With 250 shots since work began on James in December, the early hours of this morning saw the team wrap on principal photography outside Keble College, Oxford. A second editing session tomorrow gives director Lily Taylor (Jerusalem) and producer Andrew Hall another chance to collaborate with long-time friend Ashley Hughes from ARTHAUS in steering the project through postproduction. There are still many challenges facing the team, including the ambitious proposal for an original score, drawing on some of John Barry’s iconic music, the colouring process, and the recording of dialogue and ambient sounds to bring the film to life in all regards.

The launch of posters, a trailer and promotional stills in the coming weeks keeps the excitement high as the team discuss venue options for their premiere, their planned route into the festival circuit, and future projects. Keep an eye out for updates soon!

Working alongside Ashley Hughes of ARTHAUS, director Lily Taylor and DP/producer Andrew Hall headed to London this weekend to begin the editing process on James. This marks a crucial step in the eight-week schedule for postproduction on the film, which begins with a picture edit before being sent to the project’s composer and sound technician for their input, and returning to Ashley’s studio for a final cut and colour work. A second weekend of editing, later in February, sees the team gathered again for their second session in piecing together the 220 shots captured on location across Oxford, and visual previews will be released along the way.

As always, watch this space for updates. Marketing materials and screenshots from the cutting room are on their way.

Completing their most challenging outdoor shoot for the project, a tense encounter between lead actor Jake Palmer and Leo Donnachie, pictured above, the James team are proud to have their 200th shot in the can. Progress is moving quickly, with just two more shoots remaining, before work on a visual edit and the film’s unique soundtrack begins at the end of the month. Watch this space.

Wednesday afternoon sees the James team of Lily Taylor, Andrew Hall, lead actor Jake Palmer and co-star Luke Martin resume shooting in the beautiful surroundings of Keble College, Oxford. Following the story of Ian Fleming’s eponymous James Bond in his humble beginnings at university, work on the short film this week includes the group’s first experience shooting a fight scene. With a cast entirely comprised of newcomers to acting, performances this far have been impressive, and the group expands this week with the addition of Leo Donnachie, as discussion also continues with editor Ashley Hughes (founder at ARTHAUS) and potential composers for the film.

James stars Jake Palmer, Luke Martin, Esther Hodges, Georgina Ndukwe, Ollie Robinson, Josh O’Shaughnessy, Leo Donnachie and Roisin Swords-Kieley, directed by Lily Taylor. A cast photoshoot is scheduled for the coming days, so watch this space for publicity materials and the film’s official trailer, coming later this spring.

As shooting continues on Oxford-set short film James this week, director Lily Taylor is delighted to have casting completed on the project, which stars Jake Palmer, Ollie Robinson, Esther Hodges, Luke Martin, Josh O’Shaugnessy and Georgina Ndukwe, all making their film debuts. Producer Andrew Hall has been working to assemble a full team to support the project once it enters postproduction, and is proud to be reunited with editor and colourist Ashley Hughes (whose previous collaborations include Tantamount to Treason, Dare I Say, Beauty and Acceptance and Red Ribbon | Blue Suit). Progress is being made to confirm a composer for the project, which draws inspiration from Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and the legendary scores of John Barry.

Meanwhile, progress on set is tremendous, with the city shown at its most spectacular in the winter light, and the cast giving stellar performances despite the cold. Working on a project with a fun attitude yet a serious agenda appears to be the perfect combination to achieve a relatively smooth ride in the usually choppy waters of film production, and the team are pleased to be halfway through their shooting schedule, with five scenes left to complete in January. Watch this space for more news soon.

Rediscovering the roots of one of our favourite literary characters through the streets of Oxford, James seeks to bring intrigue to a touching human story, reminding us that even our infallible heroes had to start somewhere.

Just three days since the project’s conception, Jake Palmer takes up the title role as casting nears its completion and scripting was finished yesterday. Director Lily Taylor (Plenty, Cherwell) makes her debut with this short film, hoping to wrap in early January and be prepared for festival release – complete with an original score – by spring.

The first period of shooting begins tomorrow; look out for all the news and pictures soon.