Stephen is so new as a director that his day job is still burning reels and fixing Curious Film’s website. But his short films are beginning to be noticed on the festival circuits in Asia and Australasia – Curious MD Peter Grasse hired Kang initially on the strength of his first film about a lad who finds he has super powers every time he masturbates – sounds good – but it’s Kang’s latest offering Blue which is whipping up the plaudits…even the Grand Prix at Cannes Critic’s week (Semaine de la critique. )
Did you write the script and where did the idea for Blue come from?
Yes I did. The main inspiration was a news story about this famous Korean folk singing band member who died in an accident in Canada where he had immigrated. He died while operating machinery at the warehouse. He was just a worker at the warehouse and nobody recognised him as a famous band member. I think a large number of immigrants are like that, hiding behind their talent and sometimes they have to let it go to fit into the new world.
What were the most challenging aspects of shooting Blue?
It’s always hard with limited budgets, but the hardest part was convincing other people to get involved and that this story we are going to tell is exciting and interesting. It’s always tough because I, myself don’t know whether it will be good or not.
So you’re learning the ropes at Curious – we hear you’re a whizz at all things techie. What is your ambition? Would you like shoot commercials too?
My ambition is to be free of all this technology and make film.
What would the ideal script be for your first job?
The ideal scripts would have a non-traditional approach, blurring a line between traditional media and social network, and have Asian talent. I can compromise with the first two but can’t give up on Asian talent.
What’s the best piece of advice on film making anyone has ever given you?
It’s important to know when you put down your pen (or camera) – unknown
What are you currently up to in your film making world?
Writing feature scripts. I’ve learned one thing. No one is going to write it for you. So here I am.
It’s a wonderful world in the land of Nick Scott recently. He’s just signed to Crossroads in London and his film School Portrait has hit way over a million views since going viral over the festive season. We catch up with the new director.
You’ve collaborated with the actor Jonathan Rhodes on several projects including the justifiably-loved School Portraits and Big Society which is scooping up around the current festivals.
How did the collaboration come about and evolve?
Jonathan and I met in Berlin in 2007 after being selected for something called the Berlin Talent Campus. We got on straight away and have a very similar sense of humour. I carried this little dictaphone with me to record interviews but ended up taping lots of crazy improvisations with Jon as we came up with ideas for characters.
Jonathan is a brilliant improviser and our collaboration has evolved into quite a specific process where I come up with an idea and write some structured scenes and then we improvise within that to find dialogue that suits Jon’s natural delivery.
So what is ‘Big Society’ about?
Big Society is about an officer in the British army who has developed a controversial new approach to tackle the anti-social behaviour he sees on the streets. It’s a sort of Dirty Harry meets the Wombles.
What themes does it explore?
It’s a satire that (hopefully) explores the link between corporal punishment and anti-social behaviour. I also wanted people to think about the moral complexity that comes with life in the military. I grew up in Colchester which is a garrison town and always found it an incredible ask of soldiers to switch so quickly from one moral world to another when they come home after seeing conflict.
Nick you’ve just signed to Crossroads as a new director. Have you ever been a paid-up member of a production company before?
I’ve worked on short films with decent budgets but it’s difficult to get funding and I usually end up putting everything I have into the production. So yes, the idea of getting paid to direct is quite new to me!
Have you given up your day job then?
Aaahhh the day job… this always surprises people! I actually work part time as an economic adviser, advising the government on climate change, which is complex and highly political area. It’s job I enjoy and I guess is the reason for some of the political undertones in my work. However, I am hoping to get into more commercial work with Crossroads.
A civil servant dealing with climate change sounds a long way from making such surreally funny films as your straight 8 films, for instance Earth to Earth
and the very clever split-screen The Other Half
Did you learn how to direct by shooting straight 8 films? And was it this discipline that led you onto shooting short films?
I’ve been making films since I was a kid but it was really when I came to London and started collaborating with lots of talented people here that I started taking filmmaking more seriously. I decided to go back to square one and learn about storytelling by studying screenwriting. I made Earth to Earth shortly after that, which is probably why the narrative is so structured.
I had made films before straight8, but I think it is a brilliant discipline that helps you improve as a filmmaker. It forces you to make clear choices about the way you tell a story visually, which is a very healthy discipline. I’ve made quite a few and they have definitely made me a better filmmaker!
Do you write and develop your own scripts?
I usually come up with the central premise and then structure a loose narrative, but I’m increasingly developing the final script with those I’m directly collaborating with, we can play to the strengths of those involved.
For example, I’ve recently finished the second in a trilogy of character studies which have been developed in close collaboration with the particular actors involved.
What would be the ideal commercial for your first job?
I love working with actors so something based around performance, preferably comedy, would be fantastic. The Hamlet cigar ad with the baldy man in the photo booth is single take comedy genius. It always features high on most memorable lists which shows how well it engaged its audience. Would love to do a similarly simple comic idea which people could cherish to the same degree.
We love director Dougal Wilson. And we’re sure you do to. He knows how to press our emotional buttons without being soppy – just take a look at his John Lewis commercials – and his music videos are completely unbound by anything he has ever done before. They always blow us away with his originality and attention to detail. While we were rummaging through archives we came across this film made by radar ages ago. His advice and comments on pitching, making treatments and preparation are still relevant today so we thought we should share it with you too. To see Dougal’s music videos click here.
And just in case you missed it because you live outside the John Lewis zone here’s Dougal’s latest warm-hearted tear jerker film. Genius.
A lonely old Babushka frees her collection of decoupage birds; a greyhound takes flight; an ice cream seller looks for love in a seaside haar. There’s something a little bit murky and a little bit magical about the works of Newcastle-based director Chloe Rodham. She’s just won the Red Bull Canimation competition with her film Skyhound and her recent music video 100 Other Lovers for DeVotchKa is nothing short of spellbinding. We caught up with the animator to find out more.
What first attracted you to animation?
I love the fact that animation allows you to involve yourself with so many creative disciplines at once. Stop motion animation particularly encompasses so many different skills, from model making to costume design, storytelling to post-production. I chose to study Animation at university because it combined so many of the crafts I was interested in.
There’s something very tactile and textured, murky yet magical about much of your work – why do you think you lean towards this kind of aesthetic?
Animation is magical in itself because it allows you to breathe life into something inanimate. The beauty of animation is that extraordinary things can happen, but I think it’s important to not get too carried away with the infinite possibilities that the technique brings!
I suppose I use murkiness to rein in the magic, but I also think that there needs to be a sufficient contrast to allow the magic to appear believable and fascinating. To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of filmmaking is the ability to submerge the viewer in a world that completely fabricated. Detail and depth are important if you want to create a cinematic feel that is tangible to the viewer. Stop motion is my favourite animation technique to work in because it is naturally tactile. There is a certain charm to handcrafted objects, especially in miniature and this naturally creates an appealing aesthetic. I find 2D computer animation work can be more challenging in some respects, because you have to work much harder to design an engaging distinctive look that is full of depth and detail.
Skyhound, your Red bull entry film is gorgeous. Where did the initial idea come from and how did you go about developing it?
I had heard about the Red Bull competition and was struggling to come up with a good idea when I went out for an inspiring walk with a friend’s dog, an ex-racing greyhound. The concept of a greyhound race incorporated so many fitting themes for an energy drink company so I started with the idea of the dogs chasing a can around a track. The story developed as I started animating – posing alarming challenges with a looming deadline! I wanted to extend the race beyond the confines of a stadium so continued the greyhound’s chase of the hare into the sky, incorporating Red Bull’s slogan ‘gives you wings.’ However, rather than just suggesting that the chase continues I thought it would be a good twist to make the dog and hare turn into star constellations in the sky. After some swift astronomy research I realised the close proximity of these constellations to Taurus the Bull, which was too tempting to ignore!
Puppets feature quite heavily in much of your work – I can’t quite decide if it reminds me more of Eastern European animation or a very British, haunted end-of-the-pier Punch and Judy Show… How would you characterise the work you do with puppets?
I think your assessment is pretty accurate. The craft of puppet making will always be reminiscent of its traditional Eastern European origins. With the music video ‘100 Other Lovers’ for DeVotchKa it was a conscious decision to draw on Eastern European influences because of music’s styling. However, my short film ‘Sprinkles’ is a simple romantic story set at the coast and is essentially very English in both its whimsical narrative and vintage retro styling.
Which pieces of work are you proudest of and why?
I’m really proud of the music video ‘100 Other Lovers’ for DeVotchKa because it was my first commission after graduating from university, it was a bit like being thrown in at the deep end, which was daunting but also very exciting and I’m really pleased with how it turned out!
I’m also proud of ‘Skyhound’ because it was the first of my own short films completed in a purely 2D style. Being one of the winners of the competition was fantastic but I was also really pleased with it on a personal level because of the technique and textured style of the piece.
To find out more about Chloe and her work, check out Chloe Rodham.
It was a year ago when we featured the spec film of film student Justus Becker for Rimowa suitcases. We thought it was high time for our annual check up on what he’s been up to and were blown away by the storytelling of his spec films for Mercedes.
Tell us about your background – where you are studying and what the course is? What year are you in now?
Before I started my studies I worked on a number of internships both in production and in agencies. I learned a lot from these experiences. Now I am in my final year at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. I’ve got two last films to do here and then I’m off to real business.
What would the ideal script be for your first job?
The perfect script would be a coherent story with some pathos which has the potential to create a beautiful visual world.
What were the key lessons you learned from directing this campaign?
I earned an incredible amount of experience, generally speaking. Throughout education, there’s lots of space to try things, to see what will or won’t work. There’s this luxury of locking yourself in with your DOP for ten days to talk about looks and how to shoot it. The most important thing is, that during your time in film school you have an amazing amount of time you don’t have on the market.
What were the main challenges of the shoot?
We thought we had every little detail planned out perfectly, we thought we were well prepared. Our goal was to shoot three 90secs in six days. Well, that worked out fine. But there was this one night shoot, the fifth day, which was totally messed up. We had a time limit of about eight hours to get what we wanted. We arrived and started to prepare the diner for the shooting. Then the message: The loading-platform of our light-truck wouldn’t open. Four hours later – we really tried everything to open the truck – the producer, the cameraman and me decided that we would now shoot it without any set-up light. I will never forget the picture of the electrician, standing with a silver plate next to the camera. After all we finished at dawn, ten minutes before the planned wrap.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given about filmmaking?
Gavin Hood once told me: “Perfect preparation is everything.” I totally agree. But there’s something else. A producer once asked me what the two most important words for a commercial director were. I remember saying:’Action’ and ‘Cut’. He smirked, shook his head and then simply said: ‘Thank’, ‘You’. And he’s right. It’s very important that you make your crew feel how thankful you are for what they are doing throughout the whole production time – not only on set.
Which part of the production process did you enjoy the most?
When it comes to student films, preparation is a long process. You don’t have a lot of money, you have to try and get the motives and cast without paying them. This can be annoying. But when you reach the time right before shooting, where you have to make important decisions every day, I really get excited and like it. It’s the point when you realize that all your annoying work will be rewarded because you can be sure that you’re well prepared, which makes the shooting a lot easier.
How would you sum up your directing style?
Cinematic storytelling with a certain amount of emotionalism.
What would you like to be doing in five years time?
I can’t plan this. Of course you have to know where you’re heading and what you want to reach, but I work for the moment. I don’t know what the future will be.
Which commercials or music video director’s work do you admire the most?
The works of Ringan Ledwidge and Johnny Green.
Apart from making films what else do you like to do?
I love to do gardening. I can totally get my mind off things.
We featured Mark Tintner’s first piece, a slick and sinster ad for Alessi, last year and we’re also rather impressed with his latest spot for Refuge, a charity fighting for the elimination of violence against women.
Using a performance piece is a very effective way of communicating something harrowing. How did the creative idea come about?
The idea was the result of a newspaper article I read about an extreme situation. It was a horrific set of circumstances. I wanted to understand how circumstances could escalate to such a level.
I did have the seed (of a movement piece) planted prior to writing RAGING BEAUTY. I began my career in theatre working at Sadler’s Wells, The Barbican and the like – it’s had a huge impact on me, my work and where I originally met the performer Michela Meazza. I believe physicality drives performance and I always wanted to make a film with dance, but not a dance film. RAGING BEAUTY came out of those feelings and I knew Michela was the performer to bring it to life.
Did the shoot go according to plan and what were the main challenges of the whole production?
The shoot couldn’t have gone any smoother. The main challenge for this project was effectively portraying the story of multiple characters within a solo performance whilst conveying the message efficiently and effectively. Michela’s connection to this was very powerful.
So you’re studying a Masters in 3D Stereoscopic Media at Ravensbourne in London now. Please do tell us about the tricks you’re learning and how you’d apply them to directing.
Yeh, this Master’s came as quite a shock! I had no idea 6 months ago that I’d be studying, but I am enjoying it immensely, playing with some seriously amazing toys and learning to craft stereoscopic content creation at the same time. At the moment this medium is so new there really aren’t any tricks to digital 3D stereo. I can only compare it to the introduction of sound to film back in 1927. It’s a game changer. I still work in 2D and have not turned my back on it at all, but as sound did, depth will stick around and enhance drama..I’m definitely on the 3D team!
We are so excited about Messrs. And it`s not the slightly premature Christmas sugar rush talking. The multitalented collective of writers, directors and artists can seemingly turn their hand to anything… and all with an extra helping of cool. We heartily recommend you check out their web or Vimeo page, but this week we`ve chosen to focus on their dancetastic video Drum In Your Chest for BIGKids.
Who are Messrs?
Messrs. Are A Group Of Friends, Enemies & Lovers.
How did you all meet and what is it about your different personalities and creative styles that makes you work together so well?
Some of us met at Central Saint Martins, others at the infamous 117 & a few at the honorable Crown and Goose. We like to think there is a level of respect, which everyone adheres to, this enables us to collaborate creatively and constructively. However, like every relationship there is the occasional shitstorm.
I’ve been watching BIGKids Drum In Your Chest – what triggered the idea for it and what were you trying to capture with it?
The track itself was the trigger for the video. With “DIYC” there is a relentlessness to the hooks and the lyrics that we really felt would work amazingly with a dance video. Lyrics like “we wont stop” and “this is my medication” enabled us to take the idea of a conventional dance video and flip it so it was more about the characters HAVING to dance. There’s also a darkness in the track, which we wanted to capture, a kind of ‘cult like’ quality. We loved the idea of making it feel like it could have actually happened so we thought a ‘flash mob’ vibe would be the best way to go. The decision to use mini DV and VHS cameras help support this shaky, erratic aesthetic. Motto of the shoot… “what would your mum use if she was trying to film it?”
… and where did you get such uninhibited dancers from?? It looks like it must have been a fun shoot – what was the shoot like and what were the biggest challenges?
Friends, family, strangers and the local corner-shop keeper. We had one rehearsal the night before (led by the awesomely talented Bonnie Oddie) She worked with everyone and got them finding a movement they felt comfortable with which also represented their personality but most importantly would be ok doing over and over again for 5 hours. The shoot was really fun (probably not for them). We wanted the video to be as natural as possible so having people being arrive one by one worked well. We thought this would be the best way to get the most organic performances out of the ‘dancers’.
Challenges..!!?? haha they probably came in the form of a massive reflecting ‘sail’ that we spent almost the whole of the shoot erecting…only for it to catch a very strong wind and almost fall down and nearly kill the whole cast and crew…health and safety all you can eat buffet. But it was kind of worth it for the comedy value of seeing our entire team dangling off a 40 ft white sail in a car park in south London. Dealing with the ever fading light was something we had to be aware of…pizza break at dusk was probably not the best of ideas… meaning our transition from day to night…er…could have been smoother. Dealing with 35 non-dancers who’d met the night before, trying to pull off a full dance routine in unison, in the dark, was a bit of a challenge but we all had a great time. (Except for the person that ordered the ‘sail’).
You guys won last year’s Smoke and Mirrors competition with Perfecting Fee – making such a polished film in 48 hours – how did you do it and what was the experience like?
The beauty of having so little time meant that decision-making was gut instinct. We’re all used to working on no sleep, but this was testing!
The film itself is so clever – so initially sweet and charming before the knife-in-the-guts style twist – how did you develop that idea and was it hard working on something so dark and emotive in such a short space of time?
To be honest it’s difficult to remember much about any kind of process, The 48hrs went in a blur of blind panic and then total euphoria when something actually worked. The idea itself came collaboratively, from several constraints that we placed upon ourselves. In terms of dealing with dark and emotive subject matter: the lack of time simply meant we weren’t afforded a moment to dwell on what we were actually doing.
What are your hopes for the future of Messrs.?
Cantona To Wear An Infamous Messrs T-Shirt.
Waaaaay back in the early days of the Young Director Awards in 2003, Hoku Uchiyama a college student from California’s Art Center College of Design won a category prize. It was for a drunk driving PSA called Prelude #2 that cross cut between traditional hand puppets and flesh and blood actors as each acted out a drunk driving accident. Unfortunately this was back in the olden days before YDA’s online archive began.
Uchiyama also directed Rose, a short film about a little boy and his friendship with the ghost of a murdered teenage girl that haunts the woods near his house. We love the sound of that too but what has really caught our attention is Uchiyama’s latest work with an old college pal, animator Adam Bolt. This is called Evelyn, Evelyn and we think you should view it immediately and go steam up a room and start drawing.
How did the concept for the video come about?
The idea just hit me when listening to the song. I draw on foggy windows every day. I think lots of people do which is part of what makes the video neat. As the idea developed, Adam Bolt (co-producer and lead animator) and I zeroed in on those old rubber hose cartoons from the early days of animation. They have that mix of sweet and a-little-bit gruesome that’s in tune with Evelyn Evelyn.
Had you worked with the animator Adam Bolt before?
Adam Bolt and I met in college at the Art Center College of Design. We were the two guys who were into cartoons and horror films so we naturally gravitated to each other. He’s an amazing director in his own right. We have pretty different styles, but our brains have a sync that’s unusual and because we’re so close as friends we’re each a good second set of eyes on each other’s work. We’ve worked together before, but this was our closest collaboration.
We love the combination of live action and animation. How on earth did you achieve it? Can you talk us through the process please?
We carefully storyboarded the video, noting down to the second when a character would be drawn, when it would move from one window panel to another. We filmed the video without condensation on the glass, just the twins behind the clear windows. Then we practically fogged the window panels and filmed each panel separately without the twins. We then motion tracked the condensation on to our live action plate we had shot with the twins.
The animation was essentially black drawings on a white background and it was used as a map to cut through the condensation to the other side, allowing us to see through the fog. The animation itself was done with a lot of rotoscoping. Almost every part of the video was acted out to the music and then animated over to give the characters a special relationship to the song. The video was technically complicated and our producers at Vanishing Angle were amazing at shepherding it through.
Were the girls actually drawing too or was it done with layers or by magic?
The girls were actually drawing, we found a way to guide their hands so they hit those drawing marks on their cues. No computers were involved in that.
Where are you currently based?
I live in Los Angeles, CA
Do you work independently or are you signed to a company?
I’m excited to say that I just signed with Partizan.
Don’t squash bugs, it just ain’t worth the guilt. That’s the take-home message from the shadow puppet-inspired music Do I Have Power from director Carlos De Carvalho. We caught up with the illustrator-turned-animator to find out more about his beautiful work that explores the light and dark of childhood.
What inspired the Timbre Timbre video?
First of all, I liked their music. I love the atmosphere Timber Timbre create which is dark but never depressing. I chose the visual technique (Chinese shadows, etc) because I had a lack of time to create the video…
I always work on the childhood universe, it is a reccurent thing about me. I combined this with the lyrics’ main idea “Do I have power over it ?”.
The film seems to capture the adventurousness and the fragility of childhood – how much did you draw on your own childhood experiences?
Each of us had to face this situation during our childhood, being in front of an insect and deciding to kill it or not… So did I. But I immediately felt guilty. I represent this feeling with the young boy in the video: his guilt takes him over as he realizes everything is alive around him.
What was the trickiest technical challenge you faced making this film?
This film is based on quite simple techniques. We mixed 2D and 3D and took advantage of both of them. In purely technical terms, the trickiest part was dealing with the swarms of insects. But the main challenge for us was more about the visual aspect; we had to make sure that nature would look alive and full of movement.
What is it about animation that you love?
Basically I am an illustrator. But I was convinced that illustration was “not enough” in a way. Animation came naturally to me as a way to make picture more accessible. Thanks to the TV, the cinema, and on top of it all Internet, it has nowadays become an outgoing media. So I decided to work in animation, willing to endow it with as much art and visual quality as possible. And I always hope to affect a large number of people.
I love your L’Histoire Rouge teaser – can you tell me about it?
While Do I have power is quite masculine, Rouge is more feminine. It is based on Aude’s (my working partner) childhood souvenirs. It is a story about fragility and death discovery. We created this teaser within a few months together, working besides our actual jobs. It was quite exhausting.
We have to work a bit further on the story and would love to get financial support to achieve it.
As an artist, what inspires you?
Everything. Any artistic expression, books, illustrations, photography, sculpture, films, animation… Whatever I see inspires me. I am picture-bulimic.
What would be your dream commission?
My aim is not to work on a long feature or on advertising or on short film… I have no particular expectations about that. What really matters for me is to create an achieved visual film with a relevant direction.”
In South Africa, Velocity executive producer Peter Carr started a commercial training programme six years ago at AFDA Film School and has since included the Vega School of Advertising where the students write the scripts and role play as agency, with a real client, Vision Mission, involved as well. The course begins with a week of lectures from senior industry professionals who act as mentors when the students produce their films. Last year the students shot six films and three made the grade to cinema screenings.
Here we talk to Zwelesizwe Ntuli, director of one of the films which were selected to be screened in cinemas.
Tell us a bit about the mentoring programme you’ve been on with Velocity?
I completed my honours degree at the end of 2010 at AFDA Johannesburg. I am currently working on writing a feature film, as well as working on writing and directing smaller projects.
What was the best piece of advice you have been given?
“There’s nothing wrong with the word ‘simple’.” Basically, when you are directing an advert, especially for the first time, you want to impress people. It’s easy to lose the heart of your concept and try to make the advert as flashy as possible, perhaps with an unnecessary stylistic shooting style, or an intense edit. While there is nothing wrong with heavily stylizing an advert, you have to know when it adds to the heart of the advert and when it becomes merely a distraction. With our advert I had to put away some of the more complex ideas that I had and side with the simpler ones. I think this worked out for the best, as I feel that the advert is pure, uncomplicated.
And what were the key things you learnt from the shoot?
Filmmaking as a whole is a collaborative process. We have formed crews and learned to work with others. However the industry standard has many more facets, production companies, sponsors, advertising agencies etc. Basically it is important to learn to work with not only your immediate crew, but also with people involved in different capacities. Working with Vega gave us insight into that dynamic. It was a great experience bouncing ideas back and forth, and negotiating what works and what doesn’t. Learning to cope with letting people outside of your immediate team having a say creatively, is key.
What’s your favourite part of the directing process?
Post-production where everything comes together! Seeing you project take form, and then being able to break it down and build an entirely different structure is very satisfying.
