I am a mixture of amateur and professional. Which do I prefer? How did I become professional? Does my professional experience give me an unfair advantage? What is my personal favourite achievement? You may be surprised…

In 1978 a little sci-fi film broke on the scene called ‘Star wars’. As a sixteen year old I was amazed. Well this inspired me, actually it inspired a generation, to get into film making. I started making Super 8 sci-fi films and joined Fairkytes Film Makers in Hornchurch. By 1982 I got myself a trainee rostrum cameraman job with a company called Filmfex Animation Services based in London, now long since gone (Filmfex, not London).

At Filmfex I worked on a computer controlled Light Scan camera, an effect invented by Douglas Trumball for 2001. It is a streaky light effect producing the look of beams of light emanating from a source, normally a title. It is done by blurring the image by moving the camera relative to the artwork during an exposure of several seconds, rather like setting a 35mm camera on B setting and moving the camera around whilst the shutter is open. Slit Scan, its sister effect, puts artwork into perspective by moving a tiny slit across backlight artwork whilst the camera is moving relative to it. Both effects rely on computer control of several motor driven axis to repeat the motion over several frames, just slightly changing it from frame to frame.

I worked at Filmfex from 1982 to 1987. Do you remember what computers were like in those days? Well they used tape to boot up from, and didn’t have monitors, instead printing out on to paper rolls. I would have to plot out my axis moves over time on paper and then put these coordinates into the computer. Then I’d hit the enter key and the 10ft high camera in a darkened room would move like some robotic behemoth, repeating it’s moves again and again for about 100 frames or so, taking several hours before I’d finally unload the 35mm film. The next day I would see the rushes on a Movieola.

I worked on ‘The Dark Crystal’, ‘Krull’, ‘The Keep’ and over 100 TV shows and adverts, including the most expensive advert ever made – the 1984 Apple Computers one.

So what about today? Well in 1998 I bought my first PC. Over the next two years I dabbled with various CG programs. I am self-taught. The result after 3 years and 3 months was ‘The War of the Starfighters’ a 76 minute CG animation made by me for my children. Now I am working on a second feature called ‘Monsters of the Id’.

So in the mid-eighties I was working with 35 mm film, lenses and filters, cardboard and gel artwork, mechanically controlled rostrum cameras and clients who were the actual animators to whom I was working. Nowadays it is all in the digital domain on hard drives and DVDs, computer generated models and scenes, computer controlled movements and I’m on my own working out how to animate a move or how to design something. I can’t off hand think of anything I learnt back at Filmfex that actually gives me an advantage nowadays, so that is good news for would be amateur animators working at home today. If I can do it, you can too and you don’t need my past pro experience.

Monsters of the Id

What may be of more interest now is how did I get into Special Effects work in the eighties? Are there any tips I can give to budding future effects people? Well you need to be keen, good at what you do and lucky. Probably the last factor is the most important one because there are many keen and talented people around that never get a break.

So how can you help create a bit of luck? I went to a reference library and asked the librarian for a book listing current film companies. Then I wrote fifty letters asking if I could meet with them. Always enclose an SAE or you won’t get a reply and don’t expect many to bother as they are just too busy. I got asked by two companies to meet with them. This I did and one of them was recruiting at the time (my bit of luck). They wanted two people, interviewed ten and I got the best job, only because at college I had experimented with a still camera on B setting and done some streaky light effects (another bit of luck). I was in as a trainee cameraman but normally expect to start as a runner doing odd jobs for a company. After four years, I was head of the Light Scan Dept with two £½ million cameras and one staff member.

So do your research and get the addresses. Nowadays you can use the Internet to see what companies have done and if you are fortunate to get an invitation to meet with them check out their latest productions and work on the Internet.

Make a showreel but keep it short. Usually anything over two minutes is an age. Even one minute is fine. Relevant content is everything, not quantity.

Dress smart and be well presented. Speak clearly and be keen and approachable but don’t over do it. But most of all be yourself. Enjoy the experience and don’t expect too much from it. If nothing comes from that meeting try another company.

If you know some one ‘in the biz’ (sorry I’m not in it any more) then that helps loads. I managed to help three of my film maker friends into the business through personal recommendation.

One last thing. Many people will tell you it is a closed shop, and to some extent it is, but don’t let that put you off. Follow your dream, at least for a while. Give it a shot. Your best shot.

Failing that, make your own stuff at home. If you are a true filmmaker you will do this naturally. A technology improves it is becoming easier to produce and distribute independently.

The War of the Starfighters

What happened to me after 1987? Why did I leave the film industry? Well CGI was killing off conventional animation and Filmfex didn’t evolve quickly enough. They went bankrupt in 1987. I had left just a few weeks earlier to work at Shepperton studios doing make-up effects on ‘Hellraiser’. After that I wanted a stable career and joined the Civil Service. That is where I am now and I make live action training videos for them. To be honest, I personally consider this the lowest form of film making (sorry if that offends anyone) because it doesn’t have the budget of adverts or feature films and it doesn’t have the creative freedom of amateur work.

As an amateur I have made over 160 productions to date and picked up over 30 IAC awards. I have had three films shown on ITV and am proud to say I have many of my old and new films archived. I have made lots of friends too.

So there you have it. What is the pinnacle of my career? Completing my amateur feature ‘The War of the Starfighters’ and seeing my kids enjoy it and ask to see it again. That is why I’m proud to be part of the IAC. In the true sense of the word ‘amateur’, we make films for the best reason – for the love of film making. For me that is what counts. Don’t you agree?

- Laurie Calvert    May 2004

Visit Laurie's website at www.calvertfilm.fsnet.co.uk

Monsters of the Id has its own website at www.monstersmovie.com

Page updated on 21 March 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

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