Mad Man?

 

 

 

Making the most of the sunny weather, actor Simon Morgan Thomas is coming up from Cardiff tomorrow for a film shoot at St.David's where he is our Dafydd as a washed up sailor ... unshaven, unclean, dishevelled ... ignored by others ... this will be the premise of the film scape for the track Mad Man? from Fusion Inspire.

 

 

I want to film 'Dafydd' stumbling down the 39 steps at St.David's towards the Bishop's palace where he will be visited by angels and gargoyles ...

 

These shots of Simon were taken by:

http://www.larklightphotography.co.uk/

 

Watch this space ... will tell ya all about 

the film shoot tomoz!

 

 

Street Dancer at Mumbles

 

 

 

 

GREAT afternoon at Mumbles filming with Martin Kurina, Street Dancer. He's just 18! Yesterday ...

 

When Martin told his freinds about our last film shoot they laughed, but he is a very focussed young man, determined to gain as many arts experiences as possible. He is so easy to work with. Gets straight on with the job, never complains and takes direction really well.

 

 

 

 

Bless him, we were both horrified when we arrived at Mumbles for the shoot. The tide was OUT! This was the only time we could do the shoot and we were making the most of the sun coming out (at last!) We walked across the rocks and stones to what looked like a sandy area .. it wasn't! I stood in it first and sank! Yes SANK!

 

When we walked back we saw a concrete area and so I said let's have a go filming on there. It was then we realised it was a sewage pipe!!! So the sludge that covered my flip flops and feet was not just wet sand I'm afraid!

 

 

 

Still we were not swayed from our mission and filmed regardless of the gurgling pipe! We just prayed that that the flushing loos we could hear echoing up the pipe were not heading our way!

 

Afterwards, we went further down the coast to the end of Mumbles and filmed Martin dancing there.

 

 

 

Martin has had a busy day today. This morning he performed his 2 New Singles at a Youth Fayre, then went off to college where he is studying the dance option of Performing Arts. He is an all singing, all dancing lovely lad, with vision and drive ... I think we could well be seeing a lot more of Martin Kurina in the future ...

 

You can find out more about Martin at this facebook link ...

 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/MartinKurinaOfficial

 

 

 

 

Making the most of the sunshine

 

Remember Martin Kurina from the film shoot at Arthur's stone where he street danced with Taran for my film shoot about the song

Rock and a Hard Place?

 

Well, the sun is out today so I'm picking him up from college to take him to Mumbles to film him street dancing in the sea (Let's hope the tide is in!)

 

 

It's for the very end filmscape where he will represent the character 'Hope'

 

We tried filming on the beach before with Martin and his DCC Street Dance Crew but the rain caught us once again and we ended up filming in the Dylan Thomas Birth House

thanks to Annie Haden who agreed the film shoot last minute for us.(see earlier blogs) 

 

But I feel that the end shots need to be a lad dancing in the sea and I like the idea that Martin has reprsented Dafydd in other film shoots because as the character comes to realise that Hope is inside him and from within him, he'll recognise himself in the dancer ...

 

 

Watch out for my next blog which will show you how we got on.

 

College won't let Martin come out early so we can't go til later now and I'm longing the Sun Goddess to stay with us! Still, we'll shoot it whatever the weather! I've got a feeling if we wait for the sun to stay we might never get it done!

 

 

It's all going on!

What a busy old time I've been having this summer! What with going to the orphanage as a volunteer musician in residence, being Creative Director of Celtic Womenfest for The National Botanic Garden of Wales .... It’s all been going on.

 

 

So what heaven is this, being able to focus on my own creativity! This week I had to go to London and I got stuck in a traffic jam for 6 and half hours! Brilliant! I had asked the engineer to put all the now written and recorded tracks onto CD in a rough mix in the right order so that I could listen in the car. I listened and listened and listened. It was fabulously reflective time. I could hear sections that need to be added, changed, I rehearsed the narrative. In fact almost forgot I was driving! Same on the way home too.

When I got home I decided it was time to re-group. Having had a really good listen to the songs and the story line formulating in my head, I have decided to focus on finishing all that is pending before starting anything else.

This week I am spending 2 days editing the films together and putting my what works best for the production head on instead of my community head. As I've said before, that hasn't been easy until now, but in this re-birth that my own space has given me, I've really enjoyed putting the films together with the now nearly complete tracks.

My head is now starting to think about the logistics of the production itself... how to make life easier!

When I was being the Director of CW12 I did put a space in the HUGE program  for me to perform, even though I was presenting for the 2 days, managing the event etc ... I usually do a set because people expect it. But do you know what, the universe sorted it out for me because Mab Jones emailed last minute to say she could only make the Monday and could I change her spot. I decided to give her my spot because I really wanted her to be able to come. Consequently, I felt this huge heavy weight lifted from me when I realised I wasn't performing!

The week before the CW12 festival, I was performing with my uke at Women in Tune Festival and I thoroughly enjoyed it because I could wear one head! My performing head. What with my almost intolerable pre-gig nerves, I realise, to get the best out of myself, or at least not to feel like the world is caving in, I need to give myself a break and do one or the other! Perform or Direct!

So where does that leave me with Fusion Inspire: the dragon tree? Exactly! I need to be sure that I produce it in a way that is realistic for me to hold my nerve in performing it next year, in January and Feb. (which really doesn't seem long enough away right now!)

I have emailed my Grant Supervisor to go and chat it through with her.

I have also contacted all the other musicians that I want to come and record the soundtracks for the films ... fingers crossed they say 'yes' because there are some very exciting people!

 

 

 

 

Ceri Wyn Jones has almost completed the Welsh translations so I'll be cracking on recruiting as many people as possible to group read them and mixing a soundscape to become the voice of Dai Collage, who was finished until my puppy took a liking to him! So I'll be taking Dai Collage with me to the caravan retreat that I've booked later this monthand I can re-collage him there ...  and I've been thinking I'd like to put the welsh lyrics into the collage with the recycled newspapers.

 

 

 

 

Things are a bit slow on the construction of the story telling bench! The driftwood is still ... drift wood! But I have a plan so that's OK.

 

 

Pretty much I've got it all under control. I did the accounts this week too! How diligent is that!

The sun is out and I'm trying to re-arrange some of the things that have been impossible to complete due to the bad weather like filming outside and also the Dolphin recordings. Fingers crossed that the Sun Goddess stays with us!

This week the LegaC dancers are starting work on interpreting the sign language piece that Maggie Hampton did for me with my lyrics. I have a meeting with them this Friday.

So, all is well in the world of Fusion! Will keep you updated and start packing folks, because you’ll be coming on retreat with me and Dai Collage this month too!

 

 

Thank you to the Welsh Gov.t and The Arts Council of Wales for my Individual Mainline Grant.