Amateur footage ‘behind the scenes’ on some of the Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers’ Association (ACA) film productions. Also includes a record of the refurbishment of the cine club’s headquarters at Ship Entry’s, off Bigg Market, the opening, and a launch event to attract members at the club’s new temporary headquarters in the YMCA. Title: Report from the Club ACA Some of the Newcastle ACA members are on a location shoot outdoors, preparing for an 18th century costume...

Amateur footage ‘behind the scenes’ on some of the Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers’ Association (ACA) film productions. Also includes a record of the refurbishment of the cine club’s headquarters at Ship Entry’s, off Bigg Market, the opening, and a launch event to attract members at the club’s new temporary headquarters in the YMCA. Title: Report from the Club ACA Some of the Newcastle ACA members are on a location shoot outdoors, preparing for an 18th century costume drama. A man in a wig and foppish formal attire - breeches and stockings - is fixing the cine camera to a tripod. A female servant woman in a bright pink ball gown with a hoop skirt is presented an envelope by a female servant. Final adjustments are made to the woman’s costume, as the gentleman offers direction. Tomato ketchup is applied to the man’s head to fake a wound. He collapses to the ground, part of his act. A car is cleaned until it gleams in preparation for a film shoot. A young boy hangs around with the film unit. Make-up is applied to the boy, as the photographer waits nearby with his camera. A photographer with the Newcastle & District ACA checks his camera on another location shoot at a rocky coastline, probably near St Mary’s Island. A woman is placing a large cardboard box in the sea lapping at the rocks, one of the props for the film shoot. A pink blow-up canoe lays on the rocks. A man in an overcoat balances precariously on a rock ledge, preparing for his stunt. Two photographers are filming as the man falls into the water and splashes around with the cardboard box. The man climbs out of the sea after the shoot. Two ACA members (one in a motorcycle helmet) are fixing a (fake) road sign next to a busy road. It reads “Durham 13”. It is one of the props filmed in the Newcastle & District ACA production ‘A Pocketful of Fear’. The director and photographer, Morris Burdon and Doug Collender, with cine camera on a tripod, are at Testos Caravans and Service Station with the actors to film part of ‘A Pocketful of Fear’. Refreshments are set up on a table at the service station, staffed by a few women ACA members. The actor Leslie Porter is on his motorbike, ready for his part as a policeman. Caravans are parked in the forecourt of Testos as the crew continue to set up for the shoot, the director talking to actor Annette Black. Another actor who plays a carjacker, Reg. P. Townsend, is sitting in the back of a car, ready for his scene. The actor, Annette Black, gets into the driver’s seat after a discussion with the director. Readings are taken with a light exposure meter. Two women are assisting a male actor (Jack Young) with his costume for the Newcastle ACA production ‘East is West’. He starts to rub black make-up over himself for his role as a genie. George Cummin trials a special smoke effect gadget, which he sets off with his foot. The genie is in full costume. A woman hands him a cigarette to smoke as he waits in a doorway for the shoot to start. Two of the male film crew are unloading the lights and other film equipment from their cars. Inside the Newcastle ACA club at Ship Entry, a man is slicing through a rolled-up prop with a knife. Another man squirts some fake blood on the man’s arm. They are preparing for a close-up shot of the arm. Various Newcastle ACA members are busy setting up shots at the Ship Entry studio and sorting out props. One man is holding a fake hand. Fake, bloody body parts are hidden around a stage. A man pulls his bloody arm down from a hatch near the stage. In 1973, the refurbishment of the Ship Entry cine club headquarters is in progress. Members are plastering, painting, putting in new electrics and painting windows. A frame is under construction for the screen installation. A woman hoovers the carpet. Another gets out the teacups and pulls out an old bottle of scotch, mostly drunk. There’s a full house at the cine club’s opening night at Ship’s Entry. The projection is set up and Michael Gough runs a film show. A man is threading film reels in a projection room. An interview takes place with George Cummin. After the screening, everyone gets together for a drink, and they joke around for the camera. George Cummin conducts a sing-song. The members play daft games together. A speech is made and a trophy presented, applauded by the audience. Michael Gough presents another trophy. General views of the YMCA, Newcastle upon Tyne, which is to become the new headquarters for the Newcastle ACA after a forced move from Ship’s Entry. A committee meeting takes place inside. At a launch event at the new headquarters, Newcastle ACA try to attract new members. One poster advertises a beginners’ course: “Even Alfred Hitchcock Had to Start Somewhere”. Michael Gough speaks to camera. A YMCA room is filled with stalls. There are demonstrations of cameras, projectors, editing machines, Ferrograph Audio Products and other sound recording equipment. A woman looks after a ticket stall advertising a screening of ‘Movie Maker’s Ten Best Amateur Films from the North East, at the Classic Cinema, Low Fell, provided with financial assistance from Northern Arts’. George Cummin is demonstrating a 16mm cine camera. Title: The End