This Wednesday 17th April 2019 at 7:30pm at The Parochial Rooms, 42 The Broadway, Cheam, Surrey, SM3 8BL This is a practical evening and those with cameras/video cameras or even phones can get involved. SO PLEASE BRINGE something to film on. DSLR/ or video camera. The club will provide a just one camera kit for […]
A letter from the Chairman
Dear Members, We have the Club’s Annual General Meeting coming up on Wednesday 24th April. This year’s AGM will be a particularly important one which will ensure the continued successful running of the club. I would urge all current members to attend to make their views known to the committee how they see the club progressing […]
Versatile gimbal adds super-smoothness to DSLR filming
The extensive library of filming, sound and lighting equipment available freely to SFM members was expanded in April with the addition of a Crane 2 Gimbal made by Zhiyun. This new item of portable kit is particularly useful in providing steadi-cam style multi-axis camera support, especially when filming with DSLR and smaller format cameras such […]
Bruce Whitehall
I started making short films when I moved to “Swinging London” in the 1960s and discovered, three doors down from my flat in Richmond, a lively amateur movie-making group called the Centre Film Unit. Several projects soon ensued, especially spoof documentaries. My favourite was Knees, loosely inspired by “Bottoms No.4” a 1966 avant-garde movie by […]
Community films spotlight borough housing
Club members have been closely involved with documentaries about local architectural and planning issues. Subtitled “An Oasis in Suburbia”, our 10 minute film about the Hamptons housing estate in Worcester Park has been received enthusiastically by area residents and other interested parties. The film depicts the social and environmental impact of a project which started […]
Emma Frayne-Ford
I joined about 18 months ago and in that short time the members of SFM have helped me achieve some amazing results. My first short film project, “Almost Perfect” was made with SFM and has been accepted into festivals and won an award. There are many gifted and talented people at SFM who are specialists […]
Will Tribble – On short films and 3m youtube hits
I’m a writer, director, editor and occasionally animator. Why I Don’t Like Cellars was a Sutton film club project that started off my filmmaking career about 11 years ago. I made it with George Burt, who I met at the club and is now DPing feature films. The main music track is by Al Grandy […]
Tim Lowe
I bought a Digital Camcorder to record a holiday-of-a-lifetime in the Caribbean. Whilst working in the Education Service, I then drew on film-making skills I had acquired to make films that could be used to train teachers in specialist teaching techniques. I’m now retired and living mainly in a Cornish village, I use film to celebrate […]
Club films score in a local competition
SFM swept the board at “Sutton the Movie!”, a national short film competition sponsored by the London Borough of Sutton. The event’s organiser, Arts Network Sutton, handed out top prizes to three very different movies created by Club members: Luke Baumkotter won the under-18 prize and Best Film overall for his horror series “Boy in […]
Jackie Clarke on her feature film – Parallel Lines
People often ask what it’s like working as an independent producer/director and the answer is not a simple one. It can be demanding, stressful, creative and outrageously funny all in a day. There are times when you despair as nothing seems to go right and times when you are in awe of the magic you […]
Luke Baumkotter – Short Film Festival Awards
Beast in a Briefcase Dear film Connoisseur, I am Luke Baumkotter age 13 when I made “Beast in a Briefcase” A dramatic malevolent chase film, with my friend Tom Gill in the summer holidays whilst out cycling with our rotter-man dog Skyler. The first film festival I entered it into won “Best Film” IAC […]
Projects in progress – May 2014
Tim Goodman, a long-time SFM member who is also active in two mid-Surrey writers associations (Mole Valley and Phoenix), writes for both stage and screen, usually under the nom-de-plume Kenneth Clelland. He has rarely attempted to combine work for both media but a well-attended enactment of his stage play “A Delicate Balance” at St Michael’s […]