Movie Magic
Having spent countless hours recording lesson content for remote learning, and editing the raw footage, I found an interest videography.
The Marvel Universe
My current pet-project is editing all the recent Marvel films into chronological order (this is my summer 'rainy-day' hobby).
Not sure if that is something that is actually 'legal' under copyright laws, but I am only undertaking this for my own personal enjoyment - this is not something I will be sharing! Whilst there is an agreed chronological order for the films, there are often some overlaps, which is something my 'fan-edit' intends to iron out. (I know others have done this too, and shared them over the internet, but I won't be brave enough to bend / break any laws by doing so.)
With the release of Black Widow, I will now be able to complete my version of 'The Infinity Saga' which incorporates the following films (listed here in a 'rough' chronological order):
Captain America
Captain Marvel
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Thor
Iron Man 3
Avengers
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 3
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man
Spiderman: Homecoming
Captain America: Civil War
Black Widow
Black Panther
Dr Strange
Thor: Ragnarok
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Endgame
In addition, my version includes some deleted scenes and a few segments from the TV series Agent Carter. Hopefully I will get this completed over the summer months.
After I've finished this, I intend to work on my sequel saga - 'The Avengers Legacy' - which will allow me to edit together the recent TV series of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Wandavision, Loki and Hawkeye, as well as including films such as Spiderman: Far From Home,
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and
Spiderman: No Way Home. In time, I will be looking into including the uncoming films and TV shows that are in the pipeline too.
11+ Reasoning Prep
I created a range of videos that ran through all the different types of Reasoning questions that are commonly asked in 11+ entrance examinations, and I will make these available on my YouTube channel. They covered Verbal, Non-Verbal and Spatial, and allowed me to share how best to approach and answer the various question types, including some helpful hints, tips and shortcuts. Many pupils have commented how helpful these videos have been when they were working at home, and many parents also told me they helped them to support their children too.
Currently there are 10 videos in this series:
5 covering Verbal Reasoning
3 covering Non-Verbal Reasoning
And 2 covering Spatial Reasoning
Film re-imaginings
I have dabbled in film editing for a while, particularly when I come across a film I truly think has the potential to be better. For instance, I have created a fan-edit of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens', including some deleted scenes, and my version of 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace' where I reduced the screen time of the character of Jar Jar Banks (which ruined the original in my opinion) as well as trying to 'speed up' some of the slower scenes.
My favourite edits, of which I am really proud, are my versions of 'The Knowing' (which I renamed 'The Rapture') and a TV mini-series called 'The Last Templar'. The first I wanted to draw greater attention to the biblical apocalypse that was only fleetingly mentioned yet paramount to the story, and in the second, I tried to edit the episodes into one film that was closer to the original story by Raymond Khoury.
Of course, all of these edits were for my own personal viewing pleasure, and I have never shared these with anyone else. However, I have got so much pleasure in creating my own versions, and I would encourage others to have a go as well - just don't share your results, as that could be classed as distribution (and therefore definitely breaking a law or two!).
One film I am keen to re-imagine in the future is 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the recent film adaptation, I did find the pace of the film incredibly slow, and the musical score a little undramatic. Hence it is on my to-do list.
