Filming On ‘Only Us’ Feature Spec Trailer Wraps

After a week’s shooting up in Scotland and in Derby, production has officially wrapped on the spec trailer for our feature film ‘Only Us’! With development of the film underway, the team decided to embark on an ambitious shoot at the beginning of April to capture scenes and moments that best reflect the full length feature we hope to create. With this in mind the core YSP team and cast set off for Scotland to film in stunning locations on the Isle of Arran and in Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands. It was a fantastic experience to be able to shoot several scenes from the film and this gave us real scope for continuing development and having a glimpse of what a full length feature shoot might be like for a film as unique as ‘Only Us’. A huge thank you to the crew and cast for their hard work on what was a difficult but rewarding shoot and we’re very excited to share the results with you as soon as we can.

A British psychological drama thriller, ‘Only Us’ is the story of Josh and Nathalie, a young couple going nowhere and desperate to leave their mundane and unfulfilling lives behind. When a threatening criminal from Josh’s past is released from prison after years behind bars, the couple are forced to run away and set out on the open road. Their trip takes them across the length of the UK and eventually to Paris as they search for a new life whilst escaping from the dangerous and relentless enemy set on making their life a living hell.

For the full length feature, we plan for a small and dedicated core team to travel in the shoes of the characters chronologically as we create this unique and exciting film. Over a month we’ll take in landmarks both known and obscure, giving our film a British identity but also allowing it to translate across borders. We intend to work with actors cast in supporting roles along the way, thereby creating the sense of journey the story takes.

The spec trailer is currently in post-production and we’re looking to begin promoting the film and look to raise interest during Summer 2014. Only Us also represents an opportunity to invest in an innovative film project. The making of this film will be publicised and shared with an extensive community of potential viewers through social media. Whilst looking for traditional distrubution too, we are also looking at directly distributing the film to smaller regional cinemas around the UK with a special focus on cinemas located where filming took place with further plans for DVD and VOD releases. Our proposed budget includes all stages of production and interested investors will have the opportunity to take advantage of generous tax concessions through SEIS arrangements. If you would like to invest in the making of Only Us, or for more information about this exciting project, please contact producer Belinda Basson at belindabasson@btinternet.com.

Please visit the film’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/onlyusfilm to keep up to date with all the latest info and photos.

Rolling Homes Promotional Video Now Online

We’re delighted to be able to bring you our latest corporate video for Shrewsbury based Rolling Homes, a small and experienced family business that converts and manufactures bespoke motorhomes. All of Rolling Homes’ work is carried out in their own premises. Mark Cooper and his small team of craftsmen pride themselves on producing very high quality campers. For more information please visit www.rolling-homes.co.uk.

We filmed the promotional video for the company late last year and after editing through December and early January, we’re now delighted that the video has finally been released online via their Facebook and Youtube accounts. Our thanks go to voice over actor Andy Barrow of Oddsocks Productions and composer Ben Haynes for their work on the project in collaboration with YSP. If you’re interested in a short video for your company, why not send us a message via the contact form. We’d be happy to discuss your requirements and hope we can help!


Premiere of Jobseekers Pilot Takes Place in Derby

The highly anticipated premiere screening of the pilot episode of Jobseekers took place at Derby QUAD on 8th December in front of a sold out audience. Shot during the summer in Derby, Jobseekers records the hilarious and sometimes ridiculous challenges and obstacles that each of them encounters and has to overcome in their respective efforts to find work after being reunited in the city. The production began filming in July for 7 days and wrapped after 3 pick up days in August with a team of over 100 people involved.

Cast and crew attended the screening too with a Q&A featuring some of the team behind the show talking about their experiences filming the pilot and plans for the future of the sitcom. The evening kicked off at 4pm with a VIP event in The Box for invited local businesses with members of theJobseekers and YSP Media team giving insight into the making of the pilot as well as plans for future productions. A red carpet led the way to the 234 seat Cinema One where the screening took place after an introduction from co-writer Lee Dilley and director Christopher Bevan. We were thrilled by the response to the pilot with some tremendous laughs and calls for more being among the highlights. It’s a testament to the hard work of all involved that viewers were keen to find out what happens to the characters next and we are keeping our fingers crossed this can happen.

In 2014 we’ll begin pitching the show and taking the pilot to production companies and comissioners to see if there would be any interest in further developing Jobseekers. It was a genuine privelege to be able to bring this project to life with our co-producer Belinda Basson of DreamFusion Productions being instrumental in the success of bringing everything together to make this happen. We were fortunate to have an incredibly talented and hard working cast and crew too, without whom reaching this moment would not have been possible. The screening night was one we won’t forget soon and thank you to all who attended for making it special. You can see photos taken at the event over at the Jobseekers Facebook page here with photography by Dave Bird www.davebirdphoto.com. We’ve also linked below our appearance on BBC Radio Derby following the screening with co-writer Paul J. Farrell and director Christopher Bevan in the studio to discuss the future of the sitcom.

Jobseekers Sitcom Pilot To Premiere At QUAD

The pilot episode for a new sitcom called Jobseekers, filmed in and around Derby by YSP Media, is scheduled for its first screening to an audience at the QUAD arts centre in Derby on 8 December. Guests in attendance at the exclusive premiere will include the cast, crew and supporters with a limited number of tickets available to members of the public on a first-come, first-served basis through the QUAD Box Office.

Following the experiences of friends Ben, Gaz, and Josh, (played by Joseph Maudsley, Adam Horvath and Ed Kear respectively), Jobseekers records the hilarious and sometimes ridiculous challenges and obstacles that each of them encounters and has to overcome in their respective efforts to find work after being reunited in Derby.  Though a comedy, Jobseekers reflects the genuine struggles that some looking for employment face with the script being drawn from both actual and anecdotal experiences.

Filmed over 7 days in July 2013 on a micro budget, the Jobseekers pilot has harnessed the talents of experienced actors and a crew of professional film makers, several of whom met and studied in Derby before building their expertise in film making across a wide range of film projects. The film production company YSP Media was so impressed with the script from writer Lee Dilley, currently a student at the University of Derby, that it decided to help him to fulfil his dream of seeing his sitcom idea brought to the screen. It is hoped that Jobseekers will be picked up by a TV production company for development into a series and writers Lee Dilley, Paul Farrell and Beth Foster-Hunter have almost completed the writing for the full first run of episodes.

 In addition to the cast and crew who all provided their services for free, YSP Media has invited local supporters of the production to the screening at QUAD, including a number of local businesses and organisations based in Derby. Director and Co-Producer Christopher Bevan, said:

“We were completely overwhelmed by the generosity shown to us during the filming in July and August of this year. Organisations such as Derby Homes and local Derby-based businesses including Hox wine bar, Bar Marrakech, SSC Laser Cutting and Giorgio Reggiani, all gave us permission to use their premises to provide completely authentic backdrops to our filming. This gave the production tremendous authenticity and will really help to ‘sell’ the concept through the high production values used in the making of the pilot, despite the tiny budget we had available to us. Jobseekers has provided us with a great opportunity to showcase the creative talent available in Derby and the East Midlands region.”

Tickets to this exclusive, one-off screening are available through the QUAD Box Office with the opportunity to view the Jobseekers pilot and attend a Q&A session with the cast and crew.

Book here: http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/film/jobseekers-pilot-screening

YSP Media Wins Place on Feature Film Creative Producing Elevator

We’re delighted to announce that following pitching with our upcoming feature film Only Us via arts organisation IdeasTap, YSP Media won a place on the Feature Film Creative Producing Elevator held at the Northern Film School in Leeds. The course involved a week of practical workshops designed to prepare us for making our debut feature film with the week being tailored to producer, writer and director teams. The week usually costs £375, but as the winners of the brief we were able to take part for free.

Elevator is a five-day programme for creative teams who are ready to produce their first feature film. Our project was submitted to a challenging week of workshops, seminars and conversations, with a focus on digital solutions. We were encouraged to think beyond the traditional realms of filmmaking to enable our project to compete in the digital world.

A range of industry thinkers and practitioners mentored us through practical, and applied, workshops in low budget financing, distribution and audience development. Thanks to the Northern Film School’s partnership with the Leeds International Film Festival, screenings were also provided and professional filmmakers contributed to the sessions.

Elevator took place between Friday 15 and Tuesday 19 November 2013 with speakers and mentors representing independent film production companies, Film London, Creative England, BFI, Cine Regio and many more individuals and organsations.

Stay tuned for more news on the development of Only Us during the coming months as we move towards production! Only Us is directed by Christopher Bevan, written by Karl Poyzer and produced by Belinda Basson.

Jobseekers Sitcom Wraps Principal Photography

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After 10 days of filming in Derby and the surrounding area, principal photography has wrapped on the pilot episode of sitcom ‘Jobseekers’. Set at the height of the recession, Jobseekers, produced on an extremely small budget funded by the sale of one of the writers’ cars, donations from well wishers and a fund raising event, follows the experiences of a group of friends recently reunited and looking for work. Jobseekers is the story of a group of three friends reunited after years apart and searching for work. For this Midlands born trio, job seeking is a full time career.

Predominantly featuring cast and crew members from the East Midlands, the script was the inspiration of Lee Dilley, who having worked in many different roles, became increasingly exasperated with the farcical and bureaucratic procedure that he had to endure as someone looking for work. He found an outlet for his frustration in his idea for a script for Jobseekers five years ago, which was developed with writers Beth Foster-Hunter and Paul Farrell. Over 100 people including cast, crew and extras came together to help make Jobseekers happen.

The majority of the filming took place at a number of locations around Derby between 15 July and 21 July, with most of the premises being offered for free. Director and Co-Producer for Jobseekers, Christopher Bevan, said: ” We have been completely overwhelmed by the generosity and support of local businesses and organisations for our project. The making of our sitcom pilot has attracted a huge amount of goodwill for which we are extremely grateful. Some of the businesses Jobseekers has been supported by include Derby Homes, Hox Wine Bar, Bar Marrakech, SSC Steel Service Centre, Giorgio Reggiani & The Great Northern in Mickleover. YSP Media are looking to continue to developing film projects in Derbyshire for the foreseeable future.”

“When completed, we are aiming to screen the pilot episode of Jobseekers to a number of television production companies in the hope that one of these will finance and commission a full series of the situation comedy and this would be our dream scenario.”

Writer Lee Dilley, added: ” We are looking beyond the introductory pilot episode to future episodes and already have episode two partly written. The making of this pilot with the support of our great cast and crew has been a dream come true and we are very proud of what we have achieved.”

Filming for the pilot took place during July and August and editing has now begun on the pilot with the view to a premiere being held before Christmas in Derby. The sitcom has also been covered in local media with an article featuring in the Derby Telegraph recently which can be read here. BBC Radio Derby also picked up the story with some of the team being interviewed in the studio on 7th September 2013. Above you can listen back to the interview with Ian Skye.

Pink Flora Collection Screens In Edinburgh At CineFringe Film Festival

Last week our short documentary Pink Flora Collection was screened as part of the official selection of the CineFringe Film Festival, the only film event of the Edinburgh Fringe. We were absolutely delighted that the film could continue to be seen by a wider audience and help raise awareness for breast cancer as well as tell the stories of the brave ladies involved in the film. Pink Flora Collection was inspired by Monika Codrington’s Pink Flora Collection from the Breast Cancer Charity Event organised by The Best of Derby. The collection was modelled by women who have survived breast cancer and this documentary tells their story, revealing the thought process behind the design as well as the event held at the Derby Conference Centre back in October 2011.

In describing Pink Flora Collection on their website, CineFringe wrote, “A subtle and moving documentary based around a charity event but, interestingly, never showing it to us – instead we share stories from a group of women brought together by breast cancer, their experiences all the time juxtaposed with the playfulness of their children all around them. A beautifully simple but powerful idea”. Pink Flora Collection screened as part of the No More Polar Bears selection 3 held on 19th, 22nd and 25th April in Edinburgh. We also received a lovely review from culture website The Cult Den, who wrote;

“Last but not least is ‘Pink Flora Collection’, a documentary film brought to us by Christopher Bevan which aims to raise awareness of breast cancer, and does this in a powerful manner. It takes the talking heads of mothers who have had the illness and come through it thanks to the treatment they have received. This cuts this with footage of their young daughters. An interesting juxtaposition with innocence and youth highlights the impact that hits the whole family and the legacy of a woman who is faced with diagnosis. The contrast works well with the young girls providing welcomed comic relief from the harsh realities, lightening the mood when answering questions on why pink is their favourite colour. The balance between this material and the seriousness of the overriding message helps to give the topic emotional perspective. The documentary coincides with a breast cancer charity fashion show, and the work by Monika Codrington lends its name to the film, keeping the colour pink at the forefront throughout.”

To find our more about CineFringe, visit www.cinefringe.com. You can also view the promo trailer for the festival here.

Derbyshire Olympic Torch Documentary Premieres

Marking a year since the Olympic Games were held in London, our documentary charting the Olympic Torch's journey through Derbyshire premiered at the Alvaston Park Family Funday on Sunday July 28th to a great reception. A co-production between YSP Media and The University of Derby, the documentary was primarily shot on June 29th 2012 when the Olympic torch made it's way through the cities, towns and villages of Derbyshire. With a crew of 20 made up of university film tutors, students and graduates, the project saw small teams visit each torch location to film coverage of it's arrival as well as meet local people involved in the day.

On the day of the film's premiere, director Christopher Bevan was on hand to discuss the making of the film at the several screenings held throughout the afternoon in Alvaston Park. We are hopeful that the film will receive more screenings in the coming weeks to month as we hope to play our part in keeping the legacy of the games alive. With contributors to the documentary including key figures involved in organising events to celebrate the Olympics in the region, the chances are high that the film will indeed reach a wider audience.

For more information on the premiere you can read an article from University of Derby's news feed here or alternatively you can view an early trailer for the project here. To contact regarding a potential screening, please contact the University of Derby's film contact Sean Kirby, University of Derby Press and PR Officer, on 01332 591891 or email: s.kirby@derby.ac.uk. To contact the film's director Christopher Bevan, please e-mail cj_bevan89@hotmail.co.uk.

1st Place in Five Lamps 24 Hour Film Challenge

Following taking part in the annual Five Lamps Films 24 Hour Film Challenge, we were delighted to be awarded first place in the competition at the closing event of Derby's iD Fest! The 3 day festival culminated in the screening of the competition entries with a high level of talent on display, a testament to the quality of filmmaking in Derby. Our film Birthday Bash was voted by the judges as the best of the competition and we were thrilled to be able to accept first prize on stage at the close of the evening.

Written by Joseph Maudsley and directed by Christopher Bevan, Birthday Bash is a short comedy about a couple home alone. Jesse is in the mood for love one morning, his girlfriend Amy not so much. Convincing her otherwise turns out to be the least of his problems. Simplicity was the key in making this film, shot in just 4 hours during the competition's 24 hour time limit. As part of YSP Media's prize for coming in 1st place, we have been given the opportunity to film a future project on the RED One cinema camera thanks to The University of Derby as well as membership to the QUAD, Derby's independent cinema.

The Derby Telegraph featured the competition as well as our film Caught in the Headlights, which was also shown at iD Fest, in this article here. Read on to find out more about the competition. We also received an excellent review from film blog 'A Clockwork Orrery' who wrote:

"The grand prize (a cup) went to Birthday Bash – this short was one of the more technically impressive films and more importantly, the funniest. The best humour I believe comes from universal truths – this short was about a lad trying to get some morning sex off his too tired girlfriend – nothing more universal than that. Well shot, funny throughout and one hell of a payoff; it deserved the award.'

A big thanks goes to everyone involved who gave up their time and worked on the project. You can watch the film over at our film section here and let us know what you think!