When Ceri Evans walked in for our interview and started suggesting positive changes to a video that was currently in edit, it was obvious that this wasn’t a stereotypical 15 year old who finds any excuse to stay in bed and sit on Facebook all day. Some may initially perceive the confidence to overstep the line into arrogance, but let me be the first to clarify that Ceri’s suggestions were conveyed in a way that highlighted anything but. They were helpful, functional, and confirmed what I (along with the entire Llais Y Maes team) thought when he first came onto our radar. This guy’s good.
As a 15-year old, Ceri lives in Llanelli and is currently studying GCSE’s with options in Spanish, Music and History in the hope that he can continue his education to at least A level. Although his thoughts could change, at the moment he wishes to study Maths, Physics, Music Technology and Music to gain a traditionally academic education before potentially considering a practical Media Production course at University.
Listening to Ceri’s history with a camera, the impact a production-based course could have on his skills is debatable – seeing as he’s already just as skilled as many University students and essentially three years ahead as a result. He was introduced to the medium of film during a Year 4 lesson where the teacher encouraged them to make plasticine figures for a short animation. This sparked his imagination into life and before long, he’d asked for a camera for Christmas and never looked back.
Now it’s brought him here, to the National Eisteddfod 2014 – where he will have filmed approximately eight hours of footage by the time the doors close for good on Saturday evening. Using a jib (essentially a small crane to attach a camera to increase the height of shots) borrowed from a friend at local Independent Film company Broadside, he has captured the Maes in a variety of different ways to make a film titled simply “Eisteddfod” that brings what has been an incredibly successful week to a fitting end. It should be noted that this is entirely of his own accord – he’s not being paid and gained his press pass by sheer initiative, so it’s obvious how much Ceri loves what he does.
Being a filmmaker himself, I couldn’t let him leave without questioning him about his favourite director. After J.J. Abrams and admitting his love for the lens flare, he explains how much he admires the cinematography in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. This is the element of filmmaking that Ceri prefers, but he actually believes that he’s better in the editing suite when he’s let loose in his favourite software, Final Cut Pro 7.
As if his filmmaking skills weren’t enough, he’s also a Grade 5 piano player, edits music, and given the opportunity to wake up anywhere in the world, he’d pick “a big film studio”. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a feeling that the filmmaker from Llanelli has a very bright future ahead.
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Check out Ceri across the Internet by clicking the links below:
Ceri’s website: www. filmceri.com
Ceri’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/filmceri
Ceri’s soundtracks: http://ceri.bandcamp.com
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