Sequels are easy, well from a marketing point of view, you have the brand set up, we know the characters, we know the world, we know the rules of the world, right? From film making point of view they are much harder to do and more stressful. For a great example of the detail and work that goes into a sequel check out the making of The Two Towers.

We want to see more of these characters and how they move on from the events of the first film, particularly if the first film was left with an open ending. The studio sees it as a safe bet, the first one made money; which is why they are sequels.  The films that didn't make money, or at least the money that the studio wanted, (HULK, Superman Returns and Golden Compass to name a few) didn't receive sequels for this reason. I understand the attraction of sequels though, regardless of the effort and trouble filmmakers need to go to get one done.

But regardless of the attraction and hard work that must be enjoyable for the cast and crew, how and why do sequels benefit us?

Did we really NEED Iron Man 2? Blair Witch 2? Final Destination 3, 4, 5, 6?

Sequels can be amazing, I absolutely loved The Dark Knight Trilogy. I thought they were made by a filmmaker who had a clear vision for what he was making; although, presumably, it was never originally conceived as a trilogy it all fits together and feels part of the same story. Each film pushes and challenges the characters that we've invested in from the previous film.

6 films?!?!? And they call me The Joker

Uh Oh - George Lucas!

Obviously, quite high on the list of sequels/prequels we did not need is Star Wars Episode 1-3. This is a prime case of the audience wanting more, when perhaps there wasn't more to say or see. Did those films help us understand more about who Obi Wan and Vader were? No, not really. If anything, and this is my own opinion, it lessened the impact of the character from the original trilogy. Will we still go and see the new new Stars Wars when it comes out in 2015? Yes, probably. Why? Personally, I will be going to see if it rescues the series from what has happened before.

The Force wasn't strong with this one apparently

So how do you make a good sequel that is worth telling and not a waste of an opportunity? I guess the best way is to really believe in the characters and know that this part of their journey is actually needed for the character not just because there's going to be "some really cool action" or "there are a tonne of toys that can be made" or that "it's going to be much bigger than the last one". I always worry when the studio starts boasting that "this film is going to be bigger and more action than the first one" it normally means "there's no story and we're going to hide the fact by blowing lots of stuff up".

The Dark Knight Trilogy proved that the audiences out there are intelligent and can handle multilayered character stories while there's plenty of action as well. 

Against the Grain

And now The Hobbit is upon us and I cannot contain my excitement. Regardless of hype, this is one film I have longed for and cannot wait to see it! Talk about being contradictory! But next year, I truly hope we see some new, original films and no more leaning on re-makes and sequels.

This blog was written by our Managing Director, Tom Wadlow. To get in touch with Tom, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

All photo rights belong to the respective studios

On Tuesday

the 20th of November I turned 20. Now I was kinda scared about this, but my friends are like "why? It's only the same as being 19." Well for one it defiantly isn't. To me turning twenty is a massive milestone, you know not being a teenager anymore and all that, and seeing as I couldn't think of anything to write about this week I decided to go for... The last 20 years of my life in 20 movies. So I decided to sit down and rack my brain to think of 20 films that hold childhood memories for me and this is what I came up with. I know later on I'll remember about 30 more, ah well. Enjoy!

 

20- Disney's Hercules- when this film came out I was 5 and that was the first film I ever went to see at the cinema, It also had an amazing playstation one game which I still have somewhere.

 

19- George of the jungle- once again I was 5 when I went to see this and I remember my dad telling me it wasn't a real elephant and it was all CGI, I was amazed. When I watch it back now not so much.

 

18- A bugs life- I never got to see this film at the cinema as about 10 minutes in my friend puked and we had to take him home, I did however get it on VHS and it had that amazing reversible cover.

 

17- Mulan- I went to Florida when I was 5/6 and my Dad took me and my sister to see this, cant really remember much of it other than Eddie Murphy voiced the dragon which I later dressed up as for fancy dress at school.

 

16-The Matrix – I was 9 or 10 when I first watched this and al I remember about it was I don't get it, however I like the fact that you can dodge bullets. That's cool. Infact come to think of it I still don't get it now. Shame really as I do still enjoy watching it

15- Toy Story- Still to this day everybody loves this film. I had so many woody toys at home is stupid. I’m sure I still have his sheriff badge floating about somewhere.

 

14- Grease- Probably the most embarrassing one in here, but my sister developed a bit of obsession with it when we were younger so naturally I had to watch it about 700000000000000000 times. Also I want a flying car.

 

13- Terminator 2- In my opinion the best one. This is now the only VHS I own with nothing to play it on.

 

12- Pokemon movie - this was such a big part of my childhood. Pokemon was massive I mean ridiculously massive. When I think back to it I'm pretty sure the main reason I went to see this film was to get the Pokemon card you got with your ticket.

 

11-Harry Potter- Anyone of my age these films are the childhood films, Philosophers Stone was also the first DVD I ever bought with my own money.

10- The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie- I remember borrowing this off a lad who lived up the road and "forgetting" to give it him back. Defiantly one of the childhood classic

 

9- Space Jam- Great film, Bugs Bunny was always a hero of mine as a child, as much as I liked Disney I didn't care much for Mickey Mouse.

 

8- The Lord of the Rings trilogy- Epic.

 

7- Jumangi- Probably one of the most watched videos I owned, my Grandad bought it for me when we went own to the shops, he only went for a paper and come back with a video and a horrendous amount of sweet for 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning.

 

6- Rocky 4- I was bought the Rocky box set for one yea for Christmas and for no known reason my sister and me developed an obsession with the fourth movie, I love it. It got to the point where we even bought the soundtrack and ruined our parent's car journeys for the next two months.

 

5- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- I HATE this film, however it did have a massive impact on my childhood so I feel I need to mention it. I have watched this film twice and both times I could not sleep after it. The umpa-lumpas scared me for life. I don't know what it is but everytime I hear that song I feel sick. I used to have nightmares about them chasing after me singing it... I really really hate them.

 

4- The Beatles A Hard Days Night- My favourite Beatles film and one of my favourite Films full stop. I still watch it probably once every couple of months.

 

3-The Lion King- Best Childhood film ever, I still have the mug my Nana got with the VHS when I was 3. Still love it to this day.

 

2- The Commitments- Now this is my favourite film ever as it stands right now, but when I was younger this wasn't the case it took along time for me to appreciate this film. I still Loved it when I was younger though.

 

1. My dad introduced me to this, best gift ever.

 

Well that is the top 20 of films that remind me of my Childhood, I hope that list doesn't change your opinion of me at all. Like I said not my favourite films but all of them hold special memories for me good or bad.

This blog was written by our Video Marketing Apprentice, Tom Lawrenson; to get in touch with Tom This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I do not own these pictures credit goes to, Pixar, Bandai and Universal respectively

photo shoots

We are proud to work in conjunction with Chris Mullane Photography Studio to offer unique photography and video packages.

Chris Mullane Photography Studio offers studio photography for families, parties and businesses and is based in Derbyshire.  Where do we come in? Well, we film your entire experience so you can cherish the fun you have at the shoot on DVD.

From arriving at the studio to get your pictures taken, through to experiencing our hospitality and the photoshoot itself we are delighted to capture your experience and provide it on DVD for you to remember forever along with your high quality images taken by Chris.

To book a photoshoot experience couldn't be easier. Just call us on 0845 304 8646 or Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

photo shoots

We are proud to work in conjunction with Chris Mullane Photography Studio to offer unique photography and video packages.

Chris Mullane Photography Studio offers studio photography for families, parties and businesses and is based in Derbyshire.  Where do we come in? Well, we film your entire experience so you can cherish the fun you have at the shoot on DVD.

From arriving at the studio to get your pictures taken, through to experiencing our hospitality and the photoshoot itself we are delighted to capture your experience and provide it on DVD for you to remember forever along with your high quality images taken by Chris.

To book a photoshoot experience couldn't be easier. Just call us on 0845 304 8646 or Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Where it all started...

After studying Film and Video Production at Derby University for 3 years and graduating with a first-class degree I knew the last thing I wanted to do was to head back down to Swindon to live with my parents. I loved my new life in Derby, and didn’t want to lose my independence and friendships I had made. As anyone who has gone to Uni will tell you, finishing a course and leaving university to head into the big wide world as a non-student is a daunting experience; but I stuck to my guns and decided to stay in Derby only hoping that I would find a job that will help towards my career.

My job at the time working as a Sales Expert at Jessops paid for my rent, bills and food, what little time and money spare went towards designing and buying business cards, building my own website, buying what equipment I could and anything else that could help towards finding a job more suited towards my career as a filmmaker.

I also worked freelance (mostly for free!) as a filmmaker whenever possible with a couple of friends from my course under the name Irrelevant Digital. We worked on a variety of projects for a number of clients including the NHS, University of Derby as well as creating a comedy sketch show called Jiggery Pokery for a comedy duo. It was invaluable experience and built my confidence as a filmmaker and varied my skills doing a lot of different projects.

A New Opportunity!

I had been a follower of Light Films on Faceboook and Twitter since I attended their Coming Home networking premiere in 2010. A few months after I completed my Uni course I noticed that they would soon be recruiting a Film Production Assistant and thought it was a fantastic opportunity I couldn’t miss, especially so soon after University.

I knew that I had to make a good impression and worked on finishing my website (that was nearly ready to go live). I published a few blogs onto my site as well as revamping my CV. A few days later I felt happy with my content enough to apply for the position. From previously employment and modules on my course I knew the importance of a good first impression and having everything there on paper, or website, for the employer to read or have access to, so my website had links to a variety of films I had worked on and my CV had all my up to date information neatly presented.

A few weeks went by and I had an email to attend the first stage of interviews with Julie and Charlotte. I had prepared with some bits of information I wanted to state in the interview but I didn’t over prepare myself, as I wanted to be relaxed and allow my personality to shine and not worry about saying exactly what I had planned. A few days after the interview I had a call to attend the second interview with Light Films director Tom Wadlow at the Light Films offices! I was very excited to get to the next stage and knew that at this stage it was all or nothing I was going for, plus I couldn’t wait to have a nose around the offices!

The second interview was strange, in a good way! I felt very comfortable and open with Tom and as soon as he opened Final Cut Pro I fell right into my comfort zone, I was asked to edit together a short sequence to show my editing skills, luckily I had been using Final Cut for more than 5 years and was able to demonstrate this instead of just saying it. A few days later I got the call saying I got the job!

Getting Stuck In...

My first day was thrown straight into editing my first project and getting to grips with the workflow and system used at Light Films. It was great being trusted very early on with the projects to edit and it was on my first job filming out of the office that Tom allowed me to camera op and get to grips with the cameras we use. I was very warmly welcomed into the Light Films family and it’s great to be working with some clever and talented individuals and being able to use the skills I have learnt and developed over the last few years.

I'm delighted to have worked on a few of the projects featured in our showreel already!

Just over a month now has gone since my first day at Light Films, and already I’ve lost count of how many projects I have worked on. I have learnt a lot of new skills, possibly more than I ever have done at University, there is nothing more valuable than real world experience. I’ve loved every second of my new job and is hugely rewarding, exciting and fun.

A lot of luck and hard work got me to where I am today, working for a great company and doing what I love to do, making films. However, my hard work and determination will not stop there as 2012 shall be a big year for Light Films, a lot of plans will soon be set in motion to make next year Light Films’ biggest and best year, and I feel very lucky to be part of making it happen.

Watch this space.

This blog was written by our Film Production Assistant, Chris Newman.  To get in touch with Chris, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dark Days

Recently I was asked by a student to fill in a questionnaire on what it’s like running a company and what sort of challenges I’m presented with.  At first my mood was very much like the drawing in of the early nights; dark, and my inital thoughts were that it’s a pretty thankless task for the most part.

We've been trading for 6 years and we’ve had a bumpy ride at times but during the course of the questionnaire I started to reflect on all the positive times we had. It’s very easy at any time to slip into a negative way of thinking. We are constantly faced with challenges that seem to take up our time which seem so unnecessary, yet so necessary.

Challenges...

For example in November (2010) last year we moved for our town centre offices in Derby to offices further out of town. We cancelled our services that we had been using. It wasn’t until August (2011) this year that we’ve finally stopped being chased for money for services after we cancelled the contract, which resulted in a sorry from the company and some money back, but it’s still a drain on time and energy when you are constantly fighting things that are not even issues in the first place. Like the days drawing in, the periods of light gets a little less each day.  Everything seems to be more of an issue than it really is. That’s not to say there are real issues, there are, the trick is to keep them to a minimum.

Sleep is overrated anyway, right?

My baby daughter, Marnie

Things can become tense because moods are contagious and when you find things are all working against you it does become very difficult to focus on the important things. Recently (2 months ago) my partner gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, so sleep has been a rare thing of late. Even when she does sleep through the night, which to be fair to her she does more often than not, you still have one eye open 'just in case'. Lack of sleep can add to this feeling, and when you’re tired you make mistakes.  That said, it just takes that one big thing to go right for everyone's mood to change and things start looking up.  Unfortunately, I  still had this feeling of extreme exhaustion and was in a dark mood when I started to fill in the questionnaire...

 

    Back to the beginning...

To my surprise I started to think about what things were like when I first set up Light Films and what I wanted for the company, what I wanted to achieve. How difficult it was to get jobs in. One question in particular was ‘What are the highlights of your career so far?’ My answer was, ‘There have been so many’ I continued to list some of them, but there are many varied and exciting things that we’ve been involved in; if you’d have told me 6 years ago about  all the things I would achieve, I’d have been over the moon. This doesn’t mean I'm satisfied with where we are, of course I want to push forward and do more and I think having the drive to keep going (which is vital especially in the financial climate we are in at the moment) is essential. So, whilst filling in the questionnaire I was reminded that there is so much I have to be thankful for and so much to be proud of and I'm hopeful that there is still so much to aim for and even as the days draw and everything gets darker there is still so much to be positive and about and, as with winter, the dark days will pass.

"Coming Home" 2010    Orchid IT Promo 2009       Film Premiere 2010 Meditarranean Cruise 2011

 

This blog was written by our Managing Director, Tom Wadlow. To get in touch with Tom, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

So this year, 2011,  has seen us film a corporate cruise around the Mediterranean, shoot a promotional video in Paris, take on our first ever Fortune 500 client whilst offering low budget videography services for the SME sector within the region. We have also been chosen as the video supplier for a high profile mental health research and development project.  On top of this we have produced two beautiful babies amongst our team and grown our business with tremendous team of commercial and technical experts. What a fantastic year, and we have so many people to thank for our success as well as thanking you, for reading our newsletters, promotions, blogs and helping to forward this information to those who may stand to benefit - thank you.

    

Our Team...

We have grown our team dramatically this year, and have developed a well-gelled team of very different individuals.  Joining Tom, Chrissa and Josie we have had Julie, Charlotte and Chris join us in 2011; each bringing something completely different to the team. Each and every one of them have made outstanding contributions to the business during our most exciting, yet most difficult, year with both Josie and Chrissa taking maternity leave.  Julie has succeeded in covering both Josie and Chrissa's jobs whilst they were busy producing babies, whilst gaining the incredible support from Charlotte.  Chris has undoubtedly brought new ideas, concepts and fabulous flare to our production team.  Thank you team, you have been tremendous and we are so incredibly excited to be entering into 2012 with all of you!

   

Production, Producing, Produced...

The success of our independent films depends entirely on the interest, commitment, loyalty, understanding and hardwork of actors and filmmakers who have a passion for developing their showreel, their CV and for making films due to the fulfilment it brings them personally.  Without these people we wouldn't produce independent films.  This year has seen some major cuts in funding and general interest in the arts industry. This means funding for our films comes from within. Why do we make independent films? Because we love making films, but we love giving opportunities for actors and crew alike to develop their showreels and experience - even Alfred Hitchcock and Peter Jackson started somewhere you know!  We want to thank the following people for their undoubted loyalty and commitment this year, throughout some really testing times: Neil Oseman (DoP), Tommy Draper (Screenwriter), Sophie Black (Set Design & Production), Colin Smith (Lighting Technician), Brett Chapman (Behind the Scenes, Set Engineer & Musician), Mike Rhodes (Set Engineer), Lee Martin (Production Assistant), Carl Cropley (Special Effects), Joseph Parcell (Special Effects). All of these guys have attended meetings, production events and have dedicated days and days to our projects. Of course we have a very long list of people who aren't mentioned here, and we are grateful to each and every one of you!

Our Suppliers...

Where would we be without our website? Thank you Creative Buzz!

Where would we be without our Email marketing? Thank you Mail Magic!

Where would we be without our fabulous logo and branding? Thank you Luck Design!

Where would we be without our telephones and internet? Thank you Opus Telecoms!

Where would we be without our 'on location' cars and vans? Thank you Cocoon Vehicles!

Where would we be without our accountants? Thank you Cedar & Co!

Where would we be without our financial advisors? Thank you Right Advice!

Last but most certainly not least... Our fabulous clients...

Our client list is too long to type out here! But you can see their videos on our own website and YouTube channel... Thank you all for making 2011 our best year yet!

I'm sure we're all now aware that the Internet is an information superhighway where people exchange thoughts, ideas, concerns, queries covering every conceivable topic, in a multitude of different formats. However videos are increasing in popularity above text alone.

Does video have a role to play in Internet marketing? Video Marketing cannot and does not replace existing marketing strategies, like affiliate marketing, articles, blogs, or pay-per-click campaigns. However it does add value and can significantly supplement these existing marketing techniques.

Video has an inherent appeal to audiences. Most of us want to "see" something, someone, before we buy or commit, before we actually want to "read" something. Video can be used to enhance the consumer experience by educating the viewer about product or services, putting a face on a company, and building a brand.

It sets off emotional triggers that static text simply cannot do, ultimately influencing buying decisions. It only takes a piece of music to get my goosebumps going.

That brings us to one of the most commonly known sites today. A household name.. YouTube. On YouTube alone, people view 2 BILLION videos every single day. Still think this is a fad? Do you need more proof that more people are watching and using online videos to get information on products and services?

Online video is hot and it sells products and services more effectively. Here's a small sample of the benefits to Marketing YOUR business through video.

* Seeing is believing

Many people need the personal connection to believe what you are saying. Through video you are putting a face to your words. This not only makes you more believable, it also makes you more trustworthy. In today's world of scammers and cowboys, this is priceless.

* YouTube can increase Traffic

Want more traffic on your website? Do you dream of increasing your visitors to your blog? Website? if you aren't using video marketing, you could be potentially missing out on a lot of traffic. According to Google, your brand is 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of a search result WITH a video.

* Product Demonstrations

Video can sell your products more effectively than words on a page. You can demonstrate features more easily with web videos. This improves sales.

* Training

Video is a more effective way to deliver training online, it is a lower cost way of providing a training resource to employees, affiliates and end users.

Videos can be saved and watched over and over again, offline.

* Testimonials

You may well have happy clients, but do we take written testimonials seriously. My own firm thoughts on this are that I rarely believe written testimonials on websites. We can all do that, right?

I was amazed at these 2 case studies.

T-Mobiles ambitious "Life's for Sharing" ad campaign. The objective was to achieve maximum media impact across all channels including video-sharing sites such as YouTube. The outcome? The video received 10 million views, over 9,000 comments and top YouTube honours within 24 hours of launch.

JLT is the largest UK insurance broker and like most insurance companies competing for new business from online enquiries the Market is highly competitive. The objective therefore was to quickly generate brand awareness on search engines.

The video reached the front page for "Small business insurance policy" within 8 weeks from launch. To date the video has been viewed over 80,000 times and is the top ranked and most viewed business insurance video on YouTube.

It's not even exciting!

Still think this is a fad?

From a personal perspective, I found myself trawling websites to find exhibitions to attend. There were so many to choose from but I noticed Marketing Week Live. The only reason I booked for this exhibition, was because they had a video of the previous years show, it looked busy, beneficial, worth the effort. I was convinced that was the show for me. At home, I don't watch a lot of TV, but if I have a new gadget, or am baffled by a certain subject, I search for instructional, informative videos on YouTube. Or presents for instance, a good instructional video of an item in action goes a long way in whether I'll buy something online.

I was intrigued to see just how long people stay on a site with video versus a text only site. Here’s what I found. The average length of time, per visitor, spent on text only sites is 60 seconds. And sites with video? It’s 6 minutes.

I can almost hear you ask the question. What does it cost? Light Films Corporate Web videos are from as low as £450 (the price of a one-off newspaper advert) and is not out of your reach, no matter where you’re at in terms of skills, knowledge, time or money.

If there ever was the perfect time to get involved, that time is now.

The message is clear. Video is here

 

This blog was written by our Commercial Manager, Julie Adams. To get in touch with Julie, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Written on the 3rd October 2011

What a week last week was. If I’m honest I don’t think I’ve ever had a week quite like it, well not on a scale of life changing events. It all started on a Saturday morning when my fiancée and business partner Chrissa Maund’s waters broke and we rushed to the hospital in eager anticipation. This was short lived though as after being there for about an hour we were told to go home and wait. Now I know that we are not the only people in the world to be told this and in actually fact most of this blog is not unique to me and Chrissa but I can say it from my point of view and although we met some amazing, wonderful, helpful and supportive mid-wife’s and healthcare assistants who I would never dream of saying anything other than high praise, there does seem to be large areas of our experience in which we were lacking in care and seemingly abandoned. Waiting is difficult at the best of times, waiting for Christmas day when you were a kid was painfully slow, but waiting for “things to be move along” after waters have broken is like nothing I’ve ever been through before. Chrissa, already by now was in a lot of discomfort. All the family were up in the house, busying themselves helping us clean, tidy, prepare (we even managed to replace an internal door between my Dad, Chrissa’s Dad and me) and at the start of the ‘waiting’ nobody was not willing to commit to a job that might last more than 5mins, but as time passed it become less and less likely that anything was going to happen soon. And so everyone ended up all returning home and to bed.

It was 11pm and Chrissa was pacing around in pain. We both made the decision to go into the hospital. So after the Grandparents arrived to wait at our house while Eryn (Chrissa’s first child) slept, we drove the by now familiar route to the hospital. Once there, we were again told to wait. An hour passed by and finally we were seen. “It seems that you are still not ready” we were told, “however we don’t want you to go home and want to keep you in overnight and you will more than likely be induced tomorrow (Sunday) at 4pm” At last a bit of progress! We were shown up to a ward bed and this is where I was asked to leave at 6:15am.  I’m allowed to return at 8am. So I drive home, feeling slightly empty at this point. I’m sure it’s from watching too many movies and having a slightly confused view on how simple these events are, but I did expect that the next time I made that drive it would be Chrissa, Marnie and me.

8am arrived. I made my way back to the hospital and found Chrissa who had been just recently told that “she is still no further along” but that we were going down at 4pm to give nature a helping hand. And so began another wait! We passed the time talking about the future and how life will change once Marnie is born. Chrissa starts to become worried and I try to do my best at keeping her focused on how happy we’ll be, but she started worrying about “maybe there’s something wrong, my waters went hours ago (by this point it had been 24hours) "I’ve read…...." This is where too much information is not always the best thing. Chrissa read the leaflet about the drug the hospital uses induce expectant mothers. I’ve got to be honest none of the side effects side seemed pleasant, but then again if we read the side effects of paracetamol and believed them we probably wouldn’t take them either. We then met a lovely mid-wife who really took the time to talk to us and talk to Chrissa about all her fears and really helped put her mind at rest, which is half the battle. So 4pm came and went. So did 5pm. So does 6pm….

9:45pm we were moved back downstairs to the same area that we first went into at the time Chrissa’s waters broke into a room with four other beds and told that once the doctor had looked at us we would be ready to go, but first they needed to see 30mins to an hours of trace (the heart monitor of the baby print out) so with Chrissa rigged up to the machines we were left alone. Just to give some background on the this, at this point Chrissa had already been attached to this machine two or three times over the previous 24hours but apparently new trace was needed), this was perhaps the most uncomfortable part of our stay. The position that Chrissa had to sit in to make sure the monitors were working caused her huge amounts of pain in her lower back and every time Marnie moved we lost her heartbeat. After four or five times of calling the mid-wife back to re-establish the heartbeat with the monitor we gave up. Finally at 2:30am the doctor arrived and said he was happy for us to go ahead. Tired and relieved we started to think about the end of journey and going home with our baby daughter.

8am Monday morning our room filled up with new people. Fed up, we decided to go for a walk. Anything to stretch our legs. On returning to the room we saw it was a hive of activity, none of it around our bed. At this point tiredness was really the only feeling we had so we went to the main reception where we had arrived on Saturday night and just asked what was happening. The receptionist was lovely and said she would look into it. Within 5mins a mid-wife was at our bedside. She then told us that we would need to wait to see the doctor to make sure it was ok and that we would need to provide 30mins to an hour of trace. This didn’t go down well! Both Chrissa and I became more than a little annoyed so start pointing out everything that we’d been through to get to this point and that we were not interested in going backwards.

10mins after that we were in a side room getting ready. Well if I thought thing had been tough since we arrived on Saturday,  Monday was going to put that definition to the test. Now I’m again aware that I’m talking about how I felt throughout this and not really touching on what Chrissa was going through, that’s mostly because I don’t know what she went through, I know it was a much bigger and emotional experience than I had, but I was there with her throughout. It’s not an easy thing to see the person you love going through such things and feel totally helpless. Don’t get me wrong I became very very good at getting drinks of water sometime I could even do 2 drink at a time and towards the end I managed to master pouring the drink into Chrissa’s mouth, but Chrissa did all the work and I just watched on in awe of her.

The first rough ride came with the epidural. The doctor who did it was amazing, very quick and very professional, it’s just brutal to watch, let alone having it done to you, but at least afterwards the pain Chrissa was in was severely reduced and this means we could all relax a little bit. At 5pm the mid-wife examined Chrissa, it seems that we were no further along then when we arrived on Saturday night, but she had an idea. It turns out there are 2 ‘waters’. Top and bottom. Top ones normally go when the bottom ones do. The bottom waters were still there. So the mid-wife burst them. This was like turning the switch to go. Within an hour Chrissa was in a huge amount of pain again and the doctor came back in to top up the epidural and then an hour later Chrissa was in pain again. This was at change over. So we had a new mid-wife. We explained where we were at and she examined Chrissa. 8cm dilated!!!!!!

At last we were there!!!!!! Chrissa grabbed my hand and just kept saying “I’ did it! I did it. I never thought I’d actually do it!” I was so proud of her after her waters (or at least half her waters going) on Saturday morning to Monday evening it had been a long journey. Less than an hour later Marnie’s delivery had begun. We were riding a wave of happiness. Not long now…

That was until 5 doctors walked in. They told us that they were concerned about the Marnie's heart rate and believed a forceps delivery will be the best way to move forward at that point. That worried us, but everyone seemed convinced. Delivery continued while the doctors readied themselves. Forceps are applied and Marnie is born. Joy. We are over the moon. She is amazing! She starts crying and I’ve never been so happy to hear a baby cry. The doctor then started calling out for help. “there’s a bleed” I look at Chrissa and she had lost all her colour, the mid-wife gave me Marnie who was still crying. Chrissa lost her vision and hearing as she lost blood. I rock Marnie trying to get her to stop crying. More people came into the room. The next few minutes felt like hours, but the doctor stopped the bleed and then I saw the full extent of the blood loss. It was all over the floor. The packing filled a large plastic box. Chrissa had lost over a litre of blood, but she was ok. Marine by now had stopped crying and we were left alone again. This was perhaps the most emotional moment of the whole weekend. So along with two mid-wife’s, I helped Chrissa move back up on to the ward. Once again I went home alone.

Then next day (Tuesday) I brought Eryn in to meet her new sister. This is when we discovered that Chrissa’s bladder was not working due to the blood loss and that she needed a transfusion. So by the time Wednesday night came we really were ready to leave and come home, not without one last drama as Marnie stopped breathing for a few seconds. It was a panic to find some help, luckily there was a mid-wife just outside our door and she came in to help. Afterwards she explained that it’s quite a common thing and that Marnie had basically choked on some mucus. Still, in that moment it didn’t feel like a normal, everyday occurrance, it was terrifying! After everything that had gone before it!

Wednesday night we arrived home. Chrissa had left to go into hospital on the Saturday and so much had happened in between. There was still more, with Chrissa having an allergic reaction to one of the painkillers. Thursday I was back at work trying to catch up on everything that had been building up. To end the week I was flown to Paris to film a presentation. Afterwards I bought presents for my 2 girls. What a week!

We all know how and why video boosts company sales.

Throughout 2011 we have improved companies' google rankings and their communication with prospects alike.

What is there not to love about video? Particularly with our Winter Website Warmer Offers!

So what do you get for your money? Click below and see for yourself how our clients are benefiting:

To take advantage of these fantastic offers, which are only available until 22nd December 2011. Simply give us a call or reply to this Email and we will arrange a free consultation to take place in time for you to benefit.  Alternatively, if you know someone who maybe interested put them in touch.

ALL PRICES ARE EXCLUSIVE OF VAT.

Bookings are based on a booking fee of £150 being paid to secure your purchase. All videos must be filmed by the end of January 2012. All editing must be done on site with our team. Please inquire with our staff for designated filming dates and ensure you stipulate if there are any deadlines you wish for us to work to. All logos, voiceovers, animation and additional graphics you wish to place into your video must be received by our team at least one week prior to your video being filmed.  Editing must be completed by stipulated dates to avoid incurring extra charges.

 

This blog was written by Julie Adams, our Commercial Manager. To get in touch with Julie visit her Light Films profile.