The story of how PV Media was born
PuritanValuesMedia is a media company idea I had many years ago, and always thought 'one day'. In 2020 I bought a 650 Sq Metre crumbling Japanese style Chateau in Northern France, set in four acres of parkland also planted in the Japanese style, another story', but that's when the 'one day' came along. While we were filming the Dr Who sofa's restoration Episode of The Restorers with Curve Media I decided it was time to go solo. I managed to raise just enough money to buy a second hand camera. Curve Media were so amazing, they gave me all the help and advice that I could have ever wished for, guiding me to buy the professional 'go to kit' that is used extensively across the TV and Film industry. With their advice I bought an FS7 MK2 film camera, a Sony E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS Lens, and an EPZ 18-100mm F4 G O SS lens, the latter broke the bank. Five radio mics, URX PO 33 Pro Kit, camera stands, boom and an array of important accessories and enough batteries and charges to light up the Palace of Versailles, the cherry on the top was a Dji Mavic air 2S Drone and there my bank balance flew to zero but it didn't matter we were tooled up and raring to go.
My middle son Jaz was making films with his film maker friend Kauya Tembo who both gave me the confidence to start PuritanValuesMedia. With no budget but the best cameras in the industry. Jaz and I began filming the start of the restoration of the chateau, and Tembo began editing what we had filmed. We started by learning from each other exchanging our skills, ideas and trying out lots of different ways to film. I had been presenting for almost twenty years by then, and over that time I had been carefully watching and learning how cameramen filmed, how the directors directed me, and slowly but surely I began to understand how film is made from the inside, and being a presenter I was in the best position to see it all at first hand. With further help and direction from our friends in the TV and Film industry, we really began to see some great results.
A year in, and two very close friends of mine Vinny and his partner Ruth, their daughters Betty and Maddy, and son Josh came to visit us at the Chateau. Unbeknown to us Josh was a professional filmmaker who over the next few days gave Jaz and I a crash course on filmmaking, a real insight into how to handle and steer the camera, angles to film from, and moving with the camera. He taught us how to use the main settings of the camera and tricks of the trade that we could immediately see dramatic improvements which turned out to be such a godsend that we still implement today the direction Josh sent us on, the right one.
Another year on and Josh's younger brother Ty was up for learning how to become a cameraman. Ty was 19 years old at the time, 6'3" tall, with the strength of two men, bounding with enthusiasm he just took to it like a duck to water, a natural born cameraman.
I had always wanted to film and present a programme on Art, Antiques and Architecture something I have been passionate about all my adult life and after much thought and deliberation I decided we would start filming Art Nouveau Architecture across Europe, and the mission was set we just needed to book the dates and tally ho. Coincidently I had been storing for over a year a large collection of Aesthetic furniture purchased by a wonderful client Marco who worked for Gucci. With a keen designers eye for detail, he and his wife had been restoring a period Artists house with original frescos decorated to the exterior, nestled on the shores of Lake Como where the furniture was to be delivered. The date was set for July 2nd 2022. Ty joined me at my château in Northern France on the 1st and we jumped in the van and drove 12 hours to Lake Como. Arriving in the evening we met up with Marco and settled in for the night. The next morning, came the long awaited moment to begin filming, and we never looked back. It was Ty's first day filming, thrown in at the deep end, with the camera set up on the stand, we called Jaz via face time in front of the camera, where Jaz took Ty through the camera settings and gave him the basics of how to start filming and with what I knew about the camera the two of us began filming the unloading of Marco's beautiful Aesthetic Movement furniture, walking it up a long path and into his house which he had decorated in the high Aesthetic Style. It was a hot sunny day, and as we moved the furniture into the house piece by piece each room just came to life, a perfect blend of Aesthetic Movement furniture within the Aesthetic Movement style gilded interior that Marco had decorated his house in, it was a sight to behold, and the first days filming went as smooth as a reel. We stayed the night at Marco's and I slept in Marco's grandma's original Italian brass and iron bed comfy as a cat on a mat, listening to the waves of Lake Como gently lapping to the shore, dreaming of our adventure ahead.
We had a hearty Italian breakfast and bid our farewells and drove to Milan to pick up Jaz from the airport. We booked in a hostel for two days where we planned our route across Europe. The three amigos were set, and we tucked ourselves into the front of my trusty van, each of us with a complimenting skill and a deep passion and desire to film something historically artistic, something that had never been done before, an adventure through Art Nouveau in search of the seed and the sinuous lines of design that left its roots firmly in the foundations of some of the most beautiful Art Nouveau architecture that was ever built.
Against all odds, cameras at the ready, all for one and one for all, we went for it, and in that moment The Best of Art Nouveau Architecture Across Europe was born. It was our first outing, we filmed in seven cities, driving through nine countries in just twelve days. Below is a list of where we went and what we filmed which we will be bringing to you in the New Year....
Day 3 & 4 Milan. Central station: https://retours.eu/en/29-milano-centrale/# .
Milan Cathedral: https://www.britannica.com/topic/cathedral-Christian-church .
Milan Arcade: https://citywonders.com/blog/Italy/Milan/what-youll-find-in-galleria-vittorio-emanuele
Day 5 a day's holiday on Sirmionie, a stunning outcrop on Lake Garda. https://sirmionebs.it/en/
Day 6 and 7. Zagreb, Croatia, all of the buildings shown here: https://grandeflanerie.com/portfolio/zagrebsecession/
An Art Tutor and Art Nouveau expert joined me in Zagreb, and we began filming and discussing the Art Nouveau buildings we had come to see. Ana Marijc also joined me, the Croatian State Archives historian who allowed us to film and took us around the State Archives building on a beautiful and informative tour for two hours. I praised Ana on a windy balcony in our Promo video below. We also did an offshoot with a morning filming at the Tesla Museum.
Day 8 and 9 Budapest, The Baths, my favourite of all. https://www.gellertfurdo.hu/lepjen-be-a-gellert-vilagaba. Including two days of filming with Claudia Leporatti who is as passionate about Art Nouveau as I am. Claudia qualifies as something between a writer, a journalist and a compulsive walker, with a tendency to wander, and why she became a Budapest Tour Guide specializing in Art Nouveau.
https://budapestflow.com/budapest-art-nouveau-buildings/
Day 10 and 11 Vienna, Austria Strudlhof Steps: https://www.google.com/search?q=strudlhof+steps+vienna&rlz=1C1CHBD_en-GBGB967GB967&sxsrf=ALiCzsYsJ4YBhMkJIFEklT9K6p__I07dTA:1664370227634&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinh8Whxrf6AhULXxoKHfy9B44Q_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1500&bih=832&dpr=2
Otto Wagner buildings with the most amazing original Art Nouveau elevator in the world https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-vienna-art-nouveau-tenement-house-wienzeile-38-by-otto-wagner-20003341.html?imageid=AD341EA3-3024-400D-9183-63869D72F743&p=63063&pn=16&searchId=b81035f10c453714e05a5942e60a6594&searchtype=0
https://www.pinterest.de/pin/394627986068405065/
All the Art Nouveau buildings are in the link below:
https://www.thoughtco.com/otto-wagner-selected-vienna-architecture-177924
Day 12 Darmstadt, Germany, wow, a whole Art Nouveau/Successionist area built up on the hill, that was funded by the patron Ernst Ludwig Grand Duke of Hesse, grandson to Queen Victoria who gave a piece of land to ten Architect Designers to build a house and it's interiors in their own personal style of Art Nouveau: https://www.mathildenhoehe.de/en/worldheritagesite
We filmed the wedding tower: https://hochzeitsturm-darmstadt.eu/the-history-of-the-wedding-tower/?lang=en
The grounds in front of it with wonderful art nouveau bronze sculptures dotted around a coppiced plane-tree folly, including the original workshops which now house the Darmstadt Museum. The Art Nouveau exhibition centre and two of the five period designer houses in Darmstadt were being restored at the time giving us the perfect excuse to go back and film the remaining buildings and their interiors
The above is not exhaustive of what we filmed, we spent a week in Nancy filming, and five days in Brussels the two epicentres of Art Nouveau, plus an array of other cities with breathtaking Art Nouveau in Europe. There is so much more gold on gold to film, with so much we can build on with so many cities ahead of us to conquer and film.
All proceeds from our documentaries will fund the further adventures of filming The Best Art Nouveau Architecture Across Europe, so we can continue to explore and discover the most iconic Art Nouveau buildings ever built throughout the whole of Europe. If you would like to donate to help us go further afield we will reward you with behind the scenes footage and special reels that will not be aired publicly. Any financial help will be greatly appreciated and go towards helping PuritanValuesMedia and the team make compelling historic documentaries in the world of art.
