Posted by alastair on Feb 18, 2016 in Being Ginger |
That is to say, reflecting on the film itself. The film went live on Netflix a month ago, and since then I’ve had more viewer feedback than I had in the previous two years combined. I find it very touching, and up to this point I’ve tried to reply to every message and most of the tweets, but it’s getting difficult to keep up and work on the new film, so I figured I’d put out a blog post that covers all of the usual talking points, plus a little bit extra. First and...
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Posted by alastair on Aug 30, 2014 in Being Ginger |
I was looking through my old hard drive today and I came across a file I meant to share ages ago, but in the hustle of finishing the film last year I some how forgot. While editing the film, I had to make many difficult decisions. Thankfully Ben was there to help me out with an objective view point. Towards the end of the edit, on what was my last day with Ben, he said “There’s one other thing.” He wanted to delete a specific sequence from the film. It turned out that he’d...
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Posted by alastair on Jul 28, 2014 in Being Ginger |
The last six months has been pretty incredible; I’ve attended screenings in eleven cities across North America, and each one was an absolute joy. I wanted to take my camera and film some of the post screening chat at all of them, but it just wasn’t possible. I was able to get some stuff shot after the main Toronto screening, and I’ve put it together in a ten minute YouTube clip. So if you’ve wondered what it was like for me to attend these screenings take a look: I was...
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Posted by alastair on Jul 15, 2014 in Being Ginger |
The toughest part of making a film is killing your darlings: deleting the scenes you love because you know that you don’t actually need them. The great thing about making films in the 21st century is that your darlings get to live again on YouTube. Today I brought one of my favourite darlings back to life, and I’d like to share it with you. Originally Being Ginger was a short film that I made as a grad student at The University of Edinburgh. It was 23 minutes long, and the...
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Posted by alastair on Feb 19, 2014 in Being Ginger |
Lots of people make suggestions about what kind of film I should make next. I always try to listen, because you never know, but the truth is it takes about three years to make a film. And if I’m going to invest that kind of time on something I have to really want to delve into that world. Usually I don’t. I have my own list of films that I really want to make, and I’m always adding to it. Today I was asked to make a documentary about the sexual stereotypes associated...
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Posted by alastair on Jan 24, 2014 in Being Ginger |
People are amazing. I think I watch the news too much sometimes; the news is always full of the worst bits of humanity. It can make you question basic human decency. But then you go out, and you put forth a little effort (or maybe a lot of effort) and your reward is a seemingly never ending stream of kindness. I flew up to Seattle on Monday. It was my first time in the Pacific Northwest. An old friend gave me a brief tour of the city, and I was able to grab a pint with...
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