Summer Shorts 05: Keyhaven, Lymington
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
I set out this afternoon with the aim of reaching Hurst Castle just before sunset. After a drive through the new forest, I arrived at Keyhaven to walk along the shore front, down to the castle. After a cloudy afternoon, at 5pm, the sky was clear and the sun was bright. Stood on the edge of Keyhaven Lake I started to write my first piece of music.
As I stood, headphones in — just the Apple EarPods this time — I was absorbed in to writing in a major key again. Walking along the water's edge, I carried on writing, as time quickly moved on.
GEAR:
MUSIC:
Not wanting to carry my big headphones with me on the long walk today, I decided to try writing on my Apple EarPods. Judging the bass was easier than on the iPhone speaker, but still needed some tweaking back on the car speakers later.
FILM:
Summer Shorts 04: Warsash, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
This evening I set off to walk along the Hamble at Warsash. With views of marina's to one side, and coastal pools and marsh land the other side, the path leads along the edge of the Hamble river, past the ferry stop and up towards Holly Hill.
There was always going to be one time this week when I would be caught in the rain — this is the British summer after all — and tonight there was a brief moment when, as the rain drops started to gather on the camera, I wondered if I might have to turn back. But it was just a shower.
GEAR:
MUSIC:
I forgot my headphones this time, so I mixed out of my iPhone speaker whilst walking around, and then finished the mix off using my car stereo. It was surprisingly effective, although, the bass needed a complete reworking when I could finally hear it back in the car.
FILM:
Summer Shorts 03: Netley, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
With light and time to spare after Weston Shore, I resumed my journey to Netley Abbey, only to pull in to the car park and find that it was closing. Determined to visit Netley Abbey again soon, I continued eastwards, and found Royal Victoria Country Park.
This place holds a lot of memories: we used to come sailing here as kids. With the sun starting to set, the music I created, the photographs I shot, and the film I made, all took on the locations washed out, nostalgic mood.
Summer Shorts 02: Weston Shore, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
After last night's sunset trip, I decided to head out earlier today, and in a different direction — east, rather than west — and at just gone 4pm, I drove to Weston Shore. Or rather, more accurately, I was on my way to Netley Abbey when I got sidelined by Weston Shore.
I found myself a spot on the pebbly beach, away from the sunbathers, and started to write a song. The brighter light made me want to work in a major key. I don't often work in a major key — I find happy songs much harder to write than sad ones — but I gave it a shot: the whole point of this week is try new stuff, so it felt like the right thing to do.
Summer Shorts 01: Lepe, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
Ever since visiting Calshot last week with my good from Emma, I have been mindful of how many beautiful places there are right on my doorstep. The other night, after posting my new EP online (an activity that has the potential to turn me in to an anxiety ridden shell of a human) I decided to put my internet browsing on hold, and take a trip out past Calshot, to Lepe. I took my GoPro with me, and filmed some shots as the full moon appeared, and having explored as far as I could before it got too dark, I swore I'd come back soon.
And so, tonight, I did.
Leaving work at 7pm, I got straight in the car: made the journey past Totton and Beaulieu and arrived in Lepe. The light was beautiful, and there were just enough clouds in the sky to pick out patterns in the setting sun. Making my way along the waterfront in the fading light, I started filming and I started composing.
Gear:
Music:
Auxy is one of favourite music creation apps for iPhone. It's simple, yet powerful. It comes with sounds and effects that sound great right away, but that also allow for the infinite tweaking and adjusting that my production brain needs to be satisfied: I love it.
Film:
I'm absolutely obsessed with this 50mm Nikon lens. Because it's a full frame lens, and my camera is not full frame (a DX model), it acts more like a 75mm lens, and I love it. Also, you have to manually focus it too, which leads to a bunch of extra work and a lot of mistakes, I can't get enough of the unexpected moments that are created because of those two things.
Video Blog: Cornwall
This year marks 60th birthdays for both Old Ma Brombley and Papa Brom, and so, a full-scale family holiday was called for.
Booked through Perfect Stays, our home for the week was Ednovean House in Perranuthnoe, Cornwall (just outside Penzance).
Day one marked our arrival with an evening soaking in the views across the bay, taking in St Michael's Mount and Penzance. Day two was a lazy day: exploring the house, the garden and taking a trip for ice cream at the local beach.
Day three, I made a birthday roast dinner to celebrate the parental units' birthdays. In the evening, we sat around the fire pit, toasted marshmallows and looked at the stars.
Day four was the day we had a photographer come to the house to take pictures as a joint 60th birthday present. Quite how we all ended up playing duck duck goose, and then doing the hokey cokey I'm still not sure, but the photographs were great, so I suppose it worked. In the evening went for dinner in Penzance.
Day five the kids and Papa Brom went kayaking. We set off from Porthleven Harbour and paddled west along the coast. On our return, we ate pasties and returned home to enjoy a well earned, relaxing evening.
Day six we took a trip to St Michael's Mount. We arrived just in time to paddle across the causeway and walk up to castle. When we reached the top, we looked hard to find Ednovean House: having spent all week looking down at St Michael's Mount, it was nice to take a moment to look back up. In the evening, after a quiet meal together, my sister and her boyfriend returned to the house to announce their engagement. As prosecco was opened, my father took the opportunity to watch a Facebook video of a man driving with no arms. Needless to say, we insisted he bookmark the video so it can be played during his wedding speech.
Day seven, and our final day together, we visited St Ives for food and an afternoon at the beach. My sister created her engagement announcement photo from stones in the sand, and the little ones enjoyed some rock pooling. Back at the house, we had just enough time to fly a kite before we say our goodnights and goodbyes.