JAMES | Event Library - Wendy Laybourn

JAMES EVENT LIBRARY - WENDY LAYBOURN

I have worked in and around British Feature Film, occasionally dabbling in Television, for more than forty years as part of the ‘services’ sector of the industry. This means, like many thousands of companies and individuals, I was involved in supplying productions with equipment and facilities, which is an extremely important part – often ignored by educators - of all production processes.
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Always recommended is to get work experience with a suitable service facility such as equipment rental house or manufacturer which helps not only with a deeper knowledge of the kit you’re going to be using but helps to extend that all-important contact base, as getting work very often relies more on ‘who you know’ than anything else.

By working in this sector I have gained extensive knowledge of all the departments involved in the production process. However, despite having spent a great deal of my young life involved in music as a guitar player, my involvement with Film Sound and Music – both Production and Post-Production – is limited to knowing all the job descriptions and the qualifications necessary to be able to do those jobs but I know a lot of people who can give me the answers to any questions!

Film - and most other creative jobs - are interchangeable with the domestic and other markets, so whatever skills you acquire during education, there are opportunities to swing easily (as long as you have the right contacts and skills) between film, television and sound production.

I have co-written two books – The Art of Illusion: Production Design in Film & Television and The Art of Film, as well as a series of Kindle books.
MASTERCLASS: IT'S ALL AN ILLUSION
A lighthearted jog around the highs and lows of gaining access to and then surviving the multifaceted world of Film, TV & Video Production and Post-Production, Wendy offers advice and anecdotes as well as opening your eyes to the many opportunities you may not have heard of!

Taking pages from the actual screenplay for the first Harry Potter film, Wendy starts by reading out the first sequence of the scene and analysing what you see when you watch a movie and then invites you to look at what you don’t see - how does the illusion get created and who does that?

... Dark at this hour, the street only lit by streetlamps ... on the far corner a man materialises, he is Albert Dumbledore... etc

So... you’re in a street but the street isn’t there, who built it and how?

This whole two-page scene includes a cat turning into Professor McGonagall, Hagrid materialising on a motorbike with the baby Harry and on into the interior of the house.

Who designs this, what exactly does the camera do, what is lighting, who takes care of construction, how many aspects of sound are there, when do visual effects get added? The list of talents required goes on and on - costume, makeup, props, vehicles, stunts etc.

* The Masterclass lasts for 1 1/2 hour with 20 to 30 minutes Q&A.

* Total cost £250 plus travel.

* Please note – accommodation & food should be provided where applicable.

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