It only rained once that week.

It started on Monday morning and didn't stop until Friday afternoon. The weather forecast promised better for the weekend, and that's how it turned out - only scattered showers. It was June, after all.

It was just as well for Diane and I were taking part in the Galloway Video Challenge and had only 24 hours to shoot a movie. It could be on any subject, a maximum of five minutes long and had to be shot in Galloway between midnight Friday and midnight Saturday. Movies edited in camera had to be handed in by 1.00am, or you could stay up all night editing and hand in your masterpiece by 10.00am Sunday morning.

Sleep? Not this weekend you don't!

The 2002 Galloway Video Challenge was held in Langholm a lovely little town barely 15 miles North of Gretna Green on the English-Scottish border, and like virtually everywhere in Galloway, the scenery is simply stunning. Its nickname is, or was, Muckle Toon, which means "big town" and dates from the days when it was a thriving centre for textiles. Despite our previous visits to Galloway, we'd never been to Langholm, but from the picture on the Galloway Challenge web-site, we'd planned a movie.

The Chocolat Factor

It seemed to us that Langholm looked a bit like the French village where they filmed Chocolat, and it was our plan to do a bit of a spoof. Not very original because a bank had recently done the same thing for a TV advert, but that would make it more identifiable, we reckoned. We arrived in Langholm the weekend before to have a short holiday, a rest before the rigours of the weekend, and to contact a local acting group for some talent. It was lucky we hadn't spoken to them before we left home because it soon became apparent that the Chocolat spoof wouldn't work at all. Everything was in the wrong place, or at least different to how we had imagined it, and the church was boarded up. Time for a rethink ......... at least we had time for a rethink!

Diane and I love Galloway, not only for the stunning and varied scenery, but also for the almost complete absence of traffic and the friendliness of the people. It was no real surprise then that, looking for an alternative, we decided to try and make a film about how we felt about the place. But that's easier said than done. We'd decide on one approach, and an hour later change it for another. This went on for days, rainy days too, which are so much longer than sunny ones when you're on holiday. So we tried another approach - start with the music, it had worked often enough in the past. As soon as I hear a decent piece of music my mind is usually flooded with images. Luckily I'd packed a few CD's, mainly copyright free stuff, in addition to the soundtrack from Chocolat, which we weren't going to use now .................. or were we? Composed by Rachel Portman the soundtrack is very evocative and stands up well as music in its own right, but did it fit with our feelings about Galloway? Not really! So the search continued. After many hours we'd narrowed it down to two tracks. A haunting, lilting chant by Enya and a lively Celtic jig. Enya we decided, and ended up using the jig.

The images were easy, there's just so much of beauty in Galloway it was going to be a matter of what we left out. And this was decided as much by time constraints as anything else. The huge rocky cliffs of the Mull of Galloway were 120 miles from our base in Langholm, so they were the first to go. We marked the places we wanted to film on the map and then plotted a course between them. Oh dear! We've only got 16 hours of daylight, I don't think we've got time to drive 489 miles and stop and film in 36 locations, it's got to be cut down. And so it was, and then it was cut again.

The Football Factor

And then there was the football. Surely I'd mentioned that? Kick-off 1.30, England v Denmark in the knockout stages of the World Cup. There was no way I was going to miss that!

"What's that, dear?"

"But we don't have to stop at a pub, we could, errrr ...............!"

Diane informed me that the match was going to be repeated, in full, at 6.30 in the evening. Well, that fits in nicely with our proposed timetable. Oh yes! By now we had a timetable, detailing not only our expected time of arrival and departure at each location, but the mileage, both actual and cumulative, and travelling time to the next. I had mentioned it had been raining, hadn't I? All we had to do was make sure we didn't go anywhere that would give away the score before we were able to watch the match on TV. Now, if you're imagining scenes from that episode of The Likely Lads, forget it. Very few people in Scotland are even remotely interested in English football.

I think I've got a bit ahead of myself here. Or, rather, there was another process, sort of going on at the same time. At the Galloway Video Challenge there are three prizes of £1,000 up for grabs. Best Video, Best Video Edited in Camera, and the one that took our fancy, A Video that shows Galloway in an Inspirational Way. Not that we'd set out in any calculated sort of way to go after this prize. The opportunity just, well, crossed the path that we seemed to be taking. But if we were to stand any chance of winning we'd need more than just a load of images set to music, however good they might be. What we needed was a theme ...... something to link it all together.

A voice-over, that's what we want!

No! A voice-over will detract from the music. Use titles.

It's still raining, you know! And voice-over replaced titles replaced voice-over many times on Wednesday. But by bedtime the script had been written.

On Thursday we had a dry run ............... in the rain!

Perhaps I've been exaggerating the rain a bit. There were occasional gaps, and we took advantage of one to walk the three-quarters of a mile from the car park to Threave Castle. We'd not been there before, but I have to say it was well worth the effort. The castle stands on an island in the river Dee, and visitors are ferried across in a small boat. We were looking for a shot from across the water, and after some discussion with the ferryman / custodian, another incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and helpful Man of Galloway, we followed the sheep track a few hundred yards beyond the landing point. Perfect! But the whole thing had taken us nearly an hour on the dry run, and that was without camera and tripod, or stopping to set up the shots.

It was past 7.00 in the evening when we called it quits, and we hadn't finished the proposed route. It was clear we had to start earlier, or finish later. What time was kick-off, 6.30?

It stopped raining about Friday lunchtime. The birds started singing and the heat of the sun started a wondrous process of steaming. Puddles, lawns, rhododendron bushes and trees. It was a only later, after I had chance to consider this, apparently, beautiful act of nature, that I realised it was no more than a cynical way of returning moisture to the heavens so that it could fall again as rain.

Just now, though, we were smiling with the sun and looking forward to the Galloway Video Challenge reception in the evening.

The Ceilidh Factor

A Ceilidh, for those of you that don't know, is two very distinct things, depending on where you are from. If you're from England it's a chance to try to remember Scottish or Cumberland reels last danced at primary school, but from under the benefit of a relaxing alcohol induced haze, and with the patient guidance of a "caller", who considers that stopping the band every sixteen bars to coax you through the steps is all part of the fun.

And then there's a Scottish celidh. If you don't know, you don't go!

Fortunately there was a buffet, a barbecue and alcohol. And as film makers, we are trained observers .......... voyeurs, almost.

So the real folk danced, and we observed, drank, chatted, drank some more, and then left early so we could start filming at midnight.

The Time Factor

Although the rules state that the video has to be made between Friday and midnight Saturday, it should be emphasised that it's not compulsory to film for the entire 24 hours. This clarification is intended to be of help to the mainly student groups who found that, once they had completed one five minute movie "edited in camera", that they had enough time left to complete another twelve.

Middle-aged amateur film makers like Diane and myself are not capable of such excess, and have found it necessary to pace ourselves. Accordingly we rose at 5.00am and were "on the road" at 6. During the day we drove ....... no, Diane drove ..... 298 miles, we stopped at 26 locations and shot 52 minutes and 12 seconds of film. It became clear very early on, that our scheduling was wrong by more than 100%. It really didn't help that we had to detour 30 miles to Castle Douglas because someone had forgotten to fill up with petrol and another 26 miles to Newton Stewart to buy a fuse for the battery belt and effect a temporary repair with a spring from a cheap, but priceless, ball-point-pen.

Threave Castle and New Abbey Corn Mill had to be cut as we simply didn't have the time to stop and film them. As it turned out we wouldn't have been able to use them anyway. In fact there were some excellent sequences which we'd planned, and shot, that didn't make it to the final movie. And then there were some completely unplanned moments that simply couldn't be left out.

We finished filming at 9.45 on Saturday night, sixteen and three quarter hours after we started. We'd missed the England game live, and we'd missed the repeat in the evening. Luckily, we'd also missed learning the result, and the BBC were showing the highlights at midnight.

That gave us enough time to copy the footage to the computer, have dinner, add the music soundtrack, put 10 seconds of black front and back, add "on-beat" cues to the music and splash the face with cold water.

What time was it? 3 minutes past midnight. As a precaution we waited until 5 past, just in case they gave away the score in the introduction. It finished just before bedtime, whenever that was. I'd had a few beers and England had won 3 - NIL.

Diane said she felt tired. I wasn't aware of feeling anything except numb.

The Shock Factor

The alarm clock's summons to start editing at 6.00am came as a bit of a shock. Things that had seemed so easy the night before were now tasks to be performed before a fast approaching deadline.

It was now 10 past 6 on a Sunday morning and we had to deliver a 5 minute edited video in less than four hours. Oh, and it had started raining again.

If I hadn't had such a hangover I'm sure I'd have noticed more parts of my body that ached.

It's hard to describe the process of editing. With a drama production, a script and perhaps even a story-board, I suppose it becomes more defined. What we had were headings - Farmland, Lakes, Mountains, Rivers etc., and far too much footage.

We missed the deadline, of course, but not by as much as some groups; and of course, in true Galloway fashion, nobody was excluded.

This was our third Galloway Video Challenge and we've learnt a bit. From midnight Friday until 10.00am Sunday you can see the hands of the clock moving. Not the second hand, that's just a blur. But as soon as you hand in your film the clock stops.

The six hours before they start showing the films seems an eternity.

The last place you want to be is a long way from your accommodation. We'd made that mistake in the past. This year our rented cottage was just 3 miles up the road, and The Republic of Ireland were playing Germany. It was a great game involving an injury time equaliser, extra time and then a penalty shoot-out. Just the sort of time filler required - pity about the result. We'll never know how Rex and Belle, principal organisers of the Galloway Video Challenge, not the world cup, managed to integrate the schedules of the two events. We just want them to know that, next year, we're expecting nothing less.

The Fun Factor

Now, 95% of the audience at a competitive film festival have absolutely no interest in the film being shown at any one particular time. They are only there to watch their own film. That they are film makers means they have the unique ability to talk incessantly about their own latest project while, apparently, listening to another of their kind talking about theirs. Add sleep deprivation to the equation and what have you got?

Well, maybe it was the food, maybe the free and plentiful booze. Perhaps it was the calming effect of the people of Langholm, who attended in good numbers, or perhaps everyone was just too tired to behave badly.

I prefer to think that most groups were happy that they had taken on the Galloway Video Challenge and won. That is, they had produced a video in the allotted 24 hours.

There were a few technical problems, and some people got over excited, but considering the heady mix of film makers, alcohol, fresh air and sleep deprivation it was all a bit tame really.

Of course there has to be winners, but I bet no one who completed The 2002 Galloway Video Challenge feels like a loser.

Story and pictures by Brian & Diane Hazelden - July 2002
Email: brian_hazelden@lineone.net

A Dream of Galloway by Brian Hazelden & Diane Hazelden won the £1,000 prize for the video which showed Galloway in the Most Inspirational Way.

Brian has also written about his first encounter with the Galloway Challenge and about making  A Fisherman's Tale his remarkable study of an in-shore rescue operation.

Visit the Galloway Video Challenge web site - and see the winners.

Page updated on 21 March 2008

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

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