MMA documentary and Happy Valleys

I thought it was about time to finally get my fourth year uni film online. It is a film on the world of mixed martial arts/ cage fighting in Scotland.I chose to make a documentary on this topic because it is sport I'm in to and I knew the owner of The Griphouse gym pretty well. Basically it was easy and convenient enough for me to have plenty of other stuff on the go and still pass my course. I met the Griphouse owner, Guy Ramsay, while filming a segment for the Attica documentary. While there I saw the potential for a possible film and asked Guy if he was interested. I also offered to film a Muay Thai show he was promoting. I liked Guy instantly, basically because he came across as intelligent and could explain the role of combat sports in society. I knew he'd have to be a large part in the film and in my opinion he's the best thing about it.

The film is the first time I've ever presented on camera. I think it shows especially early on. What do you expect from someone who is really camera shy? I've never liked being the center of attention hence why in the past I've gravitated towards being behind the camera. It's a hold over from being very shy as a child which is something that lessens with age but I think there'll always be a wee bit of it in there. For me making this films was the first step in over coming camera shyness. In that regard I think it worked. By the end of filming I was less self conscious and felt more relaxed. Hopefully I will be better in my next time around. Click below if you want to witness and have a laugh at my complete unfitness.



For the next couple of weeks I am working on a corporate video for Healthy Valleys http://www.healthyvalleys.org.uk. They are a charity in rural South Lanarkshire trying to improve the physical and metal health of people who need help. I've already filmed several interviews with some of their clients and have also shot a fair bit of activity footage. This is another great opportunity and is a different kind of video than what I'm used to. The biggest challenge is the tight deadline. It has to be done in 2 weeks. Difficult but do-able.

Marseille playlist, website & MMA documentary

Been a while since my last update. I have been busy juggling university rubbish, getting a website going, filming, and weight training for my latest project. I have therefore not had much time to piss away on writing this blog.

University has been getting me bogged down along with other things, only 6 months of it to go though. Then it is back in to the minimum wage working world again while I try and get my career happening. Yay, so I've got that to look forward too.

I've been working with the peeps at www.pokeintheeye.co.uk for the past few weeks, putting together a website for my services. The site is still being worked on, but it does the job at the moment. The address is www.colinwoodmedia.com if you want to take a look. Thanks to Neil Henderson for the cool photo of me which I borrowed without asking. Sorry.

In the filming department I've been working on a documentary to fulfill my university requirements this year on cagefighting/MMA. This is basically the first time I've been been in front of the camera in years and yes there is a reason for that. I fucking hate being filmed. So basically I am interviewer boy on this one. This is way out of my comfort zone. I hate not being able to see what the camera is shooting and I find that distracting me from my role of Louis Theroux type. So far it has been quite tough. I've had one great interview so far with Guy Ramsay (former Muay Thai fighter/gym co-owner). The man knows his stuff. I was filming an event in Lanark too which is actually the first cage fighting event I've been to. A cool experience but again I didn't feel that I was at my best. I can't help being a self critical bastard. A good thing to come out of this project is that I am re-commited to working out again. I plan on doing a bit of training for the film. Hopefully it will be entertaining to watch me move around with zero technique and at the same time I'll hopefully get some first hand perspective on the level of fitness required. That's the idea anyway.

I haven't posted anything in a little while so I'll fiish off by posting the Marseille gig I filmed at the beginning of October. Here it is in a nice wee playlist. Cheers again to the band and the crew who worked on this gig.

Neil Buchanan's Marseille & Stuff

Its been a busy few weeks and I've missed out on a tonne of sleep. The 1st of October saw me Calum MacPhail and my bro Keith film a band I've been wanting to film since I saw them play at Hard Rock Hell 3. Marseille featuring 'Art Attacks' Neil Buchanan have been touring the UK performing their new album 'Unfinished Business' since late September. So well in advance I somehow managed to convince the band to let me film them to bolster the old CV. Guess what? They agreed and me and my crew filmed them. The gig was good despite the turnout not being so great due to a last minute venue change. Thanks Rockers. The Marseille boys were cool as and put on a great show. I have already completed a rough edit which looked pretty good. Sound still needs a bit of work though. I've already let one or two special individuals have a gander and they dig it. As of now I don't know whats happening with it. This is still to be discussed with the band. Hopefully it will be a bit more than a youtube job. I'd just like to finish this part of my blog by saying it was an awesome sight filming an icon from my childhood proper rock out on stage. Awesome!

The following night I was part of a crew filming at the ABC. Yet another first for me. I don't want to say too much about the project because it's not my baby. It's pretty cool to say that I've filmed there though.

The Tuesday after that I was filming Attica Rage for the zillionth time as they supported Jorn. What a voice this guy has. He is probably the closest I'll ever get to hearing Ronnie James Dio sing in person *sob*. Another cool night. It was worth turning up just to annoy Big C with the camera one more time. Ha Ha! I have one other commitment with them at the end of the month.

I have also begun a documentary on MMA & Martial Arts in conjunction with the Griphouse Gym in Glasgow. This one is part of my university requirements so it means I am almost guaranteed to clash with whoever I get assigned as my project supervisor. As of yet I'm the only one who hasn't had one assignes. Maybe they are trying to tell me something???? Either that or it is another infamous UWS oversight. Thanks goes out to Guy Ramsay for giving me more or less unrestricted access to the Griphouse and events.

September and October have been fairly busy months. Can't complain about that. I hope it continues. More work please????