The film we are associated with, One Last Spin, has been a long time in the making. It began as an idea for a ‘short’. We met with film director and producer Ross Donald, founder of Reverie Films based in Glasgow.  From day one he was enthused. From day one he made a commitment. From day one he has  included us in every aspect of production. And from day one we knew were working with a high calibre professional.

What was originally envisaged was a short film, between twelve and fifteen minutes in length, which was stretched to 20 then 25 minutes. From the start, Ross had plans for a ‘B Roll’, drama sequences for each story, which we are working on now.  Covid hit but not before total lockdown, so after research, procuring willingness of interviewed participants, considering between and deciding upon locations, the interviews were shot and edited over a period of time.

A lot of personal money has gone into making the film. We applied for an award from Greater Glasdow and Clyde Healthy Minds which was offered for mental health and anti-stigma. We were surprised but happy to be considered worthy of funding by the NHS. We’ve also received funding from other organisations who will be acknowledged publically in due course, and continue to seek funding for funding to screen the finished film at proposed community events throughout 2022.

We continue with other work (including this website) which tries to do its bit to raise awareness of gambling harms and campaign for regulatory changes and better treatment services. We are always looking to converse with individuals, small groups and large third sector and statutory organisations.

Learning as we go along

We know we are just three people with low skills bases, with little understanding of organisational structures, evaluation methods, communication skills, so we are realistic. And unpaid, as is our wonderful film director Ross and others. We are only volunteers.

But we’ve been blessed to meet so many people from different contexts, many volunteer-based like us but also organisations with expert support for volunteers, big third sector organisations and statutory health and social care institutions, Conversations with people in any of these settings has been rich and nourishing. And it’s also helped us see, for instance, that having a salaried job in the NHS doesn’t make you one of ‘them’; you are just as likely to face frustrations and stresses as you negotiate the tortuous labyrinths of bureaucracy and technocracy. ‘Wee’ have only each other for support, and our core values, our faith that survives against the odds.

Learning from the Film-Making

The (ropey!) footage at the top of this post shows one shot being filmed. It will be filmed again and again until the director in consultation with colleagues is happy. Before each shot is made, hours of preparation especially in lighting. Before that, months of arrangements. The elected shot may be a few seconds in the finished film or it may not be used at all. Editing is as crucial as filming. Add to it colouring, sound mixing, achieving a coherent whole for the film with its music, its opening and closing credits, its information inserts, and you start to get the idea. Don’t forget make up, propos, catering etc. etc. Next time you watch a fil, look at the closing credits to see all the many roles.  Oh, and the actors

What you don’t see, but can appreciate, is years of training and experience. You can see team work, love for the job, en-Joy-ment which involved damned hard work.tour

Few will ever see the film, though we are working ahead right to the end of next year to screen it all over Scotland and beyond in community venues, working with those communities to try and best design each event. It’s fairly typical of hundreds of community and volunteer based  initiatives in Greater Glasgow and Clyde alone.

Watching the film being made has dampened our impatience, reinforced our humility and reminded us that what is the greatest value of all is human value.

Below is an image of a few of the crew arriving at the second location, with just some of the filming equipment.