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Ambleton Delight
Located at Brighton Marina, Parkes Productions Ltd. films high quality corporate productions and live events as well as short and feature films. Their first feature film, Ambleton Delight, premiered at The End of the Pier International Film Festival earlier this year, and was shot entirely on JVC’s GY-HD201 ProHD camcorder.
Dan Parkes, founder of Parkes Productions and director of Ambleton Delight, explains how JVC’s GY-HD201 contributed to the success of the film. “We spent several years researching HD cameras available before settling on the GY-HD201. The primary reason for our decision was that it shot progressive rather than interlaced – it was one of the few cameras that offered this at the time. It also films at 50/60p for slow motion, and was shoulder-mounted with proper Fujinon glass.
“We also have the JVC DT-V17L 17-inch field/studio HD monitor,
which has proven very useful with our 35mm adapter and also shooting green screen work,” Parkes explains. “One of the benefits is that it is laid out similar to a broadcast camera
and so it is easy to adapt to. Being shoulder mounted, it is excellent for ENG work when you are on the run. Not to mention that it looks good, which is an important consideration
when working for corporate clients.”
Set in a fictional town in Sussex, Ambleton Delight follows the ups and downs of a village rocked by a government proposal for a nearby motorway, resonating with themes of
discrimination, youth unemployment and small town politics.
“Ambleton Delight was an ambitious opportunity to shoot a professional looking feature film on an extremely low bud get of only £6000,” Dan Parkes reveals. “However,
our previous work gave us confidence that the GY-HD201 camcorder could live up to this challenge. Before this film, we released a documentary based on Brighton’s now
derelict West Pier, Peerless (2006), which was filmed on 16mm. We also shot a short film on 35mm about World War II, A.R.P. (2006), which has been used for educational projects
throughout Sussex.
“We started filming using our JVC GYHD201 with the SGPro 35mm adapter on a test project – a 14 minute comedy film, Tenacity – which we also shot at 24fps. Our next project was a
music video for the band, MellowSun. The video was filmed at 60fps with onset music sped up 240% for lip synch, allowing us to slow it right down in post for a wonderful slow motion
effect whilst maintaining perfect lip synch. We felt that from the success of these projects, we were ready to tackle a feature film, 
and we decided to use JVC’s equipment.”
Based on a true story, Ambleton Delight showcases local talent and locations in and around the quaint village of Alfriston, East Sussex. The film – which began production in August
2008 – stars Brian Capron, who’s famous for his portrayal of Coronation Street’s serial killer, Richard Hillman.
“It is extremely difficult to achieve a feature film on such a low budget, but this was our objective, which was achieved thanks to tremendous local support. The film is divided into standard village scenes, which are primarily dialogue and relationship-based, contrasted with often brutal flashbacks to the protagonist’s past. So this required different filming techniques.”
The film’s principle photography was completed within 12 days, with second unit photography spread over several months. “With the village scenes,” Dan continues, “we shot
using the JVC GYHD201 camera fitted with the SGPro 35mm adapter and a set of Minolta prime lenses, thus achieving a very filmic, picturesque vision of village life with a lovely
shallow depth of field. This required a complete camera crew, including a very experienced focus puller.
“The most challenging part of filming HD with a 35mm adapter is ensuring correct focus, and so we used the wonderful JVC DT-V17 17-inch Field/Studio HD Monitor, along with our IDX
battery system, so no matter where we were filming, we could ensure we were getting the best focus possible. The camera crew were very impressed with the monitor and it certainly
ensured focus was no longer an issue.
“The other challenge of filming with the 35mm adapter is that the whole unit becomes extremely heavy. Our camera operator, Roger Marshall, could only hold the camera and
adapter for up to ten minutes at a time, after which he required a good five minute break and a massage!”
Written by Itsuka Yamasaki, Ambleton Delight was showcased at The End of the Pier International Film Festival earlier this year, and picked up the Best UK Feature Film 2009 award.
“We have received some tremendously positive comments on the look of the footage,” Dan concludes.
“When we released a teaser/trailer during the middle of the production, the footage was ungraded, and yet the feedback was very positive – many people in the filmmaking community actually said it did not require grading. In fact, although we have completed some colour correction, we were able to achieve the look and colour on set, and this was of such a high quality that it required very little post-production work.”
Ambleton Delight will be put on the festival circuit with a theatrical release and distribution scheduled for 2010.
For more information about JVC's GY-HD201 camera, click here.
For more information about JVC's DT-V17 monitor, click here.
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