Unit 1, Part C: Alistair Clark and Geoff Thompson

This week at the BFI Film Academy, we have had four masterclasses from film industry professionals, starting with producer Alistair Clark and writer Geoff Thompson on the 31st October.

The day began with a discussion in interview format with Alistair Clark, who revealed how he managed to work his way into the film industry, and demystified the role of a producer, an often overlooked position. Alistair described his relatively 'normal' background, growing up in Warwickshire and completing a degree in Art History, before realising that what he really wanted was to be involved in the film industry. The main message I took from his story was that if you really want something, you have to go out there and 'just do it', taking any opportunities that come along - Alistair started his career by shooting three low budget short films in a week, before going on to work on feature films such as the BAFTA nominated 'London to Brighton'. 

Alistair also gave some useful tips for those aspiring to work in the industry, describing the process of producing a film as 'collaborative' - the writer, producer and director of the film all need to have the same vision in order for it to work. He also suggested that you think of the process as making three separate films - you write it, you shoot it, and you edit it, so what you see at the end will be completely different to what you began with on paper. What I especially liked about Alistair was that he did not just gloss over the technicalities of producing a film and describe it as an idealistic path to fame and fortune, but gave a realistic overview of the numerous difficulties involved, such as securing funding and distribution. 

Next, we were launched into a highly motivational and inspirational speech by Geoff Thompson, writer of films such as 'Bouncer' starring Ray Winstone, and the incredibly powerful 'Romans 12:20'. Geoff spoke of honesty and a 'universal truth', suggesting that if you remain true to yourself and create a story about your fears, a film will have a greater impact and be more rewarding. For example, when shown his film 'Brown Paper Bag', you could see how it had been influenced by his real life story, increasing the emotional impact. 

Overall, Geoff's passion taught me to think about what I really want to do and not to get caught up worrying about money, which he said will eventually come naturally if you focus on doing what you love and producing good work. He even showed us his BAFTA award ('Brown Paper Bag', 2003) as a physical reminder of what hard work and commitment can lead to. I think that I will remember this week's sessions for a long time to come, and I am currently reading Geoff's book 'The Elephant and the Twig', on positive thinking.