T MINUS 4 WEEKS AND COUNTING

Well, that was a first; no blog last week! In my defence it has been a crazy week as I race to clear the decks before month end.

My film academy is just four weeks away, and to say I'm mildly terrified is probably a vast understatement. It seems my to do list grows bigger, not shorter. But things are easing off ever so slightly, as we now have enough youngsters signed up to run it successfully.

This past two weeks has seen a slight shift in the original idea, which has created the need for a larger team. Double in size to be precise, and I am little daunted at the way my role has become much more responsible.

That said, credit where credit is due, and in true collaborative filmmaking style I couldn't have got this far, or deliver what is ahead, without the immensely talented group of people onboard, who share the same vision as myself. What is very humbling is everyone's keenness to be involved.

I wont bore you with the details, but the two summer schools have taken an inordinate amount of work, which in no way seems to match what will be delivered. For nine weeks I have been just a few days short of seven days a week, which is largely because of all the bureaucracy that it takes in forming a new company, at the same time as delivering on my other work commitments.

And it is the other work commitments that have filled every space, but that is coming to an end very shortly, thankfully.

The word is getting out there as well. During the past couple of weeks the Edinburgh Evening News ran a very encouraging article on the Film Academy, which was closely followed, at great surprise, by MSP Gordon Macdonald reading out a motion in the Scottish Parliament all about my vision, seconded by nine other MSPs.

That was a fall-off-the-chair moment!

In Edinburgh the 2018 International Film festival has begun, and for the first time I feel a strong connection to the industry, on the cusp of possibly creating the next Scottish filmmaker. What a thing it would be to book tickets to see a film made by a former student.

One of our team is Shauna Macdonald, a Scottish actress with an impressive career to date and without doubt a draw to our academy. In turn I have been privileged to work with her very own youth theatre in my local area of Portobello, and together with very talented youngsters we have created two films that premier tomorrow night locally.

After years of championing filmmaking for kids for many other organisations, I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that this plan works out for the long term.

ROYAL DEESIDE WAY

As you get older you have to work harder to maintain your fitness. Actually, regardless of age, you need to put the work in. But for the past two months I've hardly moved from in front of the computer, putting together my new film academy for kids, seven days a week, and as a result my fitness has plummeted. To add to that my trousers no longer need a belt.

But above all I needed a break, and despite the expanding waistline, and maybe partly because of it, I turned to my ever reliable friend Pauline to organise a three day cycle trip.

Public transport is not always conducive to accessing some of the harder to reach places, so a while back I invested in roof-top cycle racks for the car and put them to good use last weekend on a two night foray to Aboyne on Royal Deeside.

We decided to have a wee bit of a luxury break and set ourselves up with our tent in a campsite just outside Aboyne village. And we even packed a fold up table and chairs! Well, you never know when you might come across a layby that beckons for a tea stop!

It was a joy to be able to cycle without any heavy gear, and late Saturday afternoon we set off west out of Aboyne on the back roads to Glen Tanar National Nature Reserve, just inside the Cairngorms National park. Just a short ride there and back, but my legs were already complaining.

Glen Tanar has been owned and run by the Coats family since 1905, and it is a spectacular glen, with its entrance marked by the Tower of Ess, a 3 storey, square-plan folly tower.

Just a short distance in was a small church, peaceful and silent, before our track up the glen toward the old pinewoods. On this occasion we didn't venture far, but it was enough of a taste to want to return in the future.

On Sunday we set our sights on reaching Peterculter, a small village 40km east of Aboyne toward Aberdeen. For the most part we were on good track, either old railway routes, walking paths or forest trail, following the route of the Deeside Way. One section was pretty steep, and as Pauline powered up it as if it weren't there, I stepped off my bike and pushed, such was the appalling level of my strength and fitness.

As we passed through deep woods the track weaved its way through vivid yellow blossoms festooning every gorse bush in sight, with the smell of coconut hanging in the air. It was at this point that we came across what seemed to be one or two walkers on the Kilt Walk, a sponsored event that takes place several times in different areas over the year in aid of various charities.

Having passed through Banchory, our halfway stage, I noticed we had the company of an old railway line. There hasn't be a service here since the 1960s thanks to Dr Beeching, but these rails had a polished top surface. Something was running on them regularly.

Within a short distance we came upon the tell tale plume of smoke from a steam trains boiler fire, and stopped a while to admire the small steam engine, lovingly restored by local volunteers and enthusiasts.

A few kilometers beyond Banchory, on a narrow path section, we hit a wall of walkers. It started with just the odd one or two, which grew literally into several hundred! We had no idea this event was taking place, and it became obvious our plan was scuppered, so we took the first opportunity to get off the path and turn back. It was a shame, but more to explore on a future trip I guess.

That evening we had a real treat; on the pond that the campsite borders on were a family of swans.

Six very young signets and their parents thought nothing of wandering up out of the water and taking a stroll around the camp ground. The Sunday night was a lot quieter, and I think the swans knew this. Several times in the evening they would wander by, surveying their kingdom, picking up the odd scrap of food left by campers.

On Monday, sure in the knowledge there were no more walking events, we turned our bikes west and set out for Ballater, following the Deeside Way to its starting point.

For me this was the best day. Maybe because of the lack of people I guess, but there was something great about the long straight stretches of old railway track disappearing off into the distance, through tall standing forests of pine and birch, that made it a lot of fun, tracks that my American friends would call "Rails to Trails", which I think we should adopt.

Occasionally we would come across an old platform, mostly overgrown and crumbling, but at one such old station the building was still there, lovingly preserved, presumably as a bolt hole for some lucky person.

After what seemed a very short time, we pulled into Ballater, which surprisingly was a first for me. The train came to an end at a construction site, which turned out to be the ongoing renovation of the old railway station building, soon to open as a museum, complete with a restored Queens Carriage. Again, another reason to return.

To add variety to our return journey, about halfway back to Aboyne we detoured to Muir of Dinnet Nature Reserve. It was to be a brief visit, but we were there to see a particular natural phenomenon called Burn O'Vat. About 16,000 years ago this entire area was covered in ice kilometers deep.

As it started to melt a relentless torrent of water cascaded down the gorges, and in one particular place it slowly, over 2,000 years, the debris carried downstream began to carve out this enormous cauldron.

Gradually the base filled with silt, so only half of it is now visible, but it was an incredible site, like some vast open cave, with perfectly smooth curved openings on either side, each some 15m wide.

With this whole area offering so much in diversity I know we will return. I just have to work on that fitness. Maybe I should get an exercise bike?

Oh, wait, I have one!

MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING

My life seems consumed by all things marketing at the moment. I am a man obsessed, as I continually look at new and inventive ways of publicising my new film academy. Google has been my friend by way of researching the best avenues, most of which I have now engaged with.

Google itself is a necessary monster, and I've had to engage with them directly in the US over the past few weeks. I may use modern technology in my film making, but the world of the internet and search engines in particular continues to be a mystery to me, so having access to those who know it inside out has been invaluable.

The Film Academy wasn't appearing at all on Google searches, primarily because it is so new, so there was no choice but to pay for an advert, which as you can imagine, is enormously expensive. Every time someone clicks on my advert listing, I pay Google money. And it's not a set amount. It's basically an auction, so if anyone else is advertising the same thing, and they have a bigger budget, the cost of each click for me goes up. It's all a bit mad, and with Google having very little competition, I end up paying what they deem the right price, and I have virtually no choice if I want to be seen. They also have something called Google My Business, which is free to create. Have you ever noticed when you search for a company and when they come up, a box appears on the right sometimes, with details about that business? That's Google My Business.

Google has generated zero sales for me, but I have to keep doing it or I won't appear on people's searches.

Though I hate so called "social" media, I have had to embrace it, from Facebook to Instagram and Twitter. Luckily I have help from someone who is very much into it.

Then there's print. This is the sort of advertising I'm familiar with, and though it has little value these days, it still has to be done. With A4 posters, A5 fliers and A6 postcards in hand, I have been busy delivering a set of each to all the private schools in Edinburgh, and every public library. Shops in the vicinity of schools are next, which is a much bigger job.

I placed ads in magazines that are aimed specifically at school parents, and which go home with every school kid in the Lothians. This was expensive, and so far there is no evidence that it has returned anything.

It used to be, a long time ago, that newspaper advertising was the first call. Now that is all but dead for promoting this type of thing. However, after careful research, I managed to get an interview with a reporter of a local newspaper, and within the next couple of weeks they will run an editorial, which is far better than any paid-for ad.

I'm lucky to be based in Edinburgh, and this month sees the International Film Festival, which run a youth hub for young people aged 15+. I have taken their publicity material in exchange for the organisers taking mine.

My final piece of the jigsaw has been to slowly create a relationship with a local school. That will culminate in running a couple of media classes for them for free, and in return I'll have the opportunity to promote the academy.

That seems a lot, and in many ways it is. But there can be no let up. Some of it costs next to nothing, apart from time, whereas others are very expensive, and spending money on marketing is no guarantee of success.

There is still one avenue I haven't used yet, that of local radio. I made the necessary inquiries, but at several thousand pounds for a handful of slots over two weeks, it's not something I'll be signing up for anytime soon!

To date the most successful campaign has been, without a doubt, Facebook. But, it has all been focused on particular demographics. Interestingly, when I ran a second campaign, it yielded virtually nothing, telling me that avenue is likely exhausted.

So for now the spend is on hold until mid June, when it all starts again during the last two weeks before the summer holidays.

So I'm having a much needed break, and heading out on my bike for a few days adventure, which I'll tell you all about next week.