Writer, Director and one of Wakefield College’s former Creative Media students, Taylor Caddick, received the ‘Fresh Meat’ award at Dead Northern’s Horror Film Festival in York for his short film, ‘The Bloke in the Boot’.
The comedy won the award earlier this year at the Dead Northern’s Horror Film Festival, which was received by Taylor and one of the cast members, Jude Pollitt-Berthereau, with the judges declaring the filmmakers as “an immensely talented group to keep your eye on”.
Set in Northern England and filmed in Wales, ‘The Bloke in the Boot’ tells the surreal story of a young Northern boy who fails his driving exam and, subsequently, kills his driving examiner by accident. After entangling his best friend in the effort to clean up his mess, their road trip leads them into further mayhem.
‘The Bloke in the Boot’ received a positive response at a number of film festivals, including Greenwich Film Festival, Manchester Lift-Off and Pigeon Laughs Short Comedy.
After playing at the BIFA-qualifying Sunderland Shorts Film Festival, Cine North - which is the largest community cinema scheme in the UK - invited the team to screen the film around the country as part of their BFI-backed programme.
Taylor now works at Sam Teale Productions whilst freelancing, but he once studied Creative Media Production & Technology (Film & TV) at Wakefield College from 2018 to 2020 and acknowledges his time there as pivotal to his success today:
“Being able to have full access to equipment at College was an absolute dream. It allowed me and the other creatives in our class to experiment with different styles, and the encouragement of creative expression inspired me to pursue comedy. I have many happy memories of the College’s media studios and I made great friends there - two of which helped on this project. My tutor, Gemma Haigh, took me to my first film festival, Aesthetica in York, which had a profound impact on me and opened a huge door of opportunities.”
After studying at the College, Taylor went on to study at university before beginning his career in freelance film.
Gemma Haigh, Lecturer in Media & Design, said:
“I’m incredibly proud of Taylor for his award win and I’m honoured to have been credited with introducing him to the world of short films. The best thing about this course is the creative freedom it grants for class projects which encompass a range productions from social media advertisements to music videos and short films. The abundance of technology such as the 4K cameras, green screens, lighting, microphones and advanced software like Adobe Creative Cloud allows the students to be really successful in bringing their creative ideas to life.”
Director and former student, Taylor Caddick, with the ‘Fresh Meat’ award at Dead Northern’s Horror Film Festival in York.
Since the production of ‘The Bloke in the Boot’, Taylor has been hard at work as him and his team gear up for a major project in the new year which will be based in Yorkshire, with Taylor declaring his “determination to represent Yorkshire on screen only grows fonder”.
Wakefield College has strong links with the film and television industry and is proud to be part of the Connected Campus initiative which strives to bring industry professionals and students in film and television closer together. The initiative grants students at partner institutions access to a range of boot camps, masterclasses and special events including visits to sets, studios, industry workshops and more.
The College prides itself on its portfolio of art courses which range from Level 1 through to university-level and ensure students are well-equipped to enter the working world as autonomous, creative individuals.
Watch ‘The Bloke in the Boot’ by Taylor Caddick here: THE BLOKE IN THE BOOT
Find out more about Wakefield College’s Creative Media Production (Film & TV) courses here: Film, Media & Television