I would like to introduce you to a short documentary made by Kris McApline. Kris is a Software Engineer but his hobby is film making and in particular he enjoys making short films and documentaries. He contacted me a couple of months ago to ask if he could make a mini documentary about our school education activities and he came out to AMEC for a visit.
I don’t think Kris was quite prepared for what he saw and it did not take long for his focus to be drawn away from his original subject by the allure of our model engineering world. I have watched his filming process and I am amazed at his technical knowledge and constructional thought in putting this piece of film together. Whilst we may initially look at the content and admire our own work, I would urge you to look beyond this to the skillful camera work, the balancing of sounds, the timing of the story telling and careful editing that has led to this remarkable little documentary. Kris has given himself less than 10 minutes to tell a story that could easily have been a full length movie. It is his very own creation and us suggesting that “this or that” might have been included or removed, would be like saying to the builder of a prize winning locomotive that he should have changed the wheels.
Kris thanks everyone who stepped forward to be filmed, regardless of whether you or your models feature or were left on the cutting room floor. He wishes to share his work with the world and has asked us to share it with as many people as possible. Feel free to forward on the link.
Kris has promised to stay in touch and possibly come back in the future to make another film.