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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

Well, yesterday we got notified that we'd made it to Finalist status. That's nice, but it does mean I've got to replace the laurel on the poster. Still the actual winners to be decided, but it looks like a trip to Bristol needs planning! #film #ShortFilm #FilmFestival #FilmMaker #Bristol

The laurels for the RS FilmFest 2026 Finalist. They're a gold colour, and the two wreaths contain the words RS Film Fest 2026 on the left, and an image of half a cine-film cannister on the right. Above the text and half-canister is the word "Finalist".

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026

We're really happy to have had the book @amysparkes wrote, and we published through our production company (to maintain rights), has been chosen by Kobo to be part of their "Diverse Stories" promotion this week. What does that mean, well, it means […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

Kobo's "Diversify Your Library with Free eBooks" promotion page. Subhead is "Celebrate the diversity of storytelling and discover stories of underrepresented groups with these free eBooks."
"The Players - Act 1" by Amy Sparkes is third from the left.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 28/07/2026

Really pleased to have been invited to have our film BOOTED shown as part of the inaugural South West Independent Film (SWIF) Homegrown Cinema Showcase. I'm going up to take the introduce the film and take questions after they've all been shown […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

HOMEGROWN CINEMA SHOWCASE in collaboration with SWIF South West Independent Film
Your local film scene deserves a big screen.
Join us for an evening of independent shorts made and presented by South West filmmakers
Thursday 27th August
Doors 6:30 7-10pm
St Anne's House BS4

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2026

We got another one! Our short film, BOOTED has made Official Selection for RS Film Fest. The actual event is in Bristol in November, and they're still to judge the semi-finalist and finalist awards, so we might do better yet, but it's still nice […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

The laurels for the RS FilmFest 2026 Official Selection. They're a gold colour, and the two wreaths contain the words RS Film Fest 2026 on the left, and an image of half a cine-film cannister on the right. Underneath the laurels are the words Official Selection.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 30/05/2026

Ooh, forgot that we got our second set of laurels for Booted! I know, kinda blasé about it now! Anyway, thanks to the "We Make Films" Festival for considering the film good enough to make it to semi-finalist! If you've not seen the film yet, it's […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

Clipped section of the film poster for "Booted". It shows a brown walking boot with red laces in the process of walking off to the right of a rough grassed area. In the top right a two (count 'em) festival award laurels. Highest is the Folkstone Film Festival 2026 Honourable Mention, and below that, the We Make Films International Film Festival 2026 Semi-Finalist.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/04/2026

YAY! We got our first official Festival Laurels! Folkestone Film Festival chose Booted to receive an "Hono(u)rable Mention" in their festival taking place at the end of April.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 25/02/2026

Had a bit of fun this morning making a wide poster for our short film. It's released on Sunday afternoon on @swordandfiddle if anyone's interested. _Booted_ takes the form of a parent's message to their child, narrated while remembering the […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

Poster for the film "Booted" The main image is of a rough grassy area. A single brown walking boot with red laces on the end of a black-trousered leg is captured in the action of stepping to the right, going out of frame.
On the left from top to bottom are:
The production company branding for Sword and Fiddle Productions - a white circle with a blue fiddle, upon which a sword makes the strings and neck, with the company name in dark grey to one side.
The film title - "BOOTED"
Text - A film by Amy & Alyn Sparkes
Text - Starring Simon Alison & Olivia Edwards with music by Sound of the Sirens

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 09/08/2025

Incredibly tiring but rewarding two days just gone. As part of the biggest crew we've worked with so far (Director/Producer, Camera Operator, Sound Recordist, Drone Operator, Camera Assistant (me), Camera-Car driver, 2x "Hero" drivers and a […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

A "studio" film shoot of a Dino gt in Ferrari red. Far left of frame is the cameraman with a large digital cinema camera on a heavy tripod which is itself on a tri-wheeled trolley. We are looking at the rear of the car and can just see down the right side. A small radio mike is taped to the rear bumper of the car to record the exhaust note. On the left side of the car is a hanging black cloth absorbing some reflected light while two LED light panels in front and behind the car actually provide the light. A large, sturdy metal door is in front of the car closing off the view to outside.

A panoramic view of the inside of the workshop where we filmed the indoor shots of the cars. On the far left is the camera man with a large digital cinema camera on a heavy tripod. Behind him is an Italian sports car in dark red sat on a four-post car lift (in the down position). There's a caravan with an old SHELL petrol station sign in front of it, a square wheeled trolley with approximately 75 hammers on, a Dino GT in Ferrari Red with a Sun Automotive Disagnostic system behind it, some lighting systems (LED and Tungsten) surrond the car. On the far right is another Italian sports car, this time in mid blue with a scaffold tower in front of it that has camera gear piled up around its feet.

A shot of the two cars being filmed parked up in the workshop. A Ferrari 458 Pista in dark red fills the front of the frame with a Dino gts visible behind it. On the wall behind the Dino are many items of motoring memorabilia - old oil cans, enamel signs, etc.

Taken by the driver of the Dino, this is the two cars parked up outside in a moorland area. The top half of the frame is Hawthorne bush silhouetted against the sky. The Dino gts is in the foreground with the Ferrari 458 Pista behind it.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 04/08/2025

As de-facto publishers of @amysparkes.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy new book, *The Players Act 1: All The World's A Stage*, we had an exciting "first" today. Book distribution to retailers in the UK is handled by one of a very few companies, of which […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

Multiple copies of the paperback version of "The Players Act 1: All The World's A Stage" by Amy Sparkes loosely piled in a cardboard box.

A 3D rendering of the book "The Players Act 1 - All The World's A Stage" by Amy Sparkes.
Around the book are some key features of the text with curved and swirling arrows pointing towards the book.
The features are:
Found family
Grey villain
Uplifting
Strong Females
Vengeance
Marginalised Characters

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 09/05/2025

OK, realising I've done a few of these "this time last year posts," but I still find them educative to put together. So a year ago, we were filming some parts of our short film "Booted." Still in post-prod while we sort some sound and VO (we know who we want, but availability is the thing).

An actor and cameraman in the process of setting up an outdoor shot on short, rough grass. We can only see the actor from the waist down and they're wearing brown walking boots with red laces and black cargo trousers.
The cameraman (Me) is facing away from the shot and we're looking over his shoulder at the camera on a thick neckstrap with a shotgun mic mounted above it. The camera is pointed at the walking boots.

An actor lacing up walking boots viewed from above with the actor sitting and facing towards the camera. We can only see the boots, trousers, hands, and forearms of the actor. The boots are brown with red laces that have little flecks of black in them, the trousers are black cargo-style and the arms are bare - one thumb has the remains of some black nail polish on.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 03/05/2025

This time two years ago I was doing pre-production information gathering on our first paid commission - a documentary short film celebrating 50 years of a horse-drawn canal barge offering passenger trips in Mid-Devon. While there were challenges […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

On the tow-path of a canal. In the background, a decorated canal barge is pulled up under a short, steel fabricated bridge with stone abutments. In the foreground (and slightly unfocussed) is a pushbike handlebar with an orange plastic case open in front of it. Visible inside the case is a small camera with a extended zoom lens, and a nylon carrying bag - presumably full of other equipment (I think it was my sound gear).

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 28/04/2025

#bookstodon #booksky #IndiePublishing #Players1715 Well, it's taken a little time, but we've got pre-orders for Players Act 1 (out July 29th) working on Kobo now as well as Amazon. Both versions will be **DRM-FREE** for your convenience, and […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

A wide image of a wooden stage with a green curtain. A copy of the book "The Players Act 1 - All The World's A Stage" by Amy Sparkes appears stood on the boards on the right-hand. Also shown are four "totems" - drawn depictions of aspects of the book. A pocket watch, peacock feather, skull, and comedy/tragedy masks.
Aligned left, text reads:
England, 1715.
A theatre company about to collapse...
An ex-member seeking revenge...
How far would you go to save what you truly love?

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 28/04/2025

(6 images on original post) You know you get those notifications from some mobile apps "On this day..." and it shows you some photos you took? Well, it turns out that today, three years ago I was on a location scout for the (at the time) TV […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

A straight, tree-lined single-track metaled road. The trees are newly in leaf, so are very bright green. The verge either side of the road is covered in ground ivy.

An unmetaled track leading around to a yard gateway in an extremely old wall, covered in ivy. Just over the wall, the roof apexes and chimneys of a large, old house can be seen.

A village street, concentrating on a public house. It has a hanging sign on it with a red lion passent depicted facing left, while above that, mounted on the same bar, is a cutout of a red lion passent, facing right.
The pub (and all the visible buildings) is thatched, painted a creamy yellow and clearly very old. The windows nearest the camera on the ground floor are a set of four, shallow arched & mullioned - the others a multi-paned using small glass squares of about 10cm. An arched entry porch is under the sign, about half-way down the building with two benches for seating on either side.

And old bare stone building with a tiled roof (although with a thatched apex). It has a cobbled path just in front of it which used to be part of a yard that has been tarmaced over to make the road. The main house is rectangular with small windows and a doorway about half-way along the ground floor. On the gable-end nearest the camera, a stone-built lean-to with thatched roof is a low doorway into the end of it. Small bushes grow against the walls, and a larger rose climbs over the main doorway, although nothing is in serious leaf yet.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 26/04/2025

Although I'm relatively adept at editing footage with #DavinciResolve I'm quite a neophyte when it comes to 3D compositing in #Fusion. I've been putting together some promo films for my wife's new book (available for pre-order now DRM-free on Kobo […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

A 3D rendering of a book on a wooden stage in front of a green curtain. The book is "The Players - Act 1" by Amy Sparkes and we're looking at the spine.
The wooden planks of the stage are created from a photograph of scaffold planks and in this image the stage is created simply by making the photograph into a floor.
There is also text on the image which is not important, but reads:
The Players Act 1
All The World's A Stage
England, 1715.
When society doesn't understand you,
and your family is out of the picture,
a strolling theatre company
could be your perfect home...

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 19/04/2025

#bookstodon #booksky #IndiePublishing We've been quiet for a while now, because while we're working on stuff, it's not really public, and indeed may never happen. However, one thing that's definitely happening is that we've made the decision to […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

A "what to expect" image. The book cover and spine for "The Players - Act 1 : All the world's a stage" by Amy Sparkes is shown with a series of short texts surrounding it describing aspects of the book with arrows pointing from the words to the book. Some curve gently, others do a loop.
The words around the outside are:
Found family
Grey villain
Uplifting
Strong females
Vengeance
Marginalised characters.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 11/02/2025

We’ve got some **GREAT** news! Sword and Fiddle Productions recently signed an agreement with fantastic Exeter-based singer-songwriter duo Sound of the Sirens to use “The Part Where You’re Gone,” one of the tracks from their 2025-released album […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 13/12/2024

Went to a great, intimate gig performed by local band Sound of the Sirens. New to us (literally this week), but they've been making brilliant music a good long time. Definitely seeing them again as soon as we can!

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 19/11/2024

Gaffer & grip kit packed ready to be dropped off & set up prior to filming the pilot of a very special car doc tomorrow. Looks like there will be room for the return journey to include the camera & sound gear too. #filming #documentary #sportscar

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/11/2024

Hm, filming effectively outdoors on Wednesday. I've over-specced my battery requirement by 50% over normal, but will it be enough when the temperature maxes out at 5C? It's going to be a cold one!

Screen clipping from a weather website. The main point is that the maximum temperature is 5 degrees centigrade, while feeling like 2 degrees. Clear-ish skies though - which probably doesn't help.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 16/11/2024

So last week, I was researching carpentry hammers of the late 17th and early 18th Century. For reasons. There were reasons. Thanks to the University of Michigan's digitization project, there's a document called "Mechanick exercises : or, The […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

A late 17th Century engraved print of a carpenter's hammer. The head is a claw-type with straps down the handle helping to hold it on. There are several pins through the strap. The tail end of the handle is bulbous presumably to help prevent accidental throws. The head is drawn oddly in that the two halves of the claw appear to run parallel to the handle instead of perpendicular. Observing the other tools on the plate (particularly an adze), this is clearly a limitation of the artist's skill.

A strap hammer. The handle has a bulbous end and two turned lines at that end - maybe allowing a wrist-cord to be tied. The head is held on with a straps cast as part of the head with a single pin/rivet through the end of the strap and into the handle.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2024

Two film festivals in two days! Quite the weekend so far! Last night I travelled over hill and dale to Zeal Monachorum in Devon to support their inaugural Festival of Short Films. Our micro-short, "Things We Do For Love" had been selected, and […] [Original post on social.swordandfiddle.co.uk]

Cover of a programme for a film festival. On the left, a traditional looking film camera is on a tripod. In the centre, the words "Festival Of Short Films" are shown in a bold, square font. At the bottom are the location, date and time: Zeal Monchorum, Saturday 28 September, 7:30pm.

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2024

Great evening at the Blue Moon short film showing in Bristol last night. Eight films, all great in their own way, and so inspiring to be among an enthusiastic group of film makeras and other artists. #shortfilm #film #filmmakers #filmfestival #bristol

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Alyn Sparkes @alyn.social.swordandfiddle.co.uk.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2024

Really looking forward to going to this #indie #film #festival in #Bristol later this month. We worked with one of the actors in Mission Plan: Charlie Foxtrot earlier in the year, so are particularly keen to see that. #FilmMaking #ShortFilm #FilmFestival #IndieFilmMaking

Poster for a film festival.
Titled Blue Moon
Subtitled Independent Short Film Screenings
Text reads
Short films by local filmmakers.
Network with local talent
Audience Award
Harbourside afterparty
VIP tickets and sponsorship opportunities available.
27 September 6pm. Bristol Aquarium IMAX
get your tikets at tabb.cc/blue-moon
There is a background image of seats in a cinema and a row of film posters for the films being shown titled left-to-right as:
Hippo, Mission Plan: Charlie Foxtrot, Tarn, A Sin de Fella Story, The School System, Slow-Down, The Gentleman Farmer, and King Putt.

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