Video

I’ve been involved in the production of many hundreds of video programmes over the years. In the early days, I was working with tape-based analogue media. Everything cost so much money in the 70s, 80s and even 90s when I serviced corporate bodies, education authorities, public sector organisations and charities.

These days, thanks to desktop digital video post-production software and hardware, it’s much easier and cheaper to get the job done. What’s particularly attractive is that it’s possible for me to work in my own time, at my own pace and within my own workflow.

Here’s an example of a video programme I edited recently. Project: Eden – The Birth Of A City is a short digital film which makes use of rare archive 35mm and 16mm film (some of it retrieved from a skip) to reflect on life for newcomers in Milton Keynes in the 1970s and 80s.

First shown in early December 1980 at a screening in Brighton, UK, it was sponsored by Screen South / UK Film Council and Make A Difference (Milton Keynes). Post Production by Colin Barrett (SimplyDV); Produced by Marie Wright (Spellbound Films).

The video source material is derived from original 16mm and 35mm film rushes that were originally commissioned by Milton Keynes Devlopment Corporation to promote the building of the new city. Other material on various video formats was drawn from the archives of organisations listed in the credits.

I’m currently working with a number of agencies to secure funding for the creation of a Milton Keynes Film, TV and Video Archive which – it is hoped – will bring a wide range of known and unknown assets into the digital domain where they can then be enjoyed and used by members of the community as well as researchers, historians and students of urban development.