Photography student gains film production experience with UK film director

Tiffani Graveling, a second year photography student at University Centre Hastings, gained valuable work experience with UK film director, Howard J Ford, on the set of his new movie.

Tiffani worked on Howard’s new family film, Adventure Boyz, over the summer and spent two months as the Production Manager. She worked on everything from setting up the equipment to capturing moments in the movie.

Tiffani first met Howard during a Speedway race meeting at the home of the Eastbourne Eagles, the Arlington Stadium.

Tiffani said:

“I do a lot of Speedway photography at Arlington Stadium and I met Howard as he was filming some footage for his new movie. I have an interest in film making anyway, so we got chatting and I asked him if I could help out, and it took off from there.”

“Initially, I assisted with a lot of the shoots at Arlington and helped with the equipment; and he was really impressed with me. Howard is one of the stars of the movie, alongside his two children, so he asked me if I could help shoot some other scenes for the movie, which was huge for me.”

“I already knew some of the filming basics from A-Level, but studying moving images and using programmes like Premier Pro during my degree, certainly gave me confidence and I wasn’t worried about what he wanted me to do. For instance, there was an occasion where I had to do some panning, because Howard was walking and talking to another actor. I was a little nervous because I hadn’t actually done it before, but I was confident I could do it.”

“I learnt so much about the equipment, including being introduced to some new really cool, proper film set stuff, like a Jib Arm. We shot the film using a DSLR camera and used a number of different lenses. There were 20mm wide lenses, some 35mm, and an 85mm, as well as a zoom lens to get lots of different shots. There were huge tripods, a few small hand held lights, and reflectors for the outside shots.”

Howard has recently returned from the American Film Market (AFM) in Santa Monica, California, where he premiered the trailer for the movie. He is now making final edits to the film in time to launch it at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019.

Tiffani continued:

“Howard watched the footage back and he was really happy with what I captured. During the edit for the trailer, he called me and asked for my opinion. He said he was taking it to AFM in Santa Monica, so that was a really big deal for me. He’s the director but wanted me to give my opinion on it; it was a proud moment.”

“The whole experience has been brilliant. It fitted in really well between my first and second year at uni and kept me in the loop with photography, film, and learning about the industry.”

Adventure Boyz is inspired by parent’s observations on how much time kids, and adults alike, spend on their devices. The exciting and entertaining storyline is fun for the whole family, but also reminds children about the exhilaration and joy of discovering and experiencing the outside world. Watch the trailer here:

Take a look at Tiffani's work on her website: www.tgphoto.co.uk.

Photos in this article by Neil Garrett.