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Colin developed an interest in films from an early age, no doubt inheriting it from his father who enjoyed the ultimate in contrasting careers - sometime trucker, sometime film critic for French broadsheet, Le Monde. Colin reached his teenage years at the time of the video nasty explosion in the early 1980s and ended up working part-time in a Video City rental shop - his love affair with film had begun.
A job at Mersey Television beckoned in 1985, where Colin worked on Brookside at the height of its popularity. Tea-maker, assistant camera operator and editing assistant were among his varied duties. He also attended writing seminars, led by then Brookside writer, Jimmy McGovern. After several years of loyal service and learning the ropes, Colin felt ready to climb a few rungs on the ladder and was keen to become involved in directing. However, he was dismayed to be stymied by an inner clique who promised much, but delivered little. By 1990, Colin was ready to call it a day, when it was suggested that career progression might be easier for him on Grange Hill. Still in his early twenties and with no ties, Colin relocated to London for eighteen months, only to find himself in a similar situation. In 1992, Colin parted company with Mersey Television, grateful for all he had learned, but disappointed he had not been given the chance to put it into practice.
Back in the world of mundane employment (albeit supplemented by an interesting sideline in movie scoring), Colin decided that his spare time could be spent making films, as well as watching them. An early spec VHS camera bought for him at not insignificant expense by his father was dusted off and Colin began writing and directing his own short films, under the banner of Shivilenco Pictures. Shivilenco is an anagram of Colin's name, but, don't worry, that is about as arty as he gets. Several years later, he learned that Shivilenco is actually a Russian word meaning 'preposterous' - you make up your own jokes.
Colin would readily concede that some of his early efforts lived up to that Russian translation. A vivid imagination and a video camera were always going to yield some esoteric results - killer duvets in a crowded marketplace, anyone? Thought not. For much of the early-mid 1990s, Shivilenco produced a couple of short films a year, generally featuring Colin's friends and colleagues, only a couple of whom had any training or interest in acting. As the decade drew to a close, Colin felt that Shivilenco had gone as far as it could and, as much he would have liked to produce bigger and better films, was resigned to the fact that it was probably never going to happen.
In 2001, Colin discovered that a new colleague, Paul Taylor, was a jobbing actor. The pair shared a passion for film and Colin spotted an oppportunity for a Shivilenco resurgence. With new digital filming and editing equipment, a willing actor and some new and old associates, Shivilenco was promptly reborn. Colin returned to the traditional Shivilenco short, eager to learn whether this new set up could take the company further than it had gone during the 1990s.
It soon became apparent that the new Shivilenco shared little with its forerunner. New talent, story-driven films and a more thoughtful approach to filming, facilitated by the transition to digital, all conspired to bring a new professionalism to Shivilenco's output. Colin was the quick-witted, gag-loving writer he always had been, but had learned the difference between quirky originality and absurdity.
After a series of shorts during 2002-3, Colin embarked on more adventurous half hour pieces. He and the rest of Shivilenco were thoroughly enjoying the new challenge and were buoyed further by having the short, Headache, broadcast on Channel Four and Shivilenco's second extended piece, Final Act, reaching the penultimate stage of the Bradford Film Festival in 2004. The mid-2000s saw more fruitful productions as Colin attempted to ensure Shivilenco raised its game yet further. To that end, he was keen to progress to a feature-length production and 2007 witnessed the start of filming on Jimmy Wilde.
Fifteen years on and Colin still enjoys all aspects of the film-making process - writing, filming, editing, scoring - though never the one in which he is currently engaged! His good humour and seemingly limitless capacity for generating new ideas continue to underpin everything that Shivilenco achieves. |
