With over a year's hard work (after the film is completed!), Monsters of the Id is now available at www.play.com and other online sites such as HMV, Tesco and Amazon.co.uk ...
	You’ve made a feature film, then the hard work really begins! Here’s the history: In March 2003 I finished my first feature length computer generated (CG) movie called The War of the Starfighters (- see article). I made this for no commercial gain, instead making it for my children, family and friends. The best reasons to make a film, in true IAC fashion.

It is in the BFI Archive and the East Anglian Film Archive and I believe it was the first one-man-made (I completed all of the visuals on my own) CG feature in the world and also the UK’s first CG feature. Plus my family love it too. Luckily. Information on all my films at www.calvertfilm.fsnet.co.uk

Since being inspired to make films after first seeing Star Wars in March 1978, I had always wanted to make a feature film on my own so I could make it how I wanted it to be, and not how someone told me they wanted it. So what do I do now after my ambition is complete? I never wanted to make another CG feature after all the hours of work that went into it.

Well I set about making another after all. Making these films must be a bit like childbirth in that you soon forget how difficult it can be and go ahead and do it again. But this time I thought I’d try and sell it because this was a new set of challenges. Now I could have just sold the first film but I didn’t want to taint the philosophy behind making it.

So three years, 1500 hours work, £700 and 1200 cups of coffee later, I had made Monsters of the Id. Phew! It was now June 2006 and little did I know the hard work was just beginning. I had to try to find someone to release the film, and this was no foregone conclusion. So I started looking for a small independent film distributor and ended up talking to Film 2000. They normally specialise in horror and the like and didn’t know if they could do anything with Id but they did agree to help me. For that I am grateful.

First step was to get the film to the British Board of Film Classification. It cannot legally be sold without a certificate and this cost me the best part of £1,000 for a 75 minute film with 33 minutes of extras. It got passed a certificate 12 incidentally. The BBFC have a calculator online if you want to see how much they charge. They were helpful and very polite to deal with. They said the film needs a line added next to the rating stating ‘contains moderate sexualised nudity’. At first I wondered where those bits were and was eager to see my film again. I didn’t remember putting those bits in! But I think they are referring to the sexy looking super heroes. Well, super heroes have to look good don’t they?

Then Film 2000 pointed me in the direction of Eeso Ltd. to make the cover and face artwork. They knew where to put the BBFC logos and how to create a bar code (that Film 2000 got for me, and would otherwise have been another expense) and these are all things tricky to do on your own. They created a striking design for the cover.

Next came the replication from a glass master onto DVDs. I had made and authored the DVD myself, and saved a bit of money there. This took a couple more weeks and then finally the film could be submitted to online retailers such as Play and Amazon. It was now March 2007.

Finally I also wanted to show the film in a Cinema, so I set about hiring out the Southend Odeon and it will have its Premiere there. It was shown in an Odeon man! Where’s my Oscar? Release date is set for July 23rd 2007.

All in all the film cost me £2,700. Not bad I suppose but I’ll be lucky to make much back. I really did it for the achievement of doing it. So what next? I have no idea. Two ‘offspring’ is quite enough!

But if any of you fancy making a feature film and wish to ask me any questions please email me from my web site.

If I am able to offer and advice then I will, for example ‘make a model of HMS Victory instead’ or ‘take liberal amounts of Entonox and remember to breath’. The Monsters web site also contains lots of story details, pictures, links, and things not covered here, plus free downloads about Monsters of the Id including details of some of the wonderful actors that voiced some of the parts for me. Some of them are famous too. I’d like to thank them, plus Philip for the music, Albert for his support, everyone else mentioned here and those I’ve forgotten, plus all of my family and friends for keeping me going.

Official website: www.monstersmovie.com

Good luck and see you in Hollywood. Well Southend at least!

- By Laurence Calvert    July 2007

Page updated on 21 March 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

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