travel, accommodation, amongst much, much else. There will be no let-up in 2012 - plenty of work to be done before the start date of April 16th - very exciting! I really cannot wait to get stuck into making this work of art and commerce that we can all be incredibly proud of. Our first port of call (after the glitzy premiere, of course) once the film is totally complete will be the festival circuit, trying to get it seen by as many audience members (and industry professionals) as possible. At the very least, I will ensure that the film has self-distribution (the internet has made this extraorinarily possible for young, upcoming filmmakers) so that we can reach a genuine audience with this film, and hopefully some sort of profit via DVD purchases. With the internet how it currently is, with all its possibilities of global word of mouth spread, the sky is the limit! Our Last Summer will be great, because I cannot allow any other future for it. This is my first feature, and I am confident now that it will be the first of many. Indeed, I have a few very strong ideas for what my follow-up films could be (one of which I am around half way through the screenplay of and may well find itself going into pre production come the latter half of 2012).

Over the course of 2011, a career in film has gone from a simple, beautiful dream to something that feels a much more real possibility. My hopes for 2012 are high - I will be working incredibly hard to make this happen for myself, because it is something I truly believe in and care about. I can't let that slip away.

UNIVERSITY - I spent the first half of 2011 writing two dissertations that I am really, genuinely proud of. They took up a lot of time and effort but it was more than worth it in the end. Most shockingly, perhaps, I actually really do miss academic writing and am planning to set myself an essay task in the not too distant future to address this! Graduating in July (with a 2:1!) was a surreal but truly special experience, finally getting my chance to slip on the silly dress and don the equally silly hat and take to the stage in front of everyone to collect my degree (getting a nice bear hug from Sanjeev Bhaskhar too!). It was a day I will never forget.

HOLIDAYS - I was incredibly lucky in 2011 to have 4 amazing holidays abroad, more than I have ever had in a single year before. First of all, March saw myself and my girlfriend head to Paris for a few days to celebrate her 21st birthday. I have been to Paris a few times now and it really is a wonderful city, as magic as everyone claims. The weather was not kind to us, but we had a great few days, taking in all the amazing tourist locations (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, etc etc) and walking each day until we could walk no more! A really lovely and memorable city break. In June I went to Portugal, again with the girlfriend, for a week of glorious sun, sand and sea. We stayed at the resort Praia Da Oura, in the heart of the Algarve. Neither of us had ever been to Portugal before so it was a great place to spend our third summer holiday together. The weather was ridiculously hot all week and we soaked up some sun, ate lots of lovely food, took a couple of trips and had a general relax. Holland was up next, at the very end of September, staying at my Dad's work apartment in Leiden, a lovely city not too far from Amsterdam. During our 3 day stay there we explored Leiden, Den Haag and Delft, all beautiful places with a lot of character and history. Last but not least came the trip of a lifetime, spending 10 days with the family in New England, USA. 5 states covered, so many fantastic and wildy different cities and towns covered, so many colourful characters met. I still fully intend to at some point gather together all my memories from my America trip and write an entire blog post about it. So keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks!

THEATRE - In May I went to see Neil Labute's latest, In A Forest Dark And Deep, starring Matthew Fox and Olivia Williams. Set entirely within the same setting, in near enough real time, it was a terrifically dark and twisty little show, bolstered by strong, intense performances from its two leads. I also took my girlfriend to see Chicago in the West End; the first time either of us had seen it on stage, and we were not disappointed. I went to see The Syndicate, starring the magnificent Sir Ian McKellen, at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester. This Naples-set tale of a Mafia family was beautifully orchestrated and made the very best of the Minerva's small, intimate stage. The highlight, though, was undoubtedly getting to see one of my favourite ever screen actors, Kevin Spacey, in the title role of Sam Mendes' production of Richard III.

THE FLAT - July saw one of the biggest changes of my year as I moved into my flat in Southampton with my girlfriend, our first place together. Moving out properly was a big deal and has so far been a fantastic experience. The flat itself is great, providing a great little base and a none too shabby first place for us to inhabit together. No great luxury maybe, but a definite step up from studenty mess! I've had some lovely times in there already, none lovelier than my 22nd birthday night out. 2012 will present even more change as we move onto somewhere new once again, in a whole different town or city entirely. Where exactly that place will be is as yet undecided (hoping for a good mix of affordability, nice area, job opportunities and convenience for travel etc) - the decision-making process is going to involve a real mix of excitement and terror! It's safe to say that we both love our little pad and are going to miss it when we have to leave it in June, but it's given some great memories that we'll always have - now onto the next home!

WORK - I spent a couple of months early in the year delivering directories for The Directory Group. I continued working at weekends for the cafe Rosie's Tearooms in Westbourne, something I started doing in April 2010. I gave this up after over a year in June, moving into the flat making it no longer really an option. As mentioned before, I worked as an extra on the film Now Is Good in July. After moving to Southampton in July I struggled to find employment (isn't everyone at the moment?) - while this was fine for a while, as I worked hard on film stuff and enjoyed catching up with people, boredom (and being skint!) eventually sets in and I was very pleased to eventually get myself a job. At the beginning of October I started working for Debenhams in Southampton. I've met some great people there and learned a lot about various things. Whether I will continue there after my contract ends in January remains to be seen, but for now it does the trick, and it's lovely to have some money rolling in! We'll see what 2012 brings.

FOOTBALL - United winning 19th league title. Rooney overhead. The Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona was a disappointing end to the season, but one which I was able to take humbly - no harm at all, I feel, in being second best to potentially the greatest club side of all time. On the international front, England appear to finally be improving, showing true English grit and determination to eke out a 1-0 win over world and European champions Spain at Wembley in November. I can't help but look forward greatly to Euro 2012 - as an English football fan I am far too versed in getting my hopes up to stop now! There have been some great Premier League games this year. Off the top of my head... Arsenal 5-3 Chelsea (End-to-end stuff all game long, fantastic to watch). Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal (Amazing comeback from the Toon Army). Man United 8-2 Arsenal (for obvious reasons). QPR 1-0 Chelsea (A really old-school English war of a match, tackles flying everywhere, 2 players sent off, great stuff). Low of the year? Definitely going to have to go with the 6-1 defeat to Man City - not an easy day at all, but we have moved on well from it and currently find ourselves level on points with City (and set to face them again in the FA Cup!) and with a real prospect of retaining our title. Sometimes being the underdog suits us just fine.

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As I already stated, 2011 was a real year of change for me, in a number of respects. Some of this change I found very hard, but it also made me appreciate certain things more. Indeed, this festive season was so lovely in large part due to me appreciating seeing my friends and family more than I perhaps ever have. Being away from them for long periods means that I have a really heightened appreciation for them and for the times that I get to see them. There is plenty that I haven't really covered in this post - parties, gigs, cinema trips, etc etc, but suffice to say that 2011 was a successful one for me. I have great faith that in 2012 all the good stuff that made 2011 good can be even more good and make this an even more good year. Yes, quite.