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Forest Hill School, Dacres Road in the 1960s
The Forest Hill School Website
Roger Bunce ( Drake House) was the creative spirit behind the production. He conceived and wrote the storyline, directed filming and created all the special effects featured in the movie. Roger was later to join the BBC as a cameraman. Keith Patrick (Reynolds House) - described as the Cecil B of the 8 de Mille - was the producer, editor, cameraman and sound recordist. He later went on to a successful career in the UK Immigration Service having studied languages at University . The lead role was played by David Line (Reynolds House), someone not noted for his acting skills as the film`s publicity poster opposite reveals. It reads "starring DGL in his worst performance since Richard of Bordeaux". In the early sixties Forest Hill School was noted for its lavish school plays. In Richard of Bordeaux he was given a one-line role as "second man in the street". The extent of his dialogue was the phrase "You mean?"
The soundtrack was added after all filming and editing had been completed. Music, sound effects and limited dialogue was recorded on a domestic tape recorder synchronised by a Eumig P8 projector and had to be effectively completed in one go. In subsequent years Kodak offered Super 8 film stock with a thin megnetic stripe attached to the film to enable sound recording at the same time as filming. This could be subsequently over recorded. Between filming Minos and the advent of Super 8, Standard 8 film could have a magnetic stripe added during processing at additional cost. The combination of friction wheel drive for the Minos soundtrack along with inevitable tape stretch meant that lip synchronisation was never achieved.
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It was in the last months of the Summer term of 1963 at Forest Hill School (South- East London) that a group of school friends set about creating their own full-length feature film. They were given financial support by the school through the good offices of the then Deputy Headmaster Dr Alan Badcock. Weaned on Spike Milligan, Michael Bentine and the Goon Show, and long before the arrival of Monty Python, they contrived a forty minute production called "Minos of Mottingham". It was shot on 8mm colour film with an extraordinarily unreliable synchronised tape soundtrack. The movie was dedicated to the then Headmaster, A E Howard, one of the most enlightened educationalists of his day.
The movie was filmed 8mm colour film - actually 16mm exposed on one side, turned over and then exposed on the other side. One of the cameras used was a clockwork Russian Quarz camera (left). Unlike the almost endless possibilities for special effects available with today`s digital video cameras and video editing software, any effects required extremes of imagination and ingenuity. Zoom lenses were not available, exposures had to be measured or guessed and with the slow film speed (25 ASA) lighting for interior shots had to be intense.
The Music The Musical Director was David Willey (Shackleton) who wrote and played the piano accompaniment. Created in the style of the "silent movie", the score helped the problems of sound synchronization. He also selected the fanfare from Janacek`s Sinfonietta as the opening music for the film. A "midi" version can be heard by clicking on the symbol below.
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