If I Could Run

As many of you will know, this blog normally acts as a vehicle for either my inane ramblings about whatever has tickled my proverbial fancy on the day, or as a means of updating the world on the progress of my inane scribblings.
Today, though, as I sometimes (though rarely) do, I'm handing over my blog to something or someone else so they can reach out to you utterly fabulous people.

So, here is IF I COULD RUN.
Once you've read about it, you'll find a link to Kickstarter where Emily and Hannah would be immensely delighted if you could find it in your hearts to part with a shekel or two and give this project the support which it deserves (there's even the opportunity to be mentioned as an Executive Producer on IMDB!!! How cool is that?)
And just for the record...if no-one supports it, I'll keep badgering everyone via this blog until someone does :)
You have been warned!!

About this project

Hannah Mason and Emily Ritchie are producing and directing a short drama film based around a young carer who has had to put her life on hold for her Mother's illness.
If I Could Run shows Beth's struggle to continue being a young carer and we see her frustrations at the opportunities she has to miss out on due to the fact she has to care for her Mother who is suffering from Parkinson's Disease.
The honest and moving story will place you into Beth's shoes as you follow her daily frustrations and coping mechanisms, this is a real eye opener to what it is like to live with the disease from both viewpoints.
We'd like to raise the money so that we can make the film as realistic as possible - whether this be from the locations, the best actors, the costumes or even the props.
Currently, we are in the pre-production stages but in mid-January we will begin filming in Preston, Blackburn and Liverpool so that we have the best locations to make the film look as real as possible. After filming we will begin the post-production stage and then be able to market the film and once finally completed hopefully enter it into film festivals and get it screened as much as we can.
We want to tell this story so people can understand, sympathise and learn more about young carers and Parkinson's Disease.
We have a great script, a brilliant cast and now we just need your support to see this project really take off!
Thank you for the time and support given to If I Could Run.

Risks and challenges

Some of the risks film makers face could be anything from the weather to technical issues or from not getting it to how we want it to look to a lack of preparation.
So far for If I Could Run we have planned everything with military precision from the shooting schedule, the locations, the actors and even every single travel expense we will need. We're nearly ready and raring to go!
Since we are filming in January and we are in Britain we hope that any of that typical bad British weather stays away! We have a back up plan for our locations and even potentially new filming dates - but we have faith in the weather to make it work for us!
We know how we want it to look and we know it could not look like how we want it but we have a brilliant and dedicated cast and crew who have already fallen in love with the characters and the film - they're itching to get this started! With the dedication and determination of the team we believe that we can make a really great short film!
No matter what challenges or difficulties we face, we will work as a strong team and use our abilities to work through it and break down any obstacles we have to!

IF I COULD RUN on Kickstarter

#ShoutAboutItThursday

Well, everyone seems to be doing it.
#pushTuesday, #chooseday, #ManicureMonday
Choose a day of the week and then decide that, on that day, you're going to do something special…or different.
So I've come up with #ShoutAboutItThursday, a day on which I will choose something that is interesting or important to me (don't worry, I'll not be banging on about my books - I'll be doing that on #OhForFucksSakeFriday!)…and today I've decided that, even though I run the risk of accusations of nepotism (it is about my youngest daughter after all), I'm going to shamelessly plug a small video production company called 'Spelt with a T Productions'.
Why 'Spelt with a T'?
When Emily got her first credit for a film she was involved in, her name was written as:
EMILY RICHIE - not RITCHIE.
The rest, as they say, is history!

On her YouTube Channel I'd strongly recommend taking a bit of time to look at the following videos:

'Better Life' - a video Emily made for the group 'Tactical Dance Maneuver'

'Dark Digital Space' - a disturbing experimental film on the subject of self-harm

I'd also recommend checking out:

Life in Hand - a documentary

And, to demonstrate her versatility, have a look at this award-winning stop-motion movie:

Transforming the Campus with Sally the Slug

And last, and certainly from my perspective, very much not least, Emily helped me put together the fabulous videoblurb from my book…yes, I know, I said I wasn't going to bang on about them, but I just can't help it because this video is really, really good - listen out for the subtle change in music about halfway through!!

So if you're somewhere in the Lancashire area (and even if you're not) and you're looking for someone to make a film or a video or a book trailer, drop Emily a note on either her Facebook page or Twitter feed; and don;t forget to follow and share and do all that other social media malarky!

Spelt with a T on Facebook

Spelt with a T on Twitter

ps - If you'd like me to feature you, your business, someone you know, something interesting (because if it's boring I'll just ignore it!), etc, etc, on #ShoutAboutItThursday, just drop me a comment - but please don't be offended if I refuse.