{"id":1318,"date":"2018-05-11T18:05:23","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T17:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/?p=1318"},"modified":"2018-05-11T18:07:25","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T17:07:25","slug":"meet-the-crew-qa-pete-tomkies-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/2018\/05\/11\/meet-the-crew-qa-pete-tomkies-director\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The Crew Q&A: Pete Tomkies – Director"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the latest part of our series of Q&As with the cast and crew of Once Bitten\u2026 meet the director Pete Tomkies<\/em><\/p>\n

What is your favourite colour?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Red.<\/p>\n

What was the first film you ever made and how old were you?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A two minute James Bond film shot on standard (regular\/double) 8mm film. I guess these days it would be called a fan film! I was five or six.<\/p>\n

Who is your role model or inspiration?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

John Carpenter, Alfred Hitchcock & Steven Spielberg.<\/p>\n

When did you know you wanted to be a film maker?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

My dad had an 8mm cine camera to shoot home movies so as soon as I was old enough to be allowed to hold the camera I was making films. I got my first cine camera for my 8th<\/sup> birthday and never looked back.<\/p>\n

\"Director
Director Pete Tomkies suggesting to cinematographer Mat Johns that they shoot the film on his mobile phone<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What one essential thing do you always have with you on set?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Duck tape (gaffer tape).<\/p>\n

What is your favourite biscuit?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Shortbread.<\/p>\n

Name a film which always makes you happy?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Am\u00e9lie.<\/span><\/p>\n

Name a film which always makes you cry?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Peter Weir\u2019s Gallipoli. And more recently Rust And Bone. The first time I saw it I sobbed like my heart was breaking for an hour afterwards.<\/p>\n

Tea or coffee?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Coffee.<\/p>\n

\"Director
A future Once Bitten… caption competion in the making!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was the best part of working on Once Bitten\u2026?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The whole experience was fabulous because of the people. Working with such talented actors was a dream come true for me, I was in awe as they brought their characters off the pages of the script and into life before my eyes. Once Bitten\u2026 cinematographer Mat Johns is a magician with light and did a fabulous job, perfectly interpreting my sketchy storyboards and on-set ramblings to capture the images from my head on camera. It feels wrong to single anyone out though as all of the cast and crew were wonderful from start to finish, dedicated, enthusiastic and hard working. It was a joy and privilege to be on set with such a talented group of people each day.<\/p>\n

I want to give a special mention to everyone at A4 Studios<\/a> as well. We were there for two months while we built the set and everyone welcomed us into their community. It\u2019s a fabulous venture and a real wrench to move out when we wrapped. I still miss being there.<\/p>\n

What sucked the most about working on Once Bitten\u2026?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As Pumbaa so expertly said: \u201cYou got to put your behind in your past\u201d so I\u2019m saying that absolutely nothing sucked about making Once Bitten\u2026. If you want to know more ask me over a cocktail or three at a film festival one day.<\/p>\n

What are you working on now \/ next?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Currently it feels like my entire life revolves\u00a0 around the last stages of post-production on Once Bitten\u2026 as I am busy coordinating with the sound design team and composers while finishing the VFX. However I have been filming live music as part of Courtyard Creations<\/a> with Thurston Thomson and I also write for Videomaker<\/a> magazine. And I\u2019m managing the Once Bitten\u2026 Film Festival Fee Fundraiser of course (hint, hint, click here!).<\/a><\/p>\n

Any advice for aspiring film makers?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Make films. I grew up shooting 8mm film so you filmed for three minutes then had to wait two weeks for the film to come back from processing to find out if it was in focus or correctly lit.\u00a0 Editing meant cutting my irreplaceable footage into pieces and gluing or taping it back together. Oh and for much of my early film making life I didn\u2019t have sync sound. Or any sound.<\/p>\n

Nowadays you can shoot HD video on your phone and have access to the same software that Hollywood uses to edit. Davinci Resolve gives you industry standard editing, grading and VFX \u2013 for free! Don\u2019t obsess over the camera you wish you could use. Shoot with what you have, learn your film making craft and have fun. Making films is awesome.<\/p>\n

Thank you to Pete for sharing his answers with us. Look out for another revealing cast & crew Q&A next week!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the latest part of our series of Q&As with the cast [read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-11-01.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1100,"url":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/2017\/02\/14\/meet-the-crew-director-pete-tomkies\/","url_meta":{"origin":1318,"position":0},"title":"Meet the crew: director Pete Tomkies","date":"14th February 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Once Bitten... will be directed by Pete Tomkies. Pete's previous horror short TEAM achieved 23 official selections and 2 semi-finalist awards around the world including festivals in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Scotland and England. Pete Tomkies began making films on 8mm when he was 10 years old\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Production Diary"","img":{"alt_text":"Once Bitten... director Pete Tomkies on directing the music video Aelia Laelia for Christopher James Chaplin.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2017-02-14.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1346,"url":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/2018\/06\/01\/meet-the-crew-qa-debbie-tomkies-costume-design-co-producer\/","url_meta":{"origin":1318,"position":1},"title":"Meet The Crew Q&A: Debbie Tomkies – Costume Design & Co-Producer","date":"1st June 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In the latest part of our series of Q&As with the cast and crew we would like to introduce you to the costume designer & co-producer of Once Bitten\u2026 textile artist Debbie Tomkies What is your favourite colour? Purple (or pink?). What was the first costume you ever designed and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Production Diary"","img":{"alt_text":"Once Bitten... costume designer & co-producer Debbie Tomkies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-31-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1136,"url":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/2017\/07\/31\/day-3-of-filming-is-a-wrap\/","url_meta":{"origin":1318,"position":2},"title":"Day 3 of filming is a wrap!","date":"31st July 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"And that's that! Day 3 of filming - and principal photography - on Once Bitten... is a wrap. For the last day on set at A4 Studios in Altrincham, Lauren Ashley Carter's Martha Swales was joined on set by Garth Maunders as Dredvoka for the final scenes of Once Bitten...\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Production Diary"","img":{"alt_text":"[L to R] Producer Lauren Prendergast, Garth Maunders as Dredvoka, director Pete Tomkies, cinematographer Mat Johns and Lauren Ashley Carter as Martha Swales","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/mat-biog-01-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1038,"url":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/2018\/02\/14\/from-concept-to-camera-martha-swales-investigates\/","url_meta":{"origin":1318,"position":3},"title":"From concept to camera: Martha Swales investigates","date":"14th February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Lauren Ashley Carter as Martha Swales investigates strange happenings in her hotel room. Once Bitten... director Pete Tomkies drew his storyboards before the set was built but thanks to our dedicated construction crew it all came together in time to be expertly lit & photographed by our cinematographer Mat Johns\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Production Diary"","img":{"alt_text":"Lauren Ashley Carter as Martha Swales investigates strange happenings in her hotel room","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-14-02-02.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1105,"url":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/2017\/03\/14\/meet-the-crew-cinematographer-mat-johns\/","url_meta":{"origin":1318,"position":4},"title":"Meet the crew: cinematographer Mat Johns","date":"14th March 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Duck66 Films are pleased to announce that Mat Johns will be the cinematographer for Once Bitten... Mat Johns is a freelance Writer, Director, Cam Op \/ DP\u00a0and Editor\u00a0based in Manchester with\u00a0over 10 years of\u00a0freelance and independent filmmaking experience. Mat\u2019s\u00a0films have been shown at festivals around the world and have also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Production Diary"","img":{"alt_text":"Once Bitten... cinematographer Mat Johns on the set of his award-winning short A Father's Day","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2017-03-14.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1402,"url":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/2018\/06\/02\/the-once-bitten-posters-are-here-unboxing-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":1318,"position":5},"title":"The Once Bitten… posters are here! [unboxing video]","date":"2nd June 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Once Bitten... posters designed by the fabulous Uncle Frank Productions have arrived - watch as director Pete Tomkies unveils them for the first time. If you would like one for your wall visit the Once Bitten... Film Festival Fee Fundraiser by clicking here! \ufeff \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Festival News"","img":{"alt_text":"Once Bitten... director Pete Tomkies unveils the Once Bitten... poster!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2018-06-02-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p97LGQ-lg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1323,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions\/1323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck66.com\/OnceBitten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}