Constant Pictures at Shoreditch Festival

Written on 01 August 2011. Posted in Constant Pictures

Constant Pictures recently fought off the rain at this year's Shoreditch Festival. Commissioned by A New Direction to document some of the events organised by Create Programmers they filmed table tennis, capoeira and a photography exhibition that ran alongside the canal by their colleagues Photo Posse. 

Photo by Alex Hannon. See more of his Shoreditch Festival pics on Flickr.

5 Films in 1 Day

Written on 17 July 2011. Posted in Events

Yes, this week we made FIVE films in ONE day!  Whilst on a Creativity Quest [something like a treasure hunt with lots of creative challenges], over 200 young people were exploring the Olympic Host Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Greenwich. Groups sent back video footage and e.mailed photos to us so we could include them in a series of 1 minute films about each borough. The young contributors re-grouped at the end if the day to watch the edited films. Everyone was very happy with the results and our fast turn around which we now have finely honed! Watch the Hackney film below.

Commissioned by A New Direction on behalf of Rep London 

Documenting Barbican ArtsFest

Written on 30 June 2011. Posted in Participation

Commissioned by the Barbican Centre, this week we are documenting an arts festival at the City of London Academy - Islington. ArtsFest is an annual week-long festival involving a whole school in arts activities delivered by professional practitioners.

Our Associate Filmmaker Winstan Whitter is introducing sixth form students at the Academy to documentary filmmaking whilst working with them to capture the best of the Barbican in their school. One of our young filmmakers from Constant Pictures Muzzammil Hashmi is assisting on the project where he is able to pass on his video production skills to his peers. We'll be uploading the finished film in a couple of weeks.......

Feature Script in Development

Written on 11 May 2011. Posted in Films

Eelyn Lee is currently writing a feature length screenplay, Ice which she intends to direct. The script recently attracted some interest at this year's Cannes Film Festival and we are continuing to explore the possibilities of future collaborations with producers and other production companies.

Based on an original idea, Ice is a black comedy thriller set in a heat wave in 90’s London....

On the run from a violent gang, Jemel has little value for human life but when he is forced to seek refuge with an old man self-taught in cryonics he finds himself learning the art and science of freezing bodies in liquid nitrogen before taking on the mission of bringing a loved one back to life.

Interview with Mary Portas

Written on 09 May 2011. Posted in Constant Pictures

Eelyn Lee Productions are facilitating our young filmmakers, Constant Pictures to make a series of short films that document the progress of Westfield's Studio East Commission. Mary Portas recently chaired a panel of judges including Tracey Emin and Tom Dixon to discover 'the next big thing' in art and design talent. Eugene Osei from Constant Pictures interviewed Mary to find out more. See the interview here

Films Screening at the Royal Festival Hall

Written on 21 July 2011. Posted in Events

We have two of our films currently screening at London's Southbank Centre. To mark the anniversary of the 1951 Festival of Britain, the Royal Festival Hall invited 42 schools across the UK to submit work for a pavilion showcasing the work of Schools of Creativity. A similar schools pavilion formed part of the original 1951 show.

Over the last three years we have worked with two of Creative Partnerships' Schools of Creativity, Islington Arts and Media School [IAMS] and Thomas Tallis School who have won the £3500 Cassio prize for the best exhibit in the show - so a BIG congratulations to them! Learn more about their story here.

Shoot to Cut at the Museum of London

Written on 07 July 2011. Posted in Events

Today we have a film crew shooting and editing at the Museum of London. Hot off the memory card, the footage is being edited on location with the team screening a 2 minute film at the end of the day. 

200 children, young people and teachers are celebrating 3 years of creative learning through a day of workshops, exhibitions and discussions hosted by A New Direction. We have two young filmmakers from Constant Pictures on set working alongside our Associate Filmmakers Winstan & Francis - all capturing the action as it unfolds.

1 Minute Films

Written on 17 June 2011. Posted in Constant Pictures

Our Associate Young Filmmakers, Constant Pictures have just completed a trilogy of 1 minute films. Each film is a self-portrait exploring personal relationships to London, creativity and opportunity. The films were commissioned by A New Direction who will be screening them at various events in London and we will be submitting them to short film festivals. Watch Ifthekar's film here.

A Film Poem Inspired by the Lotus

Written on 09 May 2011. Posted in Films

Eelyn Lee has recently written and directed a film poem which uses the lotus as a metaphor for a coming of age story. Shot by by our Associate Cinematographer Winstan Whitter on the Walthamstow marshes, Lotus is an evocative short film that we will enter in to film festivals.

The film features two of our past participants, Mark Richman who is a former member of Constant Pictures plays the lead role and Keon Williams who was a major contributor in Arts Beyond the Classroom plays a supporting role. The film has been edited by Francis Morgan-Giles who also composed the sound track.