A highlight of the year was getting my first film fest 'Official Selection'. I would thoroughly recommend the wonderful Isle of Man Film Festival it’s a great event. The film was Mars Diffracts, a 12 minute look at how we’re searching for life on Mars.

I had the highly unnerving privilege of watching my film on a cinema screen sat next to Mark Kermode. The standard of films was fantastic, and the people involved were so lovely. A real personal highlight of my year was hanging out on the island, marinating in the friendliness, enjoying stunning countryside and trying to befriend seals. I really want to make it back there next year.

I also blogged here about where to apply for awards, grants and festivals.

I made a couple of short teaser trailers for the movie. Should we send humans to Mars and How do you design an instrument to work on Mars to tell a bit of the story; and hopefully inspire a few more viewers for the full film.

 

The stop motion skills I developed in that film ended up in a collaboration with the fun people at Nature. Proving that Smarties do have the answer when it comes to intergenerational co-operative economics.

I made a music video with uber-talented, genre defying T.J Owusu. Practicing my slider skills and hopefully doing justice to a fantastic interpretation of Beethoven played on slide guitar.

I made this film about one of my favourite events of the year. 120 mile overnight bike ride the Dunwich Dynamo. Hopefully this film might inspire a few more people to join us in 2015.

I performed some poetry this year at Rhymes with Orange. Played around with some digital publishing platforms like CowBird and Medium (Shipwreck). I won the open mic in July and was asked to do a ten minute set. The result was my analysis of careers lows and internet culture - Work History.

I directed several Bandstand Busks again this year. I think Tom Brosseau was probably my favourite. Check the website for the rest of them.

I took part in a couple of competitions, which I would highly recommend. Really helpful to have deadlines and boundaries to experiment with some new things. The 24 Hour Radio Race was a fun project, you have 24 hours to make a 4 minute radio piece. My piece got bought by the Public Radio Exchange Network! Definitely up for trying this again next year. Safe to say it's as tough as it is rewarding...

I did the Vimeo Weekend Challenge - slightly less insane deadlines, but a great test, to make a film over a weekend. Mine involved making a scary film for Halloween. ‘Are you Afraid of the Dark?’ was poetic fiction, both things I want to play around with more in 2015.

I continued my part time work with the awesome team at the British Medical Journal. Mostly working on strategy,  educational films, and trying to make novel digital things. Our YouTube channel has been a real success this year.

The silliest film I made this year was a reaction to the insane trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey. I couldn’t help but think it looked like The Apprentice, and so I made my homage ‘50 Spoons of Sugar'.

It got retweeted by Lord Sir Alan Sugar himself, which was one of my most confusing highlights of the year. 

I finally put together a little showreel of my science and documentary work from recent years.

 

Please join me on the social medias (usually @thomhoffman) and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already.

I reviewed the year in things other people have made here, and I’m lining up my next projects to work on in 2015. I want to keep making films about science, art, education, and weird life. Both fiction and non-fiction, using comedy, poetry, documentary, film, sound and photography. If you are interested in collaborating or commissioning me, or just want a chat about digital things, get in touch, it’s going to be a big, bold, 2015.

Thanks to everyone who helped, and pushed things forward, you’re the best, let’s go again.

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