Category: Creative Projects
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Is This What They Mean By Writer’s Block?
I’m ashamed to say that I’m supposed to be writing my book right now. Or rather, editing it and rewriting as necessary. Having found the perfect location to work on the project, and having spent the last two days reading through the 87,000 words I put to rest back in the summer, I am intimidated by the prospect of digging back into the words. So this blog post is emerging as a vocalisation of that concern. Continue reading →
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Howies Microadventure Competition — The Winning Videos
Just got a note through to say that this video I made (with some of Andy’s camerawork) has been selected by Howies as one of the four winners of their micro-adventure competition! Yay! [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/28991462[/vimeo] What does this mean? Continue reading →
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Film Blog: I might live to regret saying this, but…
A word or two about this whole film thing, while it’s still a hot topic. (Warning — this post may contain ranting.) It was never my idea to video my bike trips. Andy gets full credit (blame?) for that. I was seriously unconvinced that it was worth the bother and stubbornly ignored his attempts to get me enthused. I was far more interested in photography and writing. Besides, I’d never used a video camera before. (This was early 2007 — four-and-a-half years ago now, which is enough time to leave sixth form and get a Masters’ degree, or to see… Continue reading →
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Janapar: A Long-Awaited Title (Thanks To You)
Writing and filming the bloody thing was the easy bit. After months of fruitless pondering and a last-minute flurry of readers’ ideas from Turn to Tom’s Bike Trip: What Not To Do If You Want To Cycle Round The World, it was only last night I finally decided on a title: Janapar. Most people’s reaction so far has been along the lines of “Hmmm… interesting…” (whilst stroking their chin thoughtfully) “…so what does it mean?” Continue reading →
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Film Blog: The Results Are In, And The Title Is…
…well, that’s the thing — I don’t think we’re quite there yet. So I’m extending the deadline as far as physically possible — this Friday. More than 60 70 80 90 100 comments have been posted in the discussion so far, an overwhelming amount of input and thought, for which I can’t thank you enough — it’s been a brilliant discussion. Below is my current shortlist — which do you prefer? [polldaddy poll=5514762] (What’s Janapar? A common Armenian word meaning road/route/way/journey, oft found loitering in native songs/poems/compositions) The title will appear in this shot (ignore the low quality for now),… Continue reading →
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Microadventure: A Lap of Zone One in 24 Hours
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/28991462[/vimeo] Recently, Howies* set up a microadventure competition, in which a grand’s worth of outdoor clothing was put up for grabs for the best told microadventure story. But the rules didn’t specify that the microadventure should take place in the countryside. The result was this incredibly fun urban adventure. Continue reading →
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Film Title Needed In The Next Three Days! (Competition)
UPDATE: For lack of a decisive title, I’ve extended this to Friday 23rd — after that, there’s really no going back. I’d like to ‘crowdsource’ a film and book title by Saturday, the 17th of September. This weekend. If you come up with the magic bullet, I’ll send you: an invitation to the U.K. premiere next year, a DVD copy of the film, a copy of the book, and we’ll put a special thank you in the film’s credits. Material incentives aside, you’d help me do justice to the culmination of five years of planning, adventuring, filming and writing, the result of which could hardly be more… Continue reading →
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Film Blog: How To Find An Adventure Cyclist’s Inner Storyteller
When you’re trying to record voice-overs for the film you’re making about an adventure cyclist who hates being put on the spot at the best of times, there are a few things you might try in order to get the results you need: Wake the adventure cyclist up at 5:30am Throw him in a lake and make him cycle fifteen miles Feed him a large cup of coffee and a biscuit Coax him into a small, hot, foam-lined sound booth and surreptitiously lock the door Continue reading →
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Egypt As You’ve (Probably) Never Seen Her
Now for something less cringy than a film about myself: another photo round-up from the Middle East. While following the Nile from Cairo to Aswan on my bicycle, I was continually struck by the complete absence of other travellers. I’d always thought Egypt was supposed to be one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Continue reading →
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Film Blog: Coming Soon — Tom Allen The Movie! (Groan)
No no no, I’m joking, thank goodness, that’s not the title of the upcoming film! But a few people joked recently that it might as well be. At 4am this morning, my mate James arrived home, having completed the laborious job of editing the story of the fragmented bicycle trip (and the very significant events which caused the fragmentation) that I undertook between 2007 and 2010. It has taken him and Rich (the editor) 8 weeks of full-time work, plus too many evenings and weekends to mention. I’ll swear I’ll never look at a film in the same way again. Continue reading →