Transition Culture

5 Apr 2011

Announcing ‘In Transition 2.0’ and inviting your support….

‘In Transition1.0’ was a huge success.  Shown thousands of times around the world, the film has done a huge amount to support initiatives and give them a good “so this is what Transition is” resource.  Things have moved on a lot since then, so we are going to make a second one… provisionally titled (imaginatively) “In Transition 2.0”.  Emma Goude (see below right), who directed the first one, is back at the helm, so here is her first guest blog setting out her plans for the new film…

“In Transition 2.0 is underway.  Transition Network have green lighted the budget and formed a dream team to make it happen: Emma Goude, Beccy Strong and Emilio Mula.

We’re looking for match funding so we can pay filmmakers around the world to put their talents to getting behind the scenes of Transition where they are: USA, Brazil, Japan, and New Zealand are current favourites.  Beccy is approaching a distributor to find out what they’d be able to sell to broadcasters and a fund raiser to see if there are any pots of funding for community filming ventures.  We’re also looking at crowd funding so if anyone knows much about this we need your help!

Experience and feedback from the first film is influencing how we approach this second one.  One thing that stood out to me whilst editing the first film was that the best contributions came from experienced filmmakers.   It takes practice to know what footage is needed to create a beginning, middle and end to a story.   It’s not simply a case of point and shoot what’s happening.  So this time we’re focussing our call for footage to filmmakers with experience.  Please get in touch if you’d like to contribute.

But don’t just send us your footage!  We have a rough outline for the film and are looking for specific examples to illustrate each stage of Transition.  We have linking questions that everyone is going to be asked so that the film can hold itself together better.  So before you go out shooting, it’s really crucial to get in touch with us to discuss our requirements.

Last time we divided the film up into Groups, energy, food etc… because most initiatives were in these early stages of creating visible projects.  But this time we want to tell the story of Transition from starting an initiative through to affecting political change on a larger scale.  We’re hoping to find a likeable character who’s only just decided to get Transition off the ground in their local area.  So if you think you may be that person, or know if that person please get in touch.

If you have an idea for a story, or something is happening in your local area that you feel really gets across the essence of the stage of Transition you are at then we’d also like to hear from you.

We are looking for stories that will SHOW not just TELL typical scenarios that arise at each stage.  We want failures, conflicts, difficulties, frustrations and how these are overcome or why they are insurmountable.  This film needs to do more than inspire.   It needs to show what it’s like to tackle global problems at the local level.

So to summarize we need:

• Talented film makers
• Engaging character who’s only just starting
• Powerful stories that move us – particularly from outside the UK…

This film needs to have more dramatic tension than the last and a reason to keep watching.  It needs to answer the question what has Transition achieved so far and where does it go from here?  What has been learnt and what pearls of wisdom can you pass on?

Research officially kicks off on Monday 16^th May.  This gives you time to think, talk and research your own stories.  It would be great if you could find out what’s happening locally and sniff out the most cinematic stories”.

Email: emmagoude (at) hotmail.com