lisejones

I have uploaded to the videos page a three part series of short films which together make up ‘Altrincham FC Part Time and Proud of it’, a little tribute to my club which I originally made for university and later extended for the club to sell in their shop.

Featuring interviews with football legends; Bryan Robson, Gary Owen, Graeme Sharpe, Giuseppe Rossi and of course the Alty team past and present; Aussie cricket legends Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie; and Coronation Street’s Michael LeVell (!) Part one documents the story of the club’s history, their money worries and eventual rescue by the (then) current board, their giant-killing success stories of the 1970s and 80s, and the situation they find themselves in as a part-time club in a full-time league.

Part two continues the part-time and proud of it theme and looks at the pros and cons of going full-time. The players fans and the board all well aware of the financial implications it would involve…

Part three looks more closely at the Alty family and the reasons why a club at such a high level actually can survive on almost exclusively volunteers. Having found out from first hand experience as a volunteer on match days and (for a time) working for them as Commercial Manager, just what it is that makes people fall so in love with Alty, I wanted to make the video for the fans and everyone involved at the club.

I hope you enjoy it! x

Although four, three and two wheels would go down as pretty exciting (once you get them above 70mph on a racetrack), in MY book, apparently three wheels are in fact better than two! That’s what I found when I went to Germany to join the World Sidecar Championships boys in the paddock and pit lane of the famous Nurburgring circuit in 2007. As part of my university studies I was asked to produce a 15 minute film and decided to throw open the slightly obscurer world of sidecars to the general public! Having worked with some of them previously as a presenter for KVS Productions ‘Festival of Sidecars 2006 and 2007’, I have grown to really enjoy the spectacle and the cameraderie you get in the paddock, which I hope is clear to see in this video.

As well as getting the views of the racers, including the 2007 World Champions, I was able to interview other motor racing greats such as Johnny Herbert (Former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans 24 hour winner), Andy Priaulx (Triple World Touring Car Champion), Alan McNish (Former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans 24 hour winner ) and Sam Bird (British Formula 3 and GP2 driver), with celebrity chef Gary Rhodes thrown in for good measure as a big sidecar fan!

Enjoy x

Check out my newly uploaded photos on the photos page. A little taster of my experiences so far!

As you can tell I am a huge football and motor racing fan. Whilst Manchester United are my team ‘that win’, my real following is for my local team; non-league Altrincham FC! Most of my work (and work experience) so far has been based around these two passions, but I am interested in all sport and am really looking forward to seeing what the 2012 Olympics will bring to the North West!

As well as interviewing lots of interesting people (asking Andy Priaulx and Alan McNish about sidecar racing has to be the most bizarre!) I love to film and edit the action as well. I am in the process of starting to upload some of my footage to the website so keep checking back for updates!

Excerpts to come include footage from ‘Two Wheels are for Wimps!’ and ‘Altrincham FC Part-time and Proud of it!’ both of which were filmed and edited by me using Final Cut Pro. I hope you enjoy them!

I went back to talk to my former tutor at Staffordshire University yesterday and it struck me just how successful the graduates of my Gold Standard ‘Sports Broadcast Journalism’ Masters course have been.

www.staffs.ac.uk/courses_and_study/courses/sports-broadcast-journalism-ma-tcm429552.jsp”

With former colleagues having been working on last summer’s World Cup in South Africa, it reminded me just what a brilliant career journalism can be if you can get that great break. Whilst I have been keeping up my filmmaking as a hobby I have been missing the spark and the buzz of press conferences, asking the tough questions, sharing in the joy, the tension, creativity, emotions and drama that comes with sports reporting.

This website is just one small part in my revival attempt to renew my search for a career in journalism. I am more convinced than ever that I should be doing this for a living and fortunately, my former tutor agreed! I should have carried straight on at the time rather than take a break, but my drive now is such that  knowing I am three years behind where my peers are, I now have to work three times as hard! It’s going to be a challenge… wish me luck 🙂