mini movie magic

And so, budding film makers, we find ourselves half way through the unfurling madness and magic of the mini movies competition. It seems only right at this stage to do a round up of some of our favourites so far, before announcing the winner of this week's competition.

Bolting out of the blocks in the first few weeks was this rather fine entry that had us chuckling at chips:

 

A few weeks later, this silent charmer wooed us with fine use of both speech bubbles and banana skins:

 

And last week was clearly the week of the stop frame with a number of entries including this one which had us on tenderhooks as the train drew in closer:

 

And...drum roll....congratulations to the winner of this week's competition, is MoeJoeJoeJoex whose innocent superhero's reign to supremacy saw him rack up the most views this week. £200 of Amazon vouchers will be on its way to you- spend them both wisely and frivoulously.

This week's prize will officially be the biggest we'll give away in the competition- £250 of good British pounds for the video submitted between midday today and next Monday lunchtime, so there is no time like now to get those entries in. And don't forget- the weeky prizes have no bearing on the overall competition- our special judging panel will be looking at the videos and deciding a shortlist of 5 against the selected criteria, and number of views will hold no bearing. The public will then vote on the shortlist from April 25th to decide the winner. To get involved in the competition visit www.youtube.com/innocentdrinksltd

25x25= a sorted summer

A few weeks ago, you may remember that we partook in a spot of Friday Night Book clubbing.

Two weeks on, we take it to the next level as we dabble in a spot of Thursday Lunch Book Flogging, as we have 25 sets of 25 rather excellent books to give away to 25 very lucky people, thanks to our friends at World Book Night. With titles ranging from One Day by David Nicholls to Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, you can safely consider your summer, and those following, sorted.

 

This competition is now closed.

when biscuits get ruthless...

Week 3, and the mini movies are starting to pour in. With 1 month and 3 days to go until the deadline, we're upping the stakes as next week's winner will be adorned with £200 of amazon vouchers to spend on that guilded clapper board they've had their eye on for a while.

Each week, we award a prize to the video that racks up the most views that week. This week's goes to the evil biscuit monster who has single handedly ensured that will we never look at a shortbread square in the same way again.

Rapturous applause also goes to team MultiMcEllen, who put Clark Kent firmly in the 90s and brought a new Potter spectacled hero to town.

 

For those of you submitting vids this week, a few handy tips to help you on your way.

1. Lo-fi is definitely key, but that doesn't mean it can't be slick. Sticks and strings are in, but feel free to use that swanky piece of kit that's been gathering dust at the back of your cupboard for the filming...

2. Once you've loaded your vid, tell the world. Your mates, your gran, or that chap on the bus who always has his music playing too loudly.

3. A good title seems to be the clincher.

Same time next week mini movie makers. May the creative force be with you. www.youtube.com/innocentdrinksltd

fresh - issue 7 hot off the press (blackboard)

do not eat contents

 

We like this rather pretty use of one of our empty smoothie cartons. Fittingly, it was sent to us by Belle. Thank you, Belle. The sun is out, the cartons are sprouting flowers. Life is good.

ninjas & chips

It's that time of the week again, as we pull out a rather battered gold envelope and announce that the winner of this week's mini movies weekly competition is...

The Ninja Biscuit.

Cue rapturous applause, mass adulation, and a year's subscription to Lovefilm, which will be whittling its way, at speed, towards you shortly.

No film based awards ceremony would be right without a nod to the contenders however, and this rather excellent late submission on Friday last week put in a seriously heavy fight for the prize and was beaten only by the clock. 

This week, we'll be giving £150 Amazon vouchers to the mini movie that racks up the most views between now and noon next Monday- so get those mini movies in as soon as possible and then be sure to tell your mates, your Nan and that nice chap at the bus stop about your masterpiece.

As mentioned last week, this weekly competition and number of views has no bearing on the overall competition- the judging panel will decide the top 5 shortlist against originality, adherance to the brief, and the selected criteria shown in our special terms and conditions. Check out our special youtube channel for more info on this and on how to get involved in the competition.

a cheesecake recipe using our ‘kiwis, apples and limes’ smoothie by Hester Casey

Sometimes it’s time to hang up your halo and do something naughty with your innocent smoothies. Hester Casey, an exciting new cookery writer, has sent us in a delicious apple cheesecake recipe using our ‘Kiwis, apples and limes’ smoothie. For more mouth-watering treats along with the amusing anecdotes that inspired them, check out her entertaining blog www.alchemy-fabulousfood.blogspot.com

Over to Hester...

I fool myself into thinking my 'Big Apple' cheesecake isn't quite as naughty as it appears because it has real fruit smoothie as an ingredient. I've used innocent’s ‘kiwis, apples and limes’ smoothie because it is the apple-iest smoothie I’ve encountered. “innocent” it may be, but it will cause angels to hang up their halos!

For 1 cheesecake (about 10 slices) you will need...

Chocolate Base 75g butter 200g bourbon biscuits, crushed (you could use Oreos)

1. First make the base: Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Then, add in the crushed bourbon biscuits, mixing well until all the butter has been absorbed. Empty the biscuit mixture into a loose-bottomed 21cm (8”) round cake tin and press gently into an even layer. Leave to cool.



Filling 1 X 125g packet lime jelly/Jell-O (sufficient for 1 pint of jelly or Jell-O)
100mls boiling water
Approximately 150mls of innocent ‘kiwis, apples and limes’ smoothie
350g full fat cream cheese
100g caster sugar
150mls fresh cream

2. For the filling, cut the jelly into squares and place in a 500ml (1 pint) measuring jug. Add the boiling water and leave the jelly to melt, stirring occasionally. When the jelly has melted, add in just enough smoothie to bring the liquid up to the 250mls mark (you may have a little left over - that's for you to drink). Leave to cool, until the liquid becomes slightly syrupy and nearly set.

3. Meanwhile, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth – an electric mixer is best for this job. Add in the cooled almost-set jelly, whisking continuously. Then whisk in the fresh cream. It will be alarmingly liquid at this stage but continue whisking for a minute or two and the mixture will begin to thicken slightly.

4. Pour over the cooled biscuit base and smooth the top.

5. Leave to set in the fridge making sure it is level otherwise you’re going to have a lopsided cheesecake and people will point and laugh.



I’ve decorated this with white and dark chocolate shapes – I have sprinkled some of the white chocolate shapes with crushed apple drops for an even bigger apple flavour.

move over the Oscars, the real competition results are in

Bolting out of the blocks as the first ever winner of our innocent mini movies weekly competition is...drum roll...the car chase. Whilst team Circus put up a great fight, they were pipped to the post by a tightrope, gaining just 3 views less.

This week's prize is a year's subscription to Love Film. To be in with a chance of winning. all you have to do is get your video up on to our youtube channel asap and then tell your mates to watch it (the competition runs from Monday lunchtime to Monday lunchtime so the earlier you put it up the longer you have to get views). The winner will be the person whose video has the most views by noon on Monday 7th. And don't forget- all entries will be judged independently at the end of the competition by our special judging panel and this weekly comp has no bearing on this decision, so you may still be in with a chance to win the whole competition (and £5000, your mini movie shown on TV, and a special weekend in London for 2 including tickets to the BFI London film festival).

Check out the special mini movies site for all the info and terms and conditions.