Élan Standard Productions

Emma and I getting ready for the day!

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:44:00 -0400

Emma and I getting ready for the day!

Our improvised table at the Zimbabwe Arts Festival July 2012

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:41:39 -0400

Our improvised table at the Zimbabwe Arts Festival July 2012

Zimbabwe Arts Festival

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:26:55 -0400

Amazing day!! Tom, Emma and I were at the Zimbabwe Arts Festival at V22 studios last Sunday in South London. We spent the day meeting people who have just come for a visit to England and lot of people who are from Zim and now live here beautiful London. The reception our film Somewhere Between Now and Then was positive and the amount of contacts and possible interviewees was high. A big thank you to Ivan Mudzudzu manager of House of Stone Events who invited us to have a table for the day. On a side note if you have not tried goat curry, sadza and spinach with peanut butter I highly recommend it, it’s a amazing Zimbabwean dish!

Sounds good to me

Mon, 07 May 2012 04:24:23 -0400

I have enough experience to know first-hand that sound for films is largely overlooked. Image gets priority over sound, and rightly so, the image is the most important thing. Sound however makes the experience immersive by subconsciously tricking the watcher into believing that they are inside the world of the film. It is for this reason that sound must be perfect all the time, if not, we risk breaking the illusion of the picture. Directors or producers that overlook sound for their film do so at their folly. Keith Kopp (Director) and Emma Horton (Producer) on “Somewhere Between Now and Then” gladly understand the importance of sound and want to get the best sound equipment possible for this shoot, so the stories to be told will be captured to the highest quality. The power of these stories is so great, it would be foolish to overlook the quality of my work.

Chris Light - Sound

Today we shot a 90 second interview with T.I.N (Things I’m...

Sun, 06 May 2012 15:31:00 -0400

Today we shot a 90 second interview with T.I.N (Things I’m Not) star Trudi Mosiamo for Encounters DepicT! 2012 competiton. She discusses with us her childhood in late 1970s Zimbabwe and how it influences her music.

"If the first casualty of war is truth, the last is memory."

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:13:48 -0400

“If the first casualty of war is truth, the last is memory.”

- Peter Davis. Director of Hearts and Minds - a 1974 documentary about the Vietnam War.

Composing by the Composer

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:39:58 -0400

“I feel it’s really important to establish the beauty of this continent; coupled with the devastation that has affected so many lives, musical speaking, will make for a very conflicting aura and audible experience. At this stage, I am currently experimenting with ideas whilst balancing authentic instrumentation - suiting both intended experiences. Composing music of this style and genre brings with it a challenge that MUST be met - this traditional music swims with ancestry & spiritual meaning; to not treat this music with complete respect would be a criminal sin.

I want to remain true to authentic elements of this music, the usage of specific modes and scales, instrumentation and rhythm, together with choral work in a contemporary guise will really add the needed flavour. The 30 second teaser is to portray waking in a beautiful African setting, but being quickly reminded of the surrounding conflict which threatens everything.

This documentary and soundtrack have the potential to capture the thoughts, feelings, stories and raw emotion of all those involved - it’s great to be part of the team!”

Matthew Walker, Notes on his Sample Track for the Score of Somewhere Between Now and Then.

Here It is folks, Matthew Walkers first sample of for the score...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:10:00 -0400

Here It is folks, Matthew Walkers first sample of for the score of Somewhere Between Now and Then! I am personally suprised by the depth and layers of instruments used in a beautiful way. Please have a listen and envision the reconstructions of a beautiful scenery of a African country.

Get stuck in to a Good Read...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:48:42 -0400

Here’s a read I’d recommend if you’re interested in learning more about the core of the documentary. Alexandra Fuller’s ‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ is a sensitive and innocent recollection of Fuller’s childhood memories from troubled Rhodesia. It’s as though her 10 year old self stands beside her and they’re writing it together. A wonderful and touching introduction to the troubles of the past. - Emma

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24687.Don_t_Let_s_Go_to_the_Dogs_Tonight

Thank you Peter Moody!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:24:30 -0400

A warm thank you to peter moody for donating 50 pounds to this film production! Peter has purchased the Cinephile Package which will give him a digitial copy of the film, a limited edition score from the film by Matthew Walker the composer, contributors credit in the film and a button badge of the film’s design.

Our First Executive Producer!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:19:06 -0400

A big thank you to Sally Moody for giving 500 pounds to help us make this film! That means she will receive a Executive Producer credit as well a ticket to the exclusive wrap party!!!! -Keith

And we're off!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:07:49 -0400

Only 19 hours since the launch of our fundraising campaign and already such a positive response! Thank you to everyone involved so far. We’re already one step closer to bringing these incredible stories to the surface. - Emma

Tom our representative from the North calls the contacts.

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:05:05 -0400

Tom our representative from the North calls the contacts.

Tom and Emma furiously email and call our contacts to ask for...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:01:20 -0400

Tom and Emma furiously email and call our contacts to ask for support for our documentary Somewhere Between Now and Then.

Our Online Fundraising campaign is live! the director gets his...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:00:00 -0400

Our Online Fundraising campaign is live! the director gets his ducks in a line.

As fundraising for Somewhere Between Now and Then kicks off, my...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:23:45 -0400

As fundraising for Somewhere Between Now and Then kicks off, my mind starts to dwell on how this project will look when it’s complete. As cameraman I’m weighing the options of shooting this on a Red camera, at least for the reconstructions at any rate. After all, these are stories that we want to tell on all manor of screens, from the biggest to the smallest - if the the image quality isn’t there to back up the drive of this project then I will have failed. But if we wheel a mighty heavy Red one into a war survivors living room then perhaps they will give a very different kind of account than they would have done otherwise. As with everything in life, it’s all about balance. - Ross

Fundraising campaign Live

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:17:52 -0400

Fundraising campaign Live

The Big One!!!

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:00:47 -0400

Today marks day one in our bid to raise 10,000 pounds for the first stage of our feature documentary about the Zimbabwean Independence War (Rhodesian Bush War/ Second Chimurenga). We have sent proposals to the BBC and Channel4 for funding options and today we are launching our crowd funding websites on kickstarter.com and sponsume.com. If you can spare 5 pounds to help fund this film it would bring us that much closer to putting this on the big screen. We hope that if you cannot spare money that perhaps you can pass on the message of our project to everyone you know. Our biggest tool to gain support will be from emails, Facebook and Twitter. Thank you all so much for your time and I look forward to showing you the end product in the near future! –Keith Kopp Director

My Language Is Not Knowing Official Facebook

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:41:38 -0400

My Language Is Not Knowing Official Facebook

Last week I helped out Fortune Favours the Brave on their 48...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 03:21:46 -0400

Last week I helped out Fortune Favours the Brave on their 48 hour London Sci-Fi competition. It’s been a while since I have acted in a short film but these 48hr competitions are so fun and amazing for morale. Thanks again Ross and Chris!