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Radio series with Rodney Appleyard: film guru and host of Colne radio’s 'Saturday night at the movies' podcast. Discussing the current state of British independent film with 'DB' Morgan, associated actors and members of the Underdog crew.
Radio series with Rodney Appleyard: film guru and host of Colne radio’s 'Saturday night at the movies' podcast. Discussing the current state of British independent film with 'DB' Morgan, associated actors and members of the Underdog crew.
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PROJECT:FEAR — WEEK 3
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Production Diary | Saturday 17th October 2026
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Week Three of PROJECT:FEAR saw 12 young people aged 12–19 continue developing both the film and the wider creative team behind it.
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Video above: Ryan 'Foxy' Kelly - part of our midweek specialist school creative skills programme - takes a tour of the progressing film set with his LSA, Bailey.
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Our Behind-The-Scenes team (Harrison and Peter) are now editing the weekly BTS progress footage you see here.
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The Saturday Internship team started off watching a fascinating episode of 'Doomsday Peppers' prior to the weekly round-the-table debate. ​WATCH BELOW:
PROJECT:FEAR — WEEK 3
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​Week #3 Voices
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Roo: “I've just auditioned for an ACTUAL role in a feature film. The feedback was great and I'll find out next week if I've got the main role I wanted or now. This whole thing is amazing.”
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Jake Fowles (project leader): “This is my first week joining the workshops. To see so many young people totally engrossed and getting stuck in was brilliant. I've taken the editing team of Peter and Harrison to the music studio so they can start learning the relationship between the sound department and the editing team for things ike sound effects and 'Foley' etc.. It was a great day."
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Assunta Jones (project leader): "It's so nice having everybody pitching in to conversations and starting to put themselves in tohe shoes of the survivors. Getting them dressed up and song a bit of test filming was great for them too."
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PROJECT:FEAR — WEEK 2 (10th October 2026)
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Production Diary | Saturday 10 October 2026
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Week Two of PROJECT:FEAR saw 15 young people aged 12–19 continue developing both the film and the wider creative team behind it.
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Our visiting speaker this week was David Morgan, the sixth strongest under-23 strongman in the world, fresh from competing in Scotland. David spoke to the group about mindset, positive ambition, manifesting goals and backing yourself, tying directly into PROJECT:FEAR’s wider empowerment approach — helping young people rethink what they believe they are capable of.
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The filmmaking sessions continued with a strong focus on character development, helping participants explore backstory, motivation, fears, flaws and personality so that the characters begin to feel like real people rather than simply names on a script. Our practical SFX team also ran another special effects makeup workshop, bringing some of the newer members into creating convincing wounds and horror effects for the production.
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On the film set, this week’s set-dressing focus was Myra’s hospital area, with a core team working on the smaller details needed to make the space feel authentic, used and genuinely lived-in. The set continues to evolve week by week as the group collectively builds the world of PREPPER.
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We also welcomed Lenny and Roo for their first PROJECT:FEAR session. Roo quickly settled into the set team alongside Annaleigh and Jess, while Lenny showed a strong interest in the horror side of the project, particularly practical makeup and effects.
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Alongside the main workshops, participants continued capturing behind-the-scenes video and photography, documenting the progression of the production from the inside.
Overall, Week Two was another really positive step forward — good feedback, strong engagement, new friendships developing and visible progress both creatively and practically.
Skills developed this week
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Character development and script analysis
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Confidence in speaking and contributing ideas
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Teamwork and interpersonal communication
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Practical SFX makeup
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Set dressing and production design
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Visual storytelling and authenticity
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Behind-the-scenes filming
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Production photography
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Working within specialist film departments
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Creative problem-solving
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Goal-setting, resilience and positive mindset
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Another week closer to bringing PREPPER to life — both on screen and through the young people helping to build it.
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Week #2 Voices - new members
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David: “I want to know everything about the film and how the zombies are made. I have plenty of ideas on how to make things scary and real.”
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Roo: “All I've ever wanted is to be part of the filmmaking process. To be here now, standing and working on a live film set is my dream come true..”
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Lenny: “I've enjoyed myself and want to come back.” (Lenny is cripplingly shy)
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David Morgan: Underdog Crew Studios Ambassador & Motivational speaker: “All the young people listened to what I was saying and I think understand better now the rewards of dedication and never letting mishaps make you give up on your dreams.Everything is possible with the right mindset and application.”
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LAUNCH WEEKEND - 3rd October
PROJECT:FEAR — LAUNCH WEEK (3rd October 2026)
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PROJECT:FEAR hit the ground running in Week One as our first group stepped straight into the world of PREPPER.
The session began with a full story read-through and script-development workshop, giving participants the chance to understand the characters, themes and direction of the film while contributing their own ideas. We also spent time working around the developing film set, helping the group understand how the physical environment, props and production design all contribute to the finished story.
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Underdog Crew Studios ambassador and actor Mike Rushforth joined us to deliver a theatrical weapons workshop, introducing participants to safe on-set handling, performance technique and how to make action believable for camera. Alongside this, the group took part in a practical special-effects makeup workshop, creating wounds and experimenting with techniques they will continue developing throughout the project.
From the very first session, the group were not simply attending a workshop — they were beginning to behave like a real production team: reading scripts, analysing footage, exploring characters, learning specialist skills, making new friendships and starting to identify the areas of filmmaking that most excite them.
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Day One Voices
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Jess: “Looking at the footage to get inspiration from was really enjoyable because it made us think about how we could make the movie better.”
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Annelia: “I enjoyed all of the interactive stuff, the script reading, looking at the set and the makeup stuff. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.”
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Jake Adams: “I’ve enjoyed getting the chance to act, see some old faces, meet new people and be part of a new project. I’m looking forward to developing my acting skills, making props and maybe doing some writing as well.”
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Mike Rushforth: Actor & Underdog Crew Studios Ambassador: “They listened, took it on board and did exactly what they were told. It was a really successful workshop - and the main thing is, they had fun.”
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David Sollis — Anglian Community Trust
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Representing Anglian Community Trust, original supporter and funder of the studio's productions, David Sollis joined us for Day One and was able to see PROJECT:FEAR in action from inside Underdog Crew Studios. David spoke about how inspiring it was to watch young people immediately engage with the creative process — reading scripts, exploring characters, learning practical filmmaking skills and supporting one another within the studio environment. What struck him most was the way participants were given permission to use their imagination, grow in confidence and become part of something genuinely ambitious.
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David Sollis: “What is amazing is seeing how creative these young people can be, how empowered they can become, and how supportive they are of each other. You can see them living the story in their heads, learning, engaging and coming out of themselves. It’s an incredible environment, and something that should be open to more young people.”
For David, being inside Underdog Crew Studios and seeing the magic happen first-hand was a powerful reminder of why projects like this matter — not just because of the filmmaking, but because of the confidence, connection and sense of belonging being built around it.
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WEEK 1 — FROM IDEA TO OUTBREAK (7th September 2026)
Our first pre-course PROJECT:FEAR workshop was all about building the world before we start shooting it. The group began exploring potential locations around our industrial estate, discussing how ordinary workshops, yards, corridors and exterior spaces could be transformed into a believable post-outbreak environment. We also started developing the project’s visual language, looking at character design, costume ideas, infection concepts and practical SFX. A major part of the session was creating our first zombie mask concepts — moving from initial pre-visualisation and mannequin designs into foam clay, latex layering, flesh textures and contouring. For our first project members, Thomas and Charlie, it was the moment the idea started to feel real: “It’s exciting, fun and properly gory. We can’t wait to see how everything develops each week. It’s mad to think we’re actually going to be part of a feature film — we’re so excited.”
