Kate Madison

• 1. From Zoology To The Camera

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  Kate Madison was born in 1978 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. Her early life began with a local amateur dramatic group at the age of four years. She attended Netherhall School and Long Road Sixth Form College within Cambridge. Academic pursuits led her to Aberystwyth University for a bachelor's degree in zoology. This scientific path did not become her profession however. She discovered the Cambridge Filmmakers Network instead. That organization became the gateway to her first film projects. She established Actors at Work Productions in 2003 through that network.

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• 2. The Accidental Director

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  Madison worked on a short film titled Into the Darkness during 2005. The lead character Abigail played by Jennie Fox discovers an ancient book desired by Lucifer. Guardian angels must protect her and the mysterious book from harm. The original director had to return home to the United States shortly after filming began. He gave the task of directing to Madison and left for Tampa Florida. It was very nerve-racking she told Jennie Kermode in an interview for Eye for Film. I was really in at the deep end but it turned out to be a really good decision because it was like a crash course in filmmaking. Through it she met Christopher Dane who stars in Born of Hope and Ollie Goodchild who also appears in it.

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• 3. Horsemen And Pub Tales

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  Madison and Christopher Dane collaborated on a short whimsical comedy film with the improbable subject of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Dane portrayed Famine Pestilence War and Death in different costume and makeup for each scene. The four horsemen are the only customers at a pub and the hapless waitress portrayed by Madison does not know what to make of them. She directed the ten-minute short while Christopher Dane served as producer and screenwriter. The music was composed by Carl Homer. This project demonstrated her ability to handle complex character portrayals within a single production.

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• 4. Funding A Fan Epic

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  Madison became fascinated with The Lord of the Rings films directed by Peter Jackson. These films were her first exposure to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. She read Tolkien's own notes on the main characters of Middle Earth and became intrigued about the mysterious background of Aragorn. When I was looking for a story to do I found those few paragraphs and the idea of a film about Aragorn's parents seemed a great idea she stated in an interview. In 2003 she discovered a Tolkien-fan film competition and decided to create a film on Aragorn's roots from the period just before that of the books and films. She used the bulk of her own savings to launch the project and ultimately called on donations to fund the balance. All actors and film crew worked without financial compensation.

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• 5. Filming In Forests And Hills

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  She scouted for filming locations and discovered the West Stow Anglo-Saxon village and Epping Forest where most scenes were ultimately filmed. Being familiar with Wales from her college days she chose to film key scenes in the Welsh hills as well. We obviously didn't have very much money to spend so we couldn't exactly hire huge cranes and lights she told an interviewer in 2010. Most of our camera operators owned their own cameras and I also borrowed one off friends. By 2006 Madison had produced a trailer which was shown at a Tolkien conference in Toronto Ontario Canada. This generated interest in the film and the trailer was a fundraising vehicle. Principal photography finally began in 2008. Madison received offers to assist from professionals from around the world in providing special effects film scoring prop and costume donations and cash donations to keep production going.

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• 6. The Birth Of Mythica Entertainment

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  Born of Hope with a running time of 71 minutes made its debut at RingCon 2009 in Germany. Madison used the Internet for worldwide release streamed first on Dailymotion later on YouTube and on the film's dedicated website. The online success of Born of Hope with millions of views since its release generated a worldwide following of Madison's creative works. The growth of online streaming media convinced Madison her future projects would best be served through this medium. She established a production company called Mythica Entertainment to produce these works. Madison played Arathorn's friend Elgarain in the film as well as directing. The character carries a torch for Arathorn demanding a major commitment to acting alongside the other demands on her during the shooting.

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