THE PUPPETEER
Posted by William at 12:16 pm on April 20th, 2012
So its that time of year again, the mad season that is the Virgin Media Shorts competition. Where every short film director worth their salt will be shooting or recutting a short film under 2min 20seconds for the country’s largest short film competition.
This year I wont have time to shoot anything, as Im working on a half a million pound live action computer game trailer and the development of my first feature film script.
Fortunately however over the years I have mad A LOT of short films, so my 2012 entry to the Virgin Media Shorts will be The Puppeteer! Which is a short film made on The Gadget Show as a part of a presenter V’s profesional challenge.
This is the clip of us on The Gadget Show
SFL48HR 2012 – ERADICATE
Posted by William at 1:52 pm on April 17th, 2012
Last year I joined up with a group of mates to make an entry to the Sci-Fi London 48 hour film competition. We spent a hectic 48 hours writing, shooting and editing our entry NO ESCAPE. A film which was placed in the top 3 of the competition and resulted in myself getting a directing slot at Academy and Bafta award winning company The Mill.
Last year I was obviously delighted with the results of our endeavours. However in many ways I intentionally played it safe, wanting to stick to what I knew I could do best. This paid off last year in delivering a tight and effective little film. However I started to notice a pattern in my filmmaking that had developed over recent years. I felt the fear of failure was effecting my work, I had lost the bravery that I started with at the genesis of my filmmaking life, when every film was a new experience and I had no preconceptions of what was possible or impossible.
There’s a great quote by the director Syndey Pollack which go’s,
‘You have more chances to fail than to succede. But if you play it safe, I can assure you that you will never achieve anything interesting‘
This phrase became my mantra, and although there where many occasions where myself and my fantastic crew where very much just ‘feeling it’ (i.e winging it) we some how got the film together and came out the other side with something that we are all very proud of.
CAST
LUKE NEWBERRY / EDDIE WEBBER / JOHNNY PALMIERO / RACHEL BRIGHT
CREW
DIRECTOR WILLIAM MCGREGOR / EXECUTIVE PRODUCER&WRITER TOM NASH / PRODUCER BEN BURDOCK / EDITOR IAIN WHITEWRIGHT / 1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MARK LACEY / PRODUCTION ASSISTANT LUKE DOUGLAS / DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM ETHERINGTON / FOCUS PULLER ED BOWEN-CARPENTER / CLAPPER/LOADER JOSEPHINE THIME / GAFFER NICK BUDDING / ART DIRECTOR KATIE MACGREGOR /ART DIRECTOR’S ASSISTANT SAMANTHA SHELDRAKE / WARDROBE STYLIST YANIKA WATERS / WARDROBE STYLIST CHARLOTTE LUCAS / MAKE UP ARTIST ZOE MOORE / DIT EMILY GREELEY / COLOURIST ADAM ETHERINGTON / SOUND RECORDIST TOM WHETMORE / BOOM OPERATOR SCOTT YOULDEN / RUNNERS MICKEY ODONOGHUE & JAMES QUINN / STILLS PHOTOGRAPHER MATT DADSON / VFX PRODUCER ADRIANE SCOTT-KEMP / 2D VFX LEAD MARTIN KARLSSON / ON SET VFX SUPERVISOR MIKE CHAPMAN / 2D ARTISTS PATRICK ALTMAIER, MIKE CHAPMAN, EMILY GREELEY, KARL VAGLAND / ROTO/CLEAN UP ASSISTANT DOUGLAS HAYNES / TITLE ARTIST & DESIGNER ADAM BRANDON / MUSIC SUPERVISOR AIDAN F. SHAW / SOUND DESIGNER TRISTAN POWELL / SPECIAL THANKS THE MILL LONDON, THE WHITEHOUSE LONDON, NEWHAM FILM COUNCIL, ENDOR PRODUCTIONS, FILMSCAPE MEDIA, PANALUX
YOUTUBE PREMIERE AND MAKING OF ‘WHO’S AFRAID OF THE WATER SPRITE?’
Posted by William at 2:55 pm on March 31st, 2012
My second year student film has finally finished doing its thing at festivals and on the old telle box. So I thought it was about time it was made available for free for all to see!
The film won an RTS award and the Cambridge University film festival has been renamed after it! Theres also a feature version in development with the BFI called ‘The Rising’… so look out!
We also found a few of the tapes from the making off footage shot on set way back in 08. Despite having to come to terms with how much we have aged an edit has been made…
‘NO ESCAPE’ UP FOR YOUTUBE DIGITAL INNOVATION AWARD
Posted by William at 7:58 pm on March 1st, 2012
Exciting news! NO ESCAPE, The short made in 48 hours has been nominated for the Youtube Digital Innovation Award at the First Light Film Awards. The category was judged by Sam Mendes and Danny Boyle no less, so Im looking forwards to the awards ceremony at the BFI on Monday. Where I will attempt to stalk them both equally….
Cast: Jamie Kenna
Rachel Bright
Director: William McGregor
Producer: Ben Burdock
Asisstant Director: James Kennedy
DoP: Adam Etherington
Production Design: Katie Macgregor
Costume: Lily Markham
Editor: Iain Whitewright
VFX supervisor: Dominic Burgess
3D artist: Stuart Turnbull
Matte painter: Harry Wormald
DIT: Emily Greeley
THE WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL
Posted by William at 3:44 pm on January 10th, 2012
One of the best things about having a student film was being able to tour the student film festival circuit, meeting like minded students and inspiring industry figures. Fortunately however it looks like I get to relive the good old student filmmaker days! But this time as a jury member for THE WATERSRPITE FILM FESTIVAL.
A film I directed in my second year at uni, ‘Who’s Afraid of the Water Sprite?‘ leant the festival its name after sweeping the board during the festivals inaugural year. Something I know the entire crew are very happy about, as we get to go back to Cambridge every year for this fantastic festival. Last year the brilliant Bill Nighy closed the festival and this year Director of the last four Harry Potter films, David Yates, takes the honour.
I’m currently watching the short listed films, scribbling notes enthusiastically. Picking the winners will be tough. So I cant wait to get together with the other jury members to discuss this fantastic crop of young talent.
Please see bellow the trailer for the film which gave the festival its name.
WHO’S AFRAID OF THE WATER SPRITE?
★★★★★ out of 5 iTunes
★★★★★★★★ out of 10 IMDB
‘THE BEST STUDENT FILM WE HAVE EVER SEEN’ Royal Television Society
‘THE MOST SOPHISTICATED AND TECHNICAL OUTSTANDING STUDENT FILM I HAVE EVER SEEN‘ Franzi Florack Head of The International Student Film Organisation
‘COMPLETELY CHANGED THE WAY I SEE STUDENT FILMMAKING‘ iTunes Review- Taylor Lockheart-Lang
Winner of 9 international awards including the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama.
‘Who’s Afraid of the Water Sprite?‘ is now being developed into a feature film entitled ‘The Rising’ with Emmy award winning producer and former chair of BAFTA Hilary Bevan Jones. ‘The Rising‘ has received development funding from the BFI.
of off the 70’s
Posted by William at 11:11 pm on December 9th, 2011
So here it is- the 1970’s public acces TV show inspired music video I directed for The City Shanty Band!
The official video for Howlin’ Wind filmed at Mount Pleasant Studios
Directed by: William McGregor
Producer: Tom Nash
DOP: Sam Heasman
Editor: Iain Whitewright
Set Design: SETS APPEAL
Stylist: Lily Silverton
1st AD: Mark Lacey
Visual Effects / DIT: Emily Greeley
Focus Puller: Karl Clarke
Camera Assistant: Chris Kentish
Gaffer: Simon Carter
Electricians: Dominik Palgan & Taras Bondarchuk
Sound Recordist: Tom Whetmore
Playback: Liam Clayton & Aidan Shaw
Floor Runner: Becky Sands
Stills Photographer: Michael Delaney
Very special thanks
Steve Walker
Tattoos by: Jon Bishop
The Rising- development of my first feature film.
Posted by William at 12:43 am on November 13th, 2011
I envisioned doing regular updates on my writing- but every time I started to write a post it felt a bit counter intuitive- why write a blog post about writing- just keep writing! But anyhow, I would like to share something of my experience as I delve into the unknown. So here goes: I spent the last two weeks away from my directing duties at The Mill, to focus on the script for my first feature film, The Rising, I spent the first week in Wales, soaking up the atmosphere with a walk in the morning before sitting down at my lap top in a tiny little cottage in Snowdonia. The film is very much influenced by landscape and our relationship with the environment around us. So it was very important to be able to write in this explorative way. This trip was made possible due to the development funding from the BFI, so Im very grateful to them for their support.
Iv been working on an outline for about a year now, this has fluctuated in length from one page to ten, the structure and story changing many times. So when it came to start the script I already had a good idea of the story I wanted to tell, in addition to a good understanding of my protagonist and the story thematically. Of course I’m finding surprises and changes as I go, but thats all a part of the fun. I know its a cliché- but Im very much appreciating the phrase ‘Writing is re-writing‘. In a way you have to sit down to write something, which at the point of sitting down, your not capable of writing, you have to find and develop the story beyond your best. Relentlessly pushing your ideas and your self- to better your work. This is how I feel good work is made, or else your just being lazy and you will not be doing yourself or your ideas justice.
Here’s a few of the pictures I took when wondering around the mountains, as with my writing I tried to let the themes of my story influence my photography. The script and imagery developing in tandem.
POLAROID – OUR SMOKE AND MIRRORS 48 ENTRY
Posted by William at 1:10 pm on November 5th, 2011
So he here it is- the film I produced with Benny Burdock for the Smoke and Mirrors 48 Hour Competition. Directed by the brilliant Rob Savage.
The film has already attracted some great attention, being showcased on The Real, Write Shoot Cut and promoted by Raindance. A testament to the talented team that made it happen.
Rob, the man with the vision behind the film, worked tirelessly with DoP Sam Heasman, Editor Riccardo Servini and the cast of Tom Geoffrey and Faith Knight to create a stunning film which builds to create an intimate and fractured atmosphere, which I feel perfectly enhances the themes of the film.
Also heres a great graph created by Rob which shows the linear and emotional story. Im loving the simple use of smileys!
Fittingly, heres a polaroid of a few of the crew celebrating wraping the 48 hour shoot- a few well deserved beers in hand.
