Tag Archives: Pilot

FURCHESTER NOMINATION & UPDATE

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update before things go quiet for a while. I’m off on holiday for a week, and then I’m traveling to Holland to shoot a pilot for a new kids TV show. I can’t say anything about it at the moment, but the puppetry team saw the puppets for the first time this week and we’re all very excited! It’s going to be a fascinating mix of puppetry and CGI. I’ll reveal more when I can.

The main reason for this post is The Furchester Hotel.

We shot 51 new episodes this year at Media City UK, and I think it’s safe to say that we are all very proud of them. The first batch of new episodes is airing VERY soon. I’ll keep you posted. But the other good news is that The Furchester has been nominated for an award! We’ve been nominated in the “Best Animation And Puppetry” category at the Royal Television Society North West Awards.

Whoop!

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We’re up against some great shows, so fingers crossed!

Hopefully the next time I post I’ll have more to tell you about the pilot in Holland, and I’ll have a Gerry Anderson’s Firestorm update!

Take care.

A

 

ANDREW JAMES SPOONER TWITTER FEED

CBEEBIES WEBSITE

THE OFFICIAL GERRY ANDERSON WEBSITE

THE FIRESTORM TWITTER FEED

THE FIRESTORM FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL TWITTER FEED

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE TWITTER FEED

THE BBC IPLAYER (for the latest Furchester episodes)

 

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PERFORMANCE REEL

Hi everyone!

Again it’s been a while. The Furchester shoot has ended after 60 days and over 600 hours of studio time. We’re all very proud of the 51 episodes we shot and can’t wait for them to be released into the wild! As far as I know the new episodes will start airing on CBEEBIES around October/November time. I’ll let you know more as and when the information becomes available.

I’m particularly proud of the special Christmas episode.

Since I’ve been back I’ve been catching up with over 4 months of paperwork (boo!) and finishing my tax return (double boo!). However, it’s not all been receipts and invoices. I’m prepping for a short pilot I’m shooting in Holland later next month. It’s still early days, lot’s of time looking at scripts and storyboards, figuring out how many puppeteers we’ll need and how certain shots can be accomplished with the minimum of fuss. Building the foundations for a successful shoot.

The trailer for the pilot minisode of Gerry Anderson’s Firestorm has been released to the Kickstarter backers and, it has to be said, the response has been phenomenal. If this is the reaction we get from the trailer I can’t wait for people to see the full minisode. The trailer will be released to the public soon. More information as and when.

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And finally I’ve completed my performance reel! It’s taken a while to get to grips with it but here it is! It’s longer than my Sizzle Reel which was designed to give you an idea of the projects I’ve been involved with. This reel concentrates on a few key scenes that (hopefully) show off my performance skills. I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to share.

That’s all for now!

A

ANDREW JAMES SPOONER TWITTER FEED

CBEEBIES WEBSITE

THE OFFICIAL GERRY ANDERSON WEBSITE

THE FIRESTORM TWITTER FEED

THE FIRESTORM FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL TWITTER FEED

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE TWITTER FEED

THE BBC IPLAYER (for the latest Furchester episodes)

 

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NEW HEADSHOTS

Hi everyone!

It’s been a while since an update and I apologise. I’m knee deep in production on seasons 3 and 4 of The Furchester Hotel. This will keep me pretty much tied up until late August.

I’m writing a piece about the first block of shooting on the new series and I’ll post that up here as soon as it’s finished.

I’m on a dark week this week so took advantage of the time off to get some new headshots done. Normally I find this experience to be akin to pulling teeth, however, Nicholas Dawkes did a fabulous job. The atmosphere was calm, relaxed and he guided me through the whole process with confidence and humour.

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I’m VERY happy with the results.

Why not check out more of Nic’s work at www.nicholasdawkesphotography.co.uk.

As well as The Furchester I’m also in prep for a pilot tv show shooting in Holland in September. Can’t say much at the moment, but I’ll keep you posted!

A

 

ANDREW JAMES SPOONER TWITTER FEED

CBEEBIES WEBSITE

THE OFFICIAL GERRY ANDERSON WEBSITE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL TWITTER FEED

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE TWITTER FEED

THE BBC IPLAYER (for the latest Furchester episodes)

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL  (only available in the USA)

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GERRY ANDERSON’S FIRESTORM

Hi everyone!

I’ve not updated since I posted my new reel just before Christmas. Now that crimble is well and truly behind us, it’s time for an update!

Just before Christmas I shot a pilot TV show called “Captain Travel”. Now that it’s all edited and polished we just have to sit back and see if Disney are interested in turning it into a series. We shot the pilot on a shoestring budget in a few days. That being said, we were all very happy with the result and feel it clearly demonstrated the potential it has for a TV show.

So fingers crossed.

As usual there are a couple of other projects bubbling away in the background as I speak. However, one has leapt to the front.

I’m thrilled to announce that I will be part of a wonderful team shooting a 9 minute minisode of GERRY ANDERSON’S FIRESTORM.

As a kid I grew up on re-runs of Thunderbirds, Stingray, Joe 90, Captain Scarlet and Terrahawks. This is an absolute dream come true! The idea is to shoot a kick ass trailer to interest distributors in a potential TV series. No CGI! Just wonderful miniatures, models, practical FX and, most importantly, PUPPETS!

It’s early days at the moment, but more info can be found at the Gerry Anderson website.

That’s all for now.

More updates soon!

 

A

 

ANDREW JAMES SPOONER TWITTER FEED

CBEEBIES WEBSITE

THE OFFICIAL GERRY ANDERSON WEBSITE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL TWITTER FEED

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE TWITTER FEED

THE BBC IPLAYER (for the latest Furchester episodes)

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL  (only available in the USA)

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ANDREW JAMES SPOONER “SIZZLE” REEL

 

Afternoon all!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here at Spooner Towers. As is the way with this rather odd business, I was all set to work on a job when it suddenly evaporated!

Hey ho.

It’s just the way it goes. So I took all that disappointment and channeled it into making a new showreel. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while anyway. Over a couple of weeks I looked through all the footage I have available to me and edited and edited and edited.

In the end, rather than have a reel that was trying to accomplish too much, I decided on creating a “sizzle” reel first. I’m not sure where I heard the term “sizzle” before but basically it’s a short reel designed to grab your attention and give you an idea of some of the projects I’ve been associated with.

I will be creating a longer “Performance Reel” next. This will consist of one, or maybe two full scenes and will give a better feel for my acting and voice skills.

Being a puppeteer meant that getting a professional to make this reel was out of the question, WAY too expensive! So I pulled my socks up and did it myself. I rather proud of the end result.

So here it is!

The ANDREW JAMES SPOONER “Sizzle” reel!

I hope you enjoy it.

More to the point, I hope you hire me!

A

PS. Oh, and I just landed the lead puppet character in a pilot for Disney. That’s all I can say though! When I’m free to speak about it I’ll bring you up to speed.

 

ANDREW JAMES SPOONER TWITTER FEED

CBEEBIES WEBSITE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL WEBSITE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE FACEBOOK PAGE

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL TWITTER FEED

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL MAGAZINE TWITTER FEED

THE BBC IPLAYER (for the latest Furchester episodes)

THE FURCHESTER HOTEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL  (only available in the USA)

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