Category: Creative Projects
-
Why I’m Looking Forward To Tomorrow (And Why I’m Scared Shitless)
Tomorrow morning at 9am, I’ll press a button and launch Janapar to the world. I do not expect a historical upheaval of society to take place when I do. Nevertheless, the moment will have enormous personal significance: Continue reading →
-
Calling All Adventure-Loving Clubs & Societies From Gibraltar To The Urals
With six days left to go, the Kickstarter campaign is going from strength to strength. After the stressful two-year process of creating the book and the film, flying by the seat of our pants throughout, James and I are now in the slightly more comfortable position of being able stop and to look a little further ahead. Continue reading →
-
Janapar’s Release Date (And How To Jump The Queue)
Yesterday morning I sat down in front of my laptop and went on an adventure. I went first to Turkey via the whole of Europe, across which I hitch-hiked in a couple of seconds. Just as well, really, that I could barely recall the terrifying ride with an Azeri in a BMW into Istanbul. But I did remember the friendly sight of barbed-wire and sentry-towers that welcomed me into Syria. By coffee-time, I had dredged up the weeks I spent cycling feverishly through a wet Levantine winter, compressed them into a couple of paragraphs, and transcribed myself moaning into a video… Continue reading →
-
UPDATE: Kickstarter Target Reached! [Safe-For-Work Video Version]
[vimeo 52935602 w=770&h=433] Continue reading →
-
Diary Of A Writer At 7:29am On A Thursday Morning
Sitting in my flat by the heater with the dregs of a cuppa, I started to wonder about writing a past-tense narrative of the absolute present, extracting not just a storyline but flashes of vocabulary and what I suppose might be deemed ‘creative bursts’ from my own head and spelling them out (no pun intended) on the screen in front of me. Pale blue dots pierced my vision from below; the stalwart glow of a pair of tiny travel loudspeakers, unedited and vague beneath the bevelled edge of the monitor. I wondered, suddenly, if people from the future would recognise… Continue reading →
-
Be The First To Read ‘Janapar’ By Supporting The Kickstarter Campaign
One of the reasons that my blog has been quiet in recent weeks is because of a mammoth push forward with my big writing project. The book of Janapar is now in its penultimate draft form, and I’m putting together a team to take the publishing process to completion. I’m really excited to announce that I’m opening this up to your involvement through a brand new Kickstarter UK campaign, which launches today! But rather than pen yet more words (trust me, I’ve written enough recently), I’ve recorded you a video appeal: (Click here if you’re having trouble seeing this video.) Continue reading →
-
Film Blog: Report From The World Premiere of ‘Janapar’
Firstly, apologies for the radio silence this last week or two. I’ve been on a very different kind of bike tour — in Taiwan, of all places. There’ll be more on that soon. In the meantime, I wanted to share a few notes from Janapar’s first festival outing, which took place at the 20th Raindance Film Festival in London. Continue reading →
-
How To Wild Camp Anywhere & Not Get Busted [Video]
Wild camping, or stealth camping, is the default modus operandi for the cycle traveller, for two obvious reasons: It’s free. Therefore you can strike accommodation costs entirely. Which means you’ll have more money to travel for much longer. You can do it anywhere. Therefore your destination is less important. Which means you can better experience the journey itself. Simple, really: Wild-camping equals a longer, cheaper, better journey. In this short video, we’ve taken a very tongue-in-cheek look at this crucial bastion of long-distance adventure cycling. Please help us get the word out about Janapar by sharing this video with the… Continue reading →
-
How To Shoot A Feature Film With A Cast & Crew Of One
I want to share some detailed behind-the-scenes thoughts on the making process behind Janapar. Those of you who’ve been reading since 2007 will take a trip of nostalgia reading this Q&A. For others, it’ll be a new insight into what kicked off this whole project, and how things have changed along the way. (This article was originally posted on the news page at janapar.com.) Is it possible to be taken seriously as a first-time filmmaker if your director, DOP, camera operator, sound recordist, driver, fixer, logistics manager, stills photographer, voiceover artist and lead talent are all the same person? James Newton… Continue reading →
-
The Double Edged Sword Of Independent Film
I’m incredibly fortunate to be working with James on making Janapar. Not only is he a very talented producer-director, but he is one of the few with enough ambition (or recklessness) to turn down numerous well-paid TV gigs in favour of his own independent film. It’s an inherently risky business we’re in here. The majority of independent documentaries are passion projects. Most will never see a penny of profit. A startling proportion will bankrupt their makers. Why? Continue reading →