Metroland

Metroland

Candle & Bell are pleased to announce that they are producing another short film called Metroland. The film has been selected as part of Creative England’s iShorts funding initiative. Metroland is one of three short films the company is producing this summer. It is written and directed by award winning, Newcastle based filmmaker Benjamin Bee. Benjamin’s previous film Step Right Up was long-listed for a BAFTA.

Festival Success

Festival Success

Our short film The Lost Girl, written and directed by Laura Degnan, has just started its run on the film festival circuit and we’re pleased to say the reception it’s received has exceeded all expectation. Our short film A Six and Two Threes, written and directed by Andy Berriman, has also started its festival run.

Filming the Festival of Humanities

November 2014 was a busy month for us. We were commissioned by Northumbria University department of Humanities to film their event, The Festival of Humanities. Over the course of 8 days, academics from the department held various events across Newcastle city centre. From Britain's first actresses to fashionable diseases of the 18th Century, there were topics to interest everyone.

My Kingdom for a Horse

My Kingdom for a Horse

Having made a career out of piecing details together to create stories, I find Shakespeare's famous line particularly apt when talking about how things might go wrong in the video production process. A video is made up of many parts. Without a great script, it's likely that your message will fall on deaf ears; Without great images, the visual appeal is lost and viewers get bored; Without clean sound you'll put people off; Every detail matters a great deal.

Everything I Know About Running a Business, I Learned from Lord of the Rings

Everything I Know About Running a Business, I Learned from Lord of the Rings

It is no secret. Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am a big fan of Tolkien and his tales of Middle Earth. I have good reason too. Once you get past the Orc's, and Uruk Hai's, understand that Gandalf and Mithrandir are the same person and the Eagles couldn't just drop the ring into Mordor themselves, there are some valuable lessons to be drawn from this great work. Here are just a few gems that appear in Peter Jackson's big screen adaptation.

Analogue Film, Digital Cameras

Analogue Film, Digital Cameras

The first film I ever shot was a 60 second, one take story, on an Arriflex 16mm camera. Using black and white film, you have yo be very careful. You need a light meter and colour charts to make sure the exposure and colour tones are correct, and gaffer tape for the sides of the camera to make sure no light leaks in. I was 17 years old and I was just getting started.

Soul Trader

It was Richard, Candle & Bell's geek in residence, that handed me a book that finally spoke to me. This is the entrepreneur I want to be. It was called 'Soul Trader' by Rasheed Ogunlaru. If, like me, you've tried (and failed) to be inspired by all the 'how to build a successful business' books out there then I suggest you give this one a whirl. If you resent the 'cold-calling', quantity over quality attitude to doing business and don't want to go down that road yourself then 'Soul Trader' will have some useful insights into how to sell your services or products.