Community film making organisation North Devon Moving Image CIC (NDMI) is partnering with the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon to share a collection of short films about farming heritage in north Devon. 

NDMI is calling for film makers to apply for a £1,000 documentary short film commission, Down on the Farm which will produce six short films about farmers and farming in north Devon.  The resulting films will be on show at the new social history gallery being created as part of the Museum's £1.8 million Long Bridge Extension.

Museum manager Alison Mills says "Farming is of course the foundation of life in North Devon, and of our wonderful landscapes, but the everyday aspects of this work are not well known to our increasingly urban populations.  As working practices are changing and many farmers are leaving the industry now is the time to record our area’s practices and peculiarities to enable people learn about and engage with our local heritage."

Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of NDMI says “We work with local people to create, collect and share short films about north Devon and our projects give individuals and communities a voice whilst celebrating our local heritage.”

“An important part of NDMI’s remit is to support and nurture film making talent and Down on the Farm is our very first film commission.  Thanks to our funders, each successful applicant will receive £1,000 to produce one film sharing the heritage and promoting the work of farmers and farming within the boundaries of North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve, including the coastal Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”

The selection panel, comprising members of the TV and film industries, as well as farming and environmental organisations, will be looking for the most engaging stories and fascinating characters with the spirit of north Devon at their heart.  Applicants will need to demonstrate strong story telling skills, creative outlook and examples of previous work.

Amanda added “Our consultation for this project drew out plenty of farmers with great stories to tell, so if you are a film maker from outside the area we can put you in touch with willing subjects.  We will also have local volunteers on hand to act as location managers and researchers if needed.”

For all the project and application information visit northdevonmovingimage.org.uk, email Amanda McCormack, Project Manager northdevonmovingimage@outlook.com or telephone 01271 860610.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 1 August 2018.  

Amanda McCormack from North Devon Moving Image has been working as Artist in Residence with children from Appledore Primary School as part of the HLF funded Beaford Arts Hidden Histories project.

​Hidden Histories is opening up the Beaford Archive of photographs by James Ravilious and Roger Deakins with a major photographic conservation and digitisation exercise.

To complement the work they have been doing on their Hidden Histories community trail, the children interviewed local people reacting to photographs of Appledore taken by James Ravilious in the 1970s and 1980s.  They then recreated those scenes in dramatic tableaux to create ten delightful films celebrating both the work of Ravilious and the heritage of their village.

These young creatives loved finding out more about Appledore and following in the footsteps of James Ravilious.  They developed new photographic skills as well as becoming film makers and, of course, the stars of the films!

To watch the films visit our Hidden Histories page. To find out more about Hidden Histories and look through the newly digitised photographs visit www.beaford.org and for more about Beaford's Community Trails project click here.

North Devon Moving Image CIC are offering one local charity the opportunity to have a free promotional video produced by young people at Petroc in Barnstaple.  
 
We have received funding from the Wace Family Fund (via Devon Community Foundation) to work on a digital media project with young people who are on the Entry to Employment and Careers Skills programmes.  The young people will produce a short video and additional clips for social media to promote a local North Devon charity.  The project will run from the beginning of November 2017 until March 2018, culminating in a screening ceremony to which stakeholders and press will be invited.
 
If any local charities are interested please could they contact me, Amanda McCormack, by email northdevonmovingimage@outlook.com with a summary of the work of their charity and a named contact by Friday 20 October 2017.  We will then put all the proposed partners forward for the young people to select who they would like to work with.  We will then invite a representative from the selected organisation to meet the young people and give them an idea of what they would like the promotional video to do for them.
 
To give an example of what the short film could look like please see our recent project in collaboration with the Encompass South West youth homelessness project, Streetwise ​http://www.northdevonmovingimage.org.uk/streetwise---youth-homelessness-in-north-devon--torridge.html

​North Devon Moving Image CIC (NDMI) wants your Wild Shorts!  The local community film making organisation is calling for submissions of short films - between 2 and 4 minutes - about the wildlife and environment within the North Devon Coast Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
 
The North Devon Coast AONB is designated to protect and conserve our beautiful and diverse coastal landscapes between the Hartland Peninsula and the edge of Exmoor. Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of NDMI, says "We want local people and visitors to capture the special nature of the area on video."
 
"We are hoping to see films about plants and animals, habitats, landscapes, conservation and just getting out and enjoying the beautiful coast and countryside.  The competition is open to all ages - families, schools, young film makers and adults - with exciting prizes for the winning film makers in each category."
 
The Wild Shorts film making competition is open for entries until Wednesday 30 November 2016 and the  competition terms and conditions and details on how to enter are on the NDMI website at  www.northdevonmovingimage.org.uk. 
 
To add a helping hand NDMI will be running a limited number of film making workshops for schools, families and community groups.  The first event will be for families and will take place at the Braunton Countryside Centre on Sunday 31 July 2016.  Additionally there will be some informal 'cafe style' events where people can drop in and get advice on film making techniques and equipment.   North Devon Moving Image is delighted to be a Creative Champion in BBC's Get Creative campaign and hope that new film makers young and old will discover new skills and get creative with Wild Shorts.
 
Amanda adds "NDMI is really lucky to have some great local sponsors for Wild Shorts and so far we have some fabulous prize donations from GoldCoast Oceanfest, Down End Croyde car park, Ilfracombe Aquarium, National Trust, Devon Wildlife Trust membership and Combe Martin Dinosaur & Wildlife Park.  We are also really grateful to our funders; the North Devon Coast AONB Sustainable Development Fund, Fullabrook CIC and The Tarka Country Trust - Community Wildlife Fund. "
 
Caroline Leaver, Member of the Partnership that oversee the AONB commented
"The coast of Northern Devon really is Outstandingly beautiful.  It is contains some amazing scenery, wildlife and a range of world class beaches and coastal environments.  The North Devon AONB Board is thrilled to be able to support the Wild Shorts competition, which will showcase some of what makes this area so special. We'd love to see entries from film makers of all ages, showing wildlife, habitats and what people enjoy about our coastline.  North Devon Moving Image will be running training courses locally too, so its a great chance to learn new skills."

Pippa Quelch of BBC Radio Devon interviewed Amanda McCormack to learn more about the North Devon Moving Image Short Shorts one minute film competition.  You can listen to the interview below via our audio player.

The Summer may be slipping away from us but you still have six weeks left to enter the North Devon Moving Image Short Shorts one minute film competition. 

Community Film Making Organisation North Devon Moving Image (NDMI) are looking for your sixty second videos about interesting characters in North Devon.  There are some great prizes to be won including an HD video camera, a night out at The George Hotel in South Molton and a family ticket to Bideford Cinema.

Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of NDMI, says "We want the people of North Devon to capture the characters and stories of North Devon in moving image.  They could be a friendly neighbour, a great sports person, a chatty shopkeeper or Grandad with his stories of old North Devon. The best films will be shown at a screening and prize presentation later in the year and will be shared and preserved in our online archive."

Joe Bulmer from Appledore entered his short film A Day with an Auctioneer made at South Molton Livestock Market;

"I chose South Molton’s livestock market because it’s one of the town’s major features yet very few people understand what goes on there. I learnt a lot in the brief time I worked there and was struck by the spirit and banter of the place.  I’d been yearning to do make a film for some time and couldn’t decide on a subject. I guess the experience has taught me to film more and think less, if that makes sense."

No previous experience or hi tech equipment is needed and the competition is open to all ages.  Closing date is 1 October 2014 and entry can be made online via We Transfer or by post to NDMI, 2 Cullamartin, Instow, Bideford, EX39 4LU.

To get some inspiration you can watch Joe's film and see more Short Shorts of North Devon people on the NDMI website: http://www.northdevonmovingimage.org.uk/we-love-short-shorts.html