00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 But then you got people who have no experience whatsoever.
00:09 I've just fancied having a go.
00:12 And they get involved as well.
00:14 We've got somebody like the oldest at the moment
00:18 to the 70s, the youngest is about 10 as an extra.
00:23 So, you know, any age.
00:27 We've got people from other countries
00:28 joined the cast as well.
00:30 Dominican Republic, Poland, Romania.
00:34 - Mark created Bled and as a chance for himself
00:37 to get some much needed time in front of the camera
00:40 when he first started his acting career.
00:42 Now years later, he's hoping to give others
00:44 that same chance.
00:45 - So basically I studied acting in Cardiff.
00:49 But what I found is there's a lot of actors
00:52 not getting any experience.
00:54 Maybe a little bit of student films,
00:57 but they weren't getting experience at all.
00:59 So a friend of mine basically said,
01:03 look, you've got a camera,
01:04 have a go and put something together.
01:07 So I created Bled.
01:09 I haven't got experience in filming, writing, editing,
01:13 all that type of stuff.
01:14 So I just started writing something,
01:16 putting scenes together.
01:17 It's a bit amateurish, but we had a few cast come on board.
01:22 Some people have stayed, some people have left.
01:25 It's creating other opportunities for people
01:27 like a couple of episodes ago,
01:31 one of the cast got obviously spotted by a filmmaker
01:36 offering a part in one of his films.
01:38 - It's not just aspiring actors or filmmakers
01:41 who want to star in a show.
01:42 And he says anyone can get involved.
01:44 He's had a number of cast and crew
01:46 who simply need a distraction
01:47 and a way of escaping and helping them
01:49 through their own mental health struggles.
01:51 - But it's giving people experience in, you know,
01:56 acting, filmmaking, writing,
01:58 also chance to just meet new people.
02:03 And it's also helping people with their mental health.
02:07 You know, I can't go into too much detail,
02:10 but people that are in the series,
02:14 the episode, are having hard times in their normal life.
02:18 And this is sort of an escape from.
02:21 - Putting together the episodes of Bled
02:24 is no mean feat and can take months
02:25 to get all the moving parts to come together.
02:27 But Mark says he absolutely loves being a part of it
02:30 and wants to see his show grow and develop
02:32 even more in the future.
02:33 - We'll do episode seven.
02:36 Then let's either do another series or go for a movie.
02:41 I'm not quite sure yet.
02:47 - Bled is more than just a foot in the door
02:50 for aspiring actors.
02:51 It's a chance for people struggling
02:52 with mental health problems to escape
02:54 and find meaningful hobbies
02:55 that can help them through difficult times.
02:57 And if you're looking for your next big break,
02:59 Bled is always looking for a new star.
03:01 James P. Watkins, Local TV.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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