Bollywood Colchester

Signals has come over all Bollywood this month. The colour and energy of a good Bollywood film is enough to get you through the dullest of February days.

On the Saturday the 25th of February we will be screening ‘Main Hoon Na’. This modern classic was the directorial debut of choreographer Farah Khan, the film was a great box office hit and won numerous awards.

The film was ground-breaking in many ways, it was among the first to look at the Indian Pakistan conflict and also presented strong female characters. Director Farah Khan help lead the way for a new generation of woman working behind the camera in Bollywood. http://nyti.ms/oyVJ7b

The film stars the ‘King of Bollywood’ Shahrukh Khan, who has made scores of films in his long career including ‘My Name is Khan’ in 2010, which became a international success and is the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time in the overseas market.

See Bollywood legend Shahrukh Khan interviewed last year for the BBC Asian Network here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qp0tr

Before the film there will be a talk by Nina Ludgate who worked on the film as Effects Producer. She took a multi-camera array to Bollywood to create the frozen-arc effect that is seen in action movies and commercials around the world. Nina will be sharing her experiences of working in Mumbai and shedding some light on Bollywood production methods, as well as letting us know all about the films stars and Director.

Free screening of ‘Main Hoon Na’ on Saturday 25^th Feburary 2012 at 7.30 Signals Media Arts Centre. Call To book a place 01206 560255

New Season

There is a back to school feeling in the air and it’s getting colder, but then again unless you have been away somewhere lovely this hasn’t been much of a summer. However September marks the beginning of a new year, at least an academic one for those at school or collage, and fresh starts and learning something new is always good.

This will also be the last year before tuition fees shoot up. This is likely to be more of a concern to those thinking about taking creative and art subjects where well-paid jobs are few. We hope people will keep creative and do what they love. If that is filmmaking there are lots of short courses out there to learn the basics or perfect a skill.

Here at Signals we are looking forward to some new and exciting media courses in the autumn. One of the first is a course run by Will Wright, a local filmmaker and tutor. Will is excited as has just had his short horror film 'The Ritual' accepted at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival in LA and his film will be judged by international director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth). ‘The Ritual’ was shot in Colchester back in 2008 and has taken a couple of years to finish due the addition of a CGI creature. So it sounds like it will be worth looking out for.

New course -

Filmmaking Next Steps – a six session modular course for adults interesting in developing filmmaking skills; from script idea to edit you can choose as many sessions as you like or do them all for a complete filmmaking course. £50 per session. Begins Saturday 10^th September.

More: For more information on these courses and all our others please visit our website www.signals.org.uk or keep an eye out for our course brochure with listings of all our courses and workshops over the next few months.

Booking: You can now book places through http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1306873523 or save the booking fee and book direct with Signals, call 01206 560255 or email lisa@signals.org.uk

We hope you will find a course that would be of interest, but if there is something you would like to know more about, that we haven’t covered, please let us know.

Breaking into the Film Industry: Making the Final Cut.

The creative industries are notoriously difficult to get into and to get your work noticed by the right people. Whether it is Film, Photography, Advertising or Illustration, a lot of people aspiring to be a creative are met with the same reaction. "You're best getting a proper job". "Too many people want to be one of those". "It's too hard to get into." And that's just your careers advisor at school! You're family will be concerned as there is not a lot of money to be made starting out..if any at all. But that is no reason to give it all up if it's something you really want to do.

But they are right. If you're not willing to graft then it is better to get a 'proper job'. They're also right when they say too many people are trying to get work. There are hundreds of courses that dump a load of graduates each year into the world of job seeking. Not to mention the countless freelancers. And they definitely weren't wrong when they tried talking you out of it for financial reasons. It is very costly to have the appropriate equipment. Filmmakers need a high spec camera, a tripod, editing software, Lighting equipment, Sound stuff...the list goes on and on.

Signals Media Arts Centre provides award winning expertise in filmmaking, scriptwriting, photography and post production through their range of adult courses and professional workshops. They can also give a helping hand when it comes to equipment hire and studio space. But before you take a look at our website-http://www.signals.org.uk/

Here are a few tips for budding Spielbergs, Tarantino's and Theroux's.

• Immerse Yourself: Practice making as many short films as you can. A great film can be 15 minutes long or 15 seconds long. Watch as many films of all genres, of all styles for inspiration and knowledge of the kind of stuff being made out there.

• Market Yourself: "It's not what you know, it's who you know". Well in truth, the more you know and the better you are then naturally more people will get to know you. Enter into competitions, go to local film festivals and screenings, collaborate with other local creatives. Do what you can to get your name about.

• Better Yourself: Do a course to improve on areas you're not as competent in. If you're a great scriptwriter but feel you can't put your ideas into action, attend a camera workshop. Or you may be brilliant at shooting and editing but don't have the skills to make a script exciting enough to show off your filmmaking talents. Signals Media Art Centre have courses to make you a master of all trades. Click here to see more info.

Good luck!