Was there a belief in becoming early exponents of Digi technology back in 1995?
Not really. The ‘Prime Cuts’ scheme came with a narrow set of guidelines, demanding that we shot on standard 16mm (in spite of the fact we had secured a great deal on 35mm). I had previous experience of video through my work at BBC Television and had already shot material on Hi-8. In fact I had been working with video as early as 1982, on bulky old U-matic. Frankly the old analogue technology wasn’t up to scratch and in 1995 I couldn’t afford a VX1000. Besides, all my music video work was shot on Super16 and 35mm. However, our dismal experience of working with the public funders whilst making ‘Common Tool’ encouraged us to look for alternatives. As an independent production company based in Scotland, how are you received when you source funds and how do you source funds? It’s hardly a secret that my past experience in attracting public funding in the UK was absolutely crap. But on balance, rejection is the majority experience for most emerging filmmakers. Fact is there will never be en
