Cut Frame Magazine

Designed to be a showcase platform for talent, from emerging to the established, Cut Frame Magazine has been making waves in the arts for its frontline look at the industry and passion for showcasing voices that might otherwise be missed. 

A creative hub that talks to the different people involved in creating the music we love, the theatre we watch, and the film and TV projects we enjoy, Cut Frame has become a go-to for the creative talent sphere that is rapidly gaining eyes outside the industry for its open dialogue approach and easy form. 

Insights from talent are something that frequently gets overlooked especially from the crew, what this magazine offers is them the chance to speak and show the reality of being part of an industry that spans the globe.  

Standing out in the market, Cut Frame has been instrumental in opening up a dialogue with filmmakers and actors who are telling the world about their journey, looking at the films that captivate us, and reviewing them with the critical eye of the talent behind the camera.  

With plans in motion to expand the platform with membership options that will open up further stories that are industry-related and give a more comprehensive and in-depth focus to their work, alongside a podcast culminating an end goal of going beyond the current boundaries and opening up the world to the potential of the creative fields. 

In an industry that relies on networking, marketing, and of course contacts, Cut Frame offers professional insight into that world and gives valuable advice and support to the creative networks out there, and shows us that we are not alone, the industry is there to support you.  

To learn more about Cut Frame, support, or get involved see:

Cut Frame Magazine.

Cut Frame Instagram.

Cut Frame Twitter.

Cut Frame Linkedin.

Support the magazine and its writers via:

Cut Frame Paypal.

Cut Frame Buy me a coffee.

Making No Mercy a Boxing Odyssey

When it comes to indie film the process can be arduous and full of obstacles but the outcome is worth every step. Tackling not just acting but producing, directing, and more we talk to Louis Findlay about his latest film No Mercy, a film about the darker side of boxing, taking the gloves off and looking at it from a different angle.

Filming a project on this scale is a big undertaking, what have been some of the challenges you have faced in the process and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for this project was money. I must have spent around £2,000+ on the project which is all I could really afford. Most of it was my own money and then the rest was via GoFundMe. The way I overcame potential challenges prior to filming was by writing locations I knew I had access to and casting friends I had worked with before. Then it was literally asking a LOT of favors from everyone else. One challenge I wasn’t prepared for was COVID. We literally had the training montage to film which is one of the most important scenes in any boxing movie,  so we couldn’t wrap it till we shot that but no one knew how long lockdown would last.  I felt about pulling the plug on this project so many times when the going got tough, but I just had to fight my way through it (no pun intended) 

The style of the film is very close to the docudrama or docusoap style, do you think that will change how people will look at the film and the people involved?  

Yeah, I hope so. The main focus was about making these characters feel real and forget people are actually playing these parts. I wanted to show this working-class family who are incredibly close, who have had their ups and downs and a fair share of family drama but at the end of the day, you can relate and fall in love with them.  I wanted it to feel natural and I think the visual style really helps to sell that. THAT and the fact everyone just bossed their roles. 

What was the motivation for this project in particular the look at boxing and the behind the gloves side of the business?

 My dad used to box back in the day, not professional but had a few bouts. He tried getting me to do it as a kid but I felt bad hitting people in the face. I have fond memories of his Mike Tyson VHS tapes on the shelf (which eventually made their way to the loft.  Dad and I watched them a few times when I was a kid and I thought it was pretty cool but had no interest in pursuing it other than working the bag and pads in the gym as I got older. 

But I think what makes any boxing film great is the story outside the ring, I think southpaw is a great example of that because he’s fighting for his daughter, not about being champ.  For my film, I wanted to focus on the darker side of boxing which is reflected in some of the dialogue and the way the promoter goes about business. I took a lot of inspiration from DareDevil, between a prize-fighting father and a son who looks up to him, but behind the scenes the promoter is dodgy. I also threw a lot of personal stuff from my childhood into the project too. 

There have been many who have taken the step over the line from actor to director/producer and worked both sides of the camera. Do you think this is something you will continue between acting jobs as a means to not only showcase your own concepts but to create opportunities for others in the creative fields?  

Absolutely, 100%. I had no idea how to get into the acting business when I left school so I started making my own films. In essence, I’ve learned other skills along the way by doing that such as writing and learning how a camera works.  But I’m very much a person who can’t sit still, I don’t wait for the grass to grow and if no one is going to give me the roles I want then I’ll go out and get them myself. I could’ve been waiting years for a role like this and it may have never come my way.  I think it’s so important for actors to make their own work and if I can help others out along the way and offer opportunities in front or behind the camera then that’s what I’ll continue to do! 

 What is next for you and your team? Do you have any projects in the works that you can tell us about?

 Yes, I’ve got a micro shortcoming very soon that we shot on the sky in Trafalgar, a short film called RoadKill that I had hoped to turn into a feature and a drama coming very soon which is about a man confronting someone from his past revisiting some disturbing memories. I have also just written two new features. 

What advice would you offer to someone starting their journey as a filmmaker and actor?

As I said, don’t wait for the grass to grow. It is so easy to make a film nowadays, we all have a camera in our pocket so just write something and film it.  Find like-minded people who can help you and if you’re really nice to people they’ll go out of their way for you. If you don’t ask, you don’t get - simple! 

*I would like to add a huge thank you to everyone involve and in particular Marcus O’Brien, Brandon Bailey, Dan brooks, Richie lamb, Gerard, and Keith Scott.

To learn more about the film or the team see:

No Mercy Trailer.

No Mercy Facebook.

No Mercy Twitter.

No Mercy IMDB.

Whouknow a New Marketing Tool

We were really intrigued by the idea of the site Whouknow for marketing targetting the creative side of the world and opening up doors to new and interesting prospects with both clients and collaborators. The site itself is straightforward to set up and our creative director JamesC has already thrown his cap into the ring and created a profile.

“There's no such thing as buyers and sellers in creative communities, which is why Whouknow works the way you do. We've also thrown in a bunch of other features that'll make your life a whole lot easier.”

Whouknow offers the option to set a base budget and offer your services to projects on other terms such as barter, it has real scope for marketing and has gathered some interesting talents to the table who are open to opportunities and marketing their skills through the site.

Naturally, we plan to use this as a part of our upcoming projects and where possible source additional team members to the fold for this. In fact, with our 3 shorts and a small-scale commercial/showreel project in the works, this could be something positive and give us access to a host of new faces to work with which is a real boost to our goals both short and longterm.

We recommend you go check out the site and see the potential for yourself:

Whouknow website.

Whouknow Instagram.

Whouknow Facebook.

Whouknow Twitter.

Strategically Lost

As we come closer to the final launch of our additional sites, Lost Agency, and Lost Stills, which will be used to manage and market the team with our commercial-based projects both stills and print, being organized around the Lost Concept.

Staying within the film and TV project base we will also be working on some more fashion-oriented images with possible fashion films into the bargain, *focusing on the behind-the-scenes elements of our creative shoots which in turn will give us some footage to be used as showreel material and marketing fodder.

We will also be continuing our Q and A blogs in support of the indie scene and looking at different elements of filmmaking and giving voice to campaigns, fundraisers, and individual talents.

Over the next few weeks, we will be finalizing and putting out the new work with a full and comprehensive business plan being polished to meet the new standards within the industry.

Stay tuned for more updates from the lost team.

Updates From The Creative Sphere

Over at the Lost Creatives home office, we have been plugging away at our work and will have some project announcements and cast/crew requirements going live very soon. While this is being worked out, we have some announcements that as a team we are really excited about and wanted to share.

As creative director and head of makeup, JamesC, has been instrumental in the development of his new site and working on a consultation basis, for Sons of Adonis makeup (it will be added to his working kit), as part o this a limited edition brush was created featuring his logo and the brand: available from the Sons of Adonis site.

In terms of production and editorial, we have decided to add to our site holdings and will be launching a separate photography site that will feature the work of JamesC both his commercial work and the behind-the-scenes stills on film and TV shoots. The reasoning for this is to allow an expanded sense of his creative work and offer a different perspective on the work of a makeup artist.

Lost Agency is being formed and set around the needs of the main business and will handle the overall marketing, banking, and other elements of our work as an umbrella creating an in-house and full-spectrum setup that is own, controlled, and managed for the needs of the Lost team.

Over the next few weeks, we will be releasing additional details on what is happening and casting/crew opportunities for smaller festival entry projects.

Talking Acting and Directing With Paul Andrew Goldsmith

We wanted to take a look at the life of a full-time actor and creator, asking questions about the journey and upcoming projects with the help of Paul Andrew Goldsmith we were able to gain a little more insight into the world of an actor/director as he prepares for his new work.

Can you tell us a little about yourself, your career, and your own projects and plans? 

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

I’m Paul Andrew Goldsmith, a professional creative based in little old Norfolk. I’ve had a very varied career including theatre, film, and TV work, and particularly proud to have been able to make my full-time living from the industry. It’s nowadays so hard to actually describe your profession, I act, I direct, I write and I teach. I literally do as much of anything I can in order to earn a living. I consider myself really lucky to be able to do so. Though let’s be honest we can all forget about 2020. 

Alongside my current project, my first feature film, I’m excited to get back to directing the  Warner Bros show, ‘The Polar Express’ this year and taking our street theatre show, ‘Ulysses’ out in the summer. 

So far in your career has there been a milestone that you want to share or a project you are particularly proud of? 

When I first started out full time as an actor I set various goals to achieve, 1st theatre tour, 1st film role, getting on spotlight, 1st agent, and so on. I think it’s always wise to have a stream of achievable targets that can adapt as you go but you must start out small so you don’t feel like a failure early on. It’s also worth keeping that list to always look back on to remind yourself exactly what you have achieved and how far you’ve gone. I think this is very true for the past year of lockdown when many of us have felt it’s not happening. 

As for milestones that make me particularly proud, I think it’s probably two. The first time I got paid for my work and secondly the first time I was able to pay others as a result of my work. It’s an incredibly empowering feeling to be able to bring employment to other creatives through things you’ve created. Again, especially after the past year. ‘NOTE I promise that’s the last time I’ll refer to the unwelcome visitor of 2020. 

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced so far as either an actor or as a director? 

Self-doubt and imposter syndrome for both. It never truly goes away however many years you’ve been active and how much work you’ve done. However, you can dampen it again by reminding yourself of the things you have achieved. 

You have a new project that you are crowdfunding. Can you tell us a little more about it and what was your motivation for creating it?  

When I was first starting out as an actor, I wanted a job to help earn yet be flexible enough to enable me to book acting work. I became a support worker for adults with learning disabilities. I found that I was a natural with the work and soon became a home manager before eventually opening my own day service. During my time working in the industry, I was alarmed at some of the treatment that goes on, intentionally and unintentionally with lifestyle choices being decided by care plans and risk assessments. I felt true freedom of expression and choice was regularly blocked and very often just to suit a particular organization rather than the person paying for those services. At the time I realized there were stories to be told, particularly a situation I observed with two service users who were clearly in love, yet kept apart. I began noting things I noticed that I felt could become part of a theatre show or film and now, some years later, I’m ready to bring it all together in a film. 

SAGACITY –

When a support worker realizes two men with learning disabilities have fallen in love at a daycare center, he fights for their rights to form a full relationship but is thwarted constantly by governance, staff members, and the care home management. 

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

I’m currently sourcing funding for the film in a variety of different ways as it is essential for me to be able to pay all those involved. Sadly 2020, Damnit I mentioned it again, wiped a huge amount of my savings out so I’m starting again from scratch. 

We’re all in the same boat so I’m asking people to just ‘Buy me a coffee’ from as little as £2 or to follow/share media as much as possible to raise awareness. 

Is there any advice you would offer someone entering into the creative arts and media? 

Believe in yourself. Be open to every opportunity, often the small things become lifelines and away into something far more. Get to know others, but always work based on what’s best for you and what works for you. Whilst many will claim there is, there truly aren’t any rules to what the industry is for you. It’s the arts, after all, it’s supposed to be for everyone. 

To learn more about Andrew Paul Goldsmith or his current projects see:

Paul Andrew Goldsmith Vshowcards.

Paul Andrew Goldsmith Twitter.

Sagacity Campaign.

Sagacity Twitter.

Sagacity Facebook.

Short and Micro Films

We have been extremely lucky with our contacts across the board and privy to a variety of amazing short/microfilms that have been either experimental or designed to augment actors’ showreels. Each that we have seen (both the public and password protected) had a common thread: they make you think.

Taking this further we have been discussing with the very talented, Alistair Smith, his own scene work as potentially a festival project. *We were lucky to be given access through a password-protected link, but can honestly say that he has got us thinking about micro/short projects as a tool to promote.

We are supporters of using short and microfilms as promotional tools and understand that the concepts can vary from a 30-second commercial to a 20-minute film, the key to this for us, is the story must work and make the watcher think. You should want to see more or ask questions about the backstory, this for us is successful.

Someone else who appreciates this idea is the team behind Micromania Film Festival, focused specifically on films under 5 minutes, there is a real challenge to the process of filmmaking in general but the potential of a film of 5 minutes or less is to us, something we want to explore in more depth as a combination of marketing tool and experimental process with films that will challenge us a team.

We are going to be reviewing options and looking at scripts that will give us that room to experiment, showcase the talents of both those in front and behind the cameras with the added element of documentary footage, and potentially showreel material for certain members of the team.

Stay tuned for updates.

Talking Film With Louis Findlay

As the indie film scene takes more of a center stage to the world of filmmaking, we talk to Louis Findlay about his project Roadkill and the journey it has been getting there as both a creator and a performer.

Can you tell us a little about yourself, your career?

 I’m 30 years old, my wife and I have just had a baby - our first, and I now have a dad bod!  

I’ve always been excited by cameras, I was always looking in the Argos catalog as a kid and being excited by all the new cameras. I used to love going in Jessops and seeing them on the shelf and always dreamed of having one. 

I got my first camera when I was 14 and used to make all of our Parkour videos which I did till I was 22 working as a professional soon also forerunner. 

When I started acting I had no idea how to get into it and no one would give me a chance, so I started writing and filming my own scenes which soon turned into shorts and then features. 

My first short film called Days To Come was loosely based on my own struggles with anxiety and depression, it won 4 awards in Europe and I won the best actor at the Los Angeles Actor Awards in 2017. 

Since then, I’ve not looked back and continue to make my own work, I love it.

 You have a new project that you are crowdfunding. Can you tell us a little more about it?

RoadKill is based on a short film me and some friends made in 2018. It centers around two brothers who are traveling across the country and during an argument, they crash the car and hit a girl walking along the side of a road and how they cope with doing the right thing.

The feature has come a long way since the short and very much centers around life at home between Ben and his mother Liz who’s alcohol addiction is not only affecting her life but Ben’s life too. He turns to selling drugs on the estate to pay the bills after losing his job and lands himself in a spot of bother. His older brother Josh returns from prison and is determined to turn his life around, connect with his ex and be the family man but he has no idea how hard life has been for Ben. Their mother is taken to hospital and doctors recommend she needs rehab to make a full recovery but they don’t have the money. They agree to do a job for Ben’s dodgy boss and if all goes well they’ll have enough money to cover the costs of treatment. This film focuses on broken Britain and the lengths people will go to in order to keep a roof over their heads and take care of the ones they love. 

 What is your goal as a filmmaker and what would be your dream project?  

 My goal as a filmmaker is just to continue telling stories and never stop. I don’t seek permission from anyone, if I have a story to tell then I’ll tell it. My goal is to focus on hard-hitting dramas and offer an insight into other people’s lives so that we can learn from others. 

I don’t know if I have a dream job, I’m just very happy doing what I’m currently doing. But I guess the dream is just working with like-minded people and having fun along the way. 

 Is there any advice you would offer someone entering into the creative arts and media?

 Do your research. Reach out to others for help start small. Work within your limits and make use of things you already have. 

Have a bit of money behind you, never crowdfund without putting your own money in first. I like to think of crowdfunding as just topping off the glass. I always put as much money as I can into my films because if crowdfunding is unsuccessful, you’re not relying entirely on others to help you tell your story. You’ll have some money in your pocket to make a start at least. 

“ If you have an idea, find a way to get it done no matter what, if someone tells you “no” but you're passionate about telling  it, then tell it!”

To learn more about the project or to support the film see:

Roadkill Movie Fundraiser.

Roadkill Movie Website.

Roadkill Movie Facebook.

Roadkill Movie Instagram.

Roadkill Movie Twitter.

Tackling The JamesC Website

We have been talking (via Twitter) about taking down our creative director JamesC’s website and completely overhauling it with a mix of his work from previous shoots, and of course new editorials mixed with additional TV/character-based concepts. That is now in motion and for the next two weeks, we will be doing the wrap-up work with a view to having a profile with vShowcards that will be central to his marketing as a makeup artist.

Taking this step has been really scary, as you can imagine, but it was a necessary move that we felt was long overdue, and with so many changes in motion to the market overall, we did this with a view to the long-term goals of the Lost Creatives and it will give a more focused and cohesive look to his work. With this in mind, we are debating adding a further 3 sites to the Lost portfolio making the overall theme of our work more cohesive and taking much of our business internally which will give us a stronger control over the imaging, marketing, and projects we tackle.

For those interested in keeping up with the news and updates JamesC will continue writing for our blogs and is still on Twitter. The new site is mostly complete and will be focused solely on his artistry work, while The Lost Creatives expands with him at the helm we will be working on the development of TV projects, short films for festival entry, and photo projects, to name but a few of our plans.

The iKons Fashion Film 2021

In a year that has seen industry slow down and in some cases completely stop, it is gratifying to see the fashion industry and the creative talent behind it have found a way to showcase not only the designers but the creative talent from behind the scenes.

The House of iKons has stood tall in this with a fashion film and series of collaborations, and partnerships that have shown clearly that fashion talent still has a voice and a place in the world with the people speaking softly and letting the video do the real work. A creative tour de force, this latest incarnation to one of the leading off-schedule fashion events worldwide, has allowed everyone from the makeup staff to the designers to showcase their wares and remind us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Featuring leading designers, creatives, and modeling talent The House of iKons is planning for live events later in the year and into 2022 with their ever-popular show is leading the way for fashion elites and giving a voice to professionals from across the globe.

To learn more about The House of iKons or to get involved see:

House of iKons Website.

House of iKons Facebook.

House of iKons Instagram.

House of iKons Youtube.

House of iKons Twitter.