Do You Like Making Movies?

Hello. My name is Graham Evans and I am Chairman of the Spring Park Cine & Video Society. What has this got to do with you? Well, we are your local club dedicated to amateur film and video making. We meet on Thursday evenings at  Emmanuel and have over 60 members.

Many of you will have a camcorder in your home but perhaps only used occasionally. With a little imagination and enthusiasm you could learn enough at our club to make films, good enough to show to a wider public. At Spring Park (as we are known) we are a friendly bunch of people of different ages and backgrounds who all love to make films and help each other to learn filming and editing techniques.

Those of you with a camcorder will be familiar with the basic concepts of shooting video. Some of you may have tried to edit your “footage” using a computer. This may seem highly technical and beyond your reach but computer editing at a basic level is really quite easy now and, as a club member, you can tap into the wealth of experience of our members. And don’t think for a minute that age is a barrier: our oldest member is over 90 (our youngest are teenagers!) and many started with Spring  Park at very advanced years.

We mostly make films on our own or with a few friends but we also make club films, both “story” films and documentaries involving our wider membership. In 2006 you may well have seen us filming the Ordination and Induction of The Reverend Bill Bowman at Emmanuel. Perhaps you have a copy of the DVD we produced of that day. We also provided live transmission of the service on a big screen in the Hewitt Room. We have also made a documentary for the Bromley Local History Society about the Bromley Colleges, which provide retirement accommodation for clergymen and their families. .

Every other Thursday evening we look at films made by us or other clubs or listen to talks given by people notable in the filming world. On alternate weeks we have “workshops” where we practice making short films or learn about specific techniques, be it editing, camera work, sound or lighting.

So please don’t be shy. I wish I had joined long before I did. I feared (quite wrongly) that my equipment and knowledge about film-making was inadequate. I shouldn’t have – there is a huge range of abilities at Spring Park including novices – and a very nice bunch of people who will make you very welcome. So come and join our happy band of film-makers. Please talk to me on the phone (8462 2935) or to Rosemary , our Membership Secretary (8658 3239.) or just turn up at the Griffith-Jones Hall in Emmanuel Church on a Thursday evening at 7.45 pm and see for yourselves.
 

Graham Evans – Chairman
 Spring Park Film Makers