I am not sure today Shashti my Bengal cat is going to let go for a walk today. Looking out the window though at a very dreary day maybe she has the right idea.
Ponies drinking in The New Forest
The idyllic shot of the New Forest. Ponies in the evening stopping for a drink before heading off to the shade of the trees for the night. Ponies have grazed in the area of the New Forest for many thousands of years, predating the last Ice Age. The New Forest pony that we see today is one of the recognised mountain and moorland or native pony breeds of the British Isles. Their height varies from around 12 to 14.2 hands (48 to 58 inches, 122 to 147 cm). The ponies of all heights should be strong, workmanlike, and of a good riding type. They are valued for hardiness, strength, and sure-footedness an in the past, smaller ponies were used as pit ponies. In the summer, the ponies will eat rich grasses, creating the close cropped (short) lawns of the New Forest which are important for rare flowers and insect species. In the winter their diet is more varied. Green plants such as holly and gorse are incredibly nutritious for them.
In 1982 Jack Hargreaves went to Stow Fair to make a programme for Old Country. I went back this year to see how it has change since those days and met Johny Gumble, the son of a man that Jack had filmed, on his flat cart all those years ago.
The video includes some footage from the Old Country programme Stow Fair.
Production gear:
Shot on: Sony Z90 – shot in 4K with picture profile.
Sony RX100 Mk7 – shot in 4K using HLG2
SD Cards Sony M series 64GB
Post production:
KYNO for all metadata and then exporting directly to Final Cut Pro
Edited on iMac Retina 4K – 2017
Editing software: Final Cut Pro 10.4.7
Script written in Scrivener 3.1.5
There were 60 programmes made over a period of three years and were produced by me Dave Knowles for Channel 4.
To Buy Old Country DVD’s: Old Country DVD’s
My latest video: The Great Dorset Stem Fair Video
In 1981 we made a this film on The Great Dorset Steam Fair. This historic documentary was shot on film and tells the complete story from harvesting the corn, bringing the steam engines to site and the thrill of The Great Dorset Steam Fair.
The video is narrated by the legendary Michael Oliver who was a founder member of the show.
#greatDorsetSteamFair #JacksCountry #steamfairs
On Monday we were filming an incredible toy collection in Devon. The toys which were made in Brockenhurst are going to be use in a “Jack’s Country” programme that I am making for Christmas.
The factory “Forest Toys” was established by Frank Whittington in 1922 and made hand carved toys which were sold in Harrods, Selfridges and a local store Beales. One of the more famous customers was Queen Mary who when she saw them remarked that they all looked so alive. She ordered 2 dozen sets of the Noahs Arc (which is in the picture below) This purchase was reported in the papers and from then on the the factory was deluged with visitors from all over the world.
My latest YouTube series “Jack’s Country” has now a number of programmes and there are many more in the pipeline.
I now have around 5,000 subscribers to my YouTube Channel and many of these enjoy watching Jack Hargreaves Channel 4 “Old Country” programmes produced by me. I am therefore making a number of programmes on the countryside of Dorset and Hampshire, “Jack’s Country”.