The World Of Film

It's been a little while since I posted a new blog, and I suppose as I sit in front of my computer to write a new one, I can't help but think about some of the things that have been important to me over the last week or so.

That's the thing about writing a blog, it is somehow different to writing a diary, in that I don't feel compelled to write a daily account of what is happening for me.

And the fact that it is a very public means of collecting my thoughts is another difference between this and a diary. None of the self indulgent diary writing that I have engaged in over the years, and in fact I still have a collection of notebooks which capture those attempts at keeping a diary.

I suppose since I consider myself to be a writer these days, I have progressed significantly from the introspective stuff of my teenage years. As indeed my poetry has progressed significantly, and I would like to think matured somewhat.

Now that we have almost reached double figures in February, I am reminded that my film will be exhibited in Canada at the International Festival, the first showing taking place on Valentine's Day. At least I won't forget.

I consider myself to be a filmmaker as well as a poet, and I would dearly like to increase traffic on my YouTube channel, worthingsp, which I tend to add films to fairly regularly. Mainly short films these days, my most recent called Good King Wenceslas. The reason will be obvious if you can be bothered to have a look.

I am especially stimulated these days in my short film making by what I see in movies, and this latest film came about because I watched In Which We Serve in which there are two moments in which this carol is performed. Once by sailors on board ship, and once by children on shore.

I have combined this with an extract from Love Actually, and with something I found showing Tom Jones during his Christmas show in 1975. He looks so young.

It's fascinating to see the way in which there are recurring links between films, in different periods perhaps, but elements which reflect something of the culture in which we live. The environment in which our lives take their meaning.

I have a collection of about 1000 films recorded to DVD, and so I suppose I am an armchair observer of the culture expressed through film, which is a fascinating subject. And one about which I could write a regular blog in itself.

I'd like to think that my use of extracts from films could be justified under the umbrella of fair use, which is the only excuse for copyright infringement. And I certainly would never try to make money from the work of other people, and always respect the integrity of it.

What next, I wonder. my film viewing has tended to be somewhat rooted in the past, in the sense that most of my film collection is based on films broadcast on TV. That makes most of them eight or ten years since they were released.

Recently, however, I have recently been given a free VIP membership to LoveFilm, which means I am suddenly being exposed to more recent films. This in itself is fascinating, and makes me feel as if I am a timetraveller.

Add to this, that I have just discovered a way in which I can view films free of region restriction on my Macintosh, by virtue of a new media viewer. Which means that I can watch American imports directly on the machine that I have over my bed, and suddenly my viewing experience has been enormously enhanced.

Strange to think that there is such a difference between films released in America and released over here in the UK, but there does seem to be. And of course, DVDs can be purchased so cheaply these days via Amazon, even imports.