I begin this year in a state of high excitement as we have finally started filming “Silhouette Secrets”. This is my first foray into the world of TV and film making (apart from occasional TV appearances: Blue Peter, Tales of Tools, etc) and I’m thoroughly enjoying the experience. The film is a 50-minute ‘indie’ TV documentary, on the art and history of silhouette portraits, being produced by Andi Reiss and myself on something of a shoe-string budget.
So far we have hosted a christmas dinner in a barn, filmed in the archives of the National Portrait Gallery, and are about to take a train journey to Llandudno to have my silhouette cut on the pier! The idea is to look at the work of successive generations of silhouettists, the times in which they worked and some of the Heath-Robinson-like machines they used. We hope to do this in a quirky and entertaining manner, filling the film with unexpected shadows and silhouettes. We are looking for help with various aspects of the film, hence this email.
Our Indiegogo Campaign:
The film does have a basic budget, however we are becoming increasingly aware of the need to include a trip to America - where silhouettes have a wider following than they do in the UK. We have therefore just launched a last-minute one-month crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo, and are now looking for backers. There are generous ‘perks’ on offer from silhouette postcards and digital copies of the film to tickets for the opening night (we’ll roll out the red carpet for you - or perhaps it will be a black one?) The campaign will run until and end of February, just in time for us to buy some tickets and head across the pond later in March.
The “speed cutting” silhouette world record:
One of the reasons we really do need to get to America is to meet my friend Cindi Rose. Cindi is a silhouette artist based in Texas and current holder of the unofficial silhouettist’s speed-cutting record, which (unbelievably) stands at 144 silhouettes cut in just one hour! Cindi has offered to host a charity fund-raising event in Houston at which I will have the opportunity to challenge this record. I have no idea if I can actually do this! Whether or not I succeed the event will be a lot of fun and will provide a suitable finale (what Andi calls a moment of jeopardy) at the end of the film.
Speed cutting: 50 rather rough silhouettes cut in 20 mins & 21 secs as a rehearal for the finale of Silhouette Secrets
Free Silhouettes and other silly ideas:
Are you planning an event in February? We are looking for a variety of suitable events to feature in the film and illustrate silhouette cutting in action. To this end I am happy to offer my services FOC at an event or two, provided I can bring a small camera crew with me. They might just film me doing what I do, or we might perhaps use the event as a live rehearsal for the world-record attempt! If you are planning an event in the near future (or suddenly feel like throwing an impromptu party to take advantage of this offer) please do get in touch so we can discuss. Suitable events can be anything from a private dinner party to a large corporate event.
If you are planning an event, but would rather not have a camera crew present, then of course I remain available to attend at my usual terms ;-)
Please help us by posting links to the Indiegogo campaign on your favourite social media. You can follow our progress over the next few months on our Silhouette Secrets Facebook page: www.facebook.com/silhouettesecrets
