Kasabian, Chemicals
What inspired you to first pick up a camera?
When I was at school, I used to hang around all the drama kids. Musicians and actors. I was rubbish at both, but wanted to be involved, so filmed them all shredding it instead! iPhone 4 and an Argos point and shoot only.
How do you think your background in radio – you were a producer on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra – has shaped and informed your career in filmmaking?
When you’re producing a radio show, you have to come up with three hours of content every single day. You quickly learn to think on your feet and not sweat the small stuff, be reactive and not shy away from failure (you go again tomorrow!). I would say this pretty much sums up my filmmaking experience. Also, in radio you’re hyper aware of the audience, because they’re live and you’re talking directly to them. I would like to think I create films which have an equal magnetism to this.
BERWYN, I’d rather die than be deported
From a one-take shot of BERWYN hanging out of a car crossing the Dartford Bridge, to a claymation horror short for IDLES, you seem to enjoy pushing your filmcraft in new directions and exploring different mediums. Is there a particular medium you’re drawn to and, if so, why?
I’m more interested in creating an engaging story and character above anything. For me, the form is always informed by how best that story can be told. It might feel like I switch between techniques a lot, but I would like to think that there’s a continuity in the realness and energy in my films. Beyond this, I love the challenge of always trying to achieve new things. If it’s never been done before, I want to be the first.
As a self-taught filmmaker, where do you look for creative inspiration?
I grew up only watching YouTube. Filmmakers there are the best – they are agile, reactive, quick and engage you fast. I loved Casey Niestat above anyone. Now, I still spend most of my time watching YouTube… music videos, documentaries, short films – it’s all there. Beyond this I’m obsessed with Tiktok right now – it’s got the world’s best characters and storytellers all in one place. They’re real and unfiltered. I’ve been obsessing over zoebreadtok this week. If anyone knows who she is, I’d LOVE to collab.
You’ve talked previously about the importance of the concept, and how it should look just as good filmed on a mobile phone. What does the creative process look like for you? Are you a planner or more of a spontaneous/reactive personality?
I always start with how I want the audience to feel watching my piece, normally based on my gut initial reaction. Then an idea comes. I’ll plan a version of that and always am keen to work closely with the artist/client to
ensure it feels true to them and their audience. On the day, it’s all about catching a vibe for me. A lot of my favourite moments in my films have come from a playfulness on set which can only be caught in the vibe of a moment. I shy away from stiffness and that’s what helps keep things feeling real and authentic.
What’s been your most technically challenging shoot to date?
Probably the Berwyn ‘I’d Rather Die’ shoot. It looks simple, but it took us about 20 loops around the Dartford tunnel to make sure framing was correct, the road was clear, our stunt drivers were in sync and Berwyn could hear playback through the wind! Every time a take went wrong, it would take us 40 mins to get to the starting point again. Everybody was a trooper that day – it felt amazing when we finally got the shot.
Much of your work takes the viewer up close and personal – sometimes uncomfortably so! How do you go about capturing this sense of intimacy, be it through camerawork techniques or how you interact with/coax a performance from your subjects?
If I’m getting intimate, the work starts weeks before the shoot to make sure that the talent feels comfortable and that the story is true to them. I’m super collaborative in how I work and hate the idea of imposing an idea onto anyone. We’ll chat a lot about how the film should feel, and the story stems from there. This means on the day, there’s a safe environment which everybody feels comfortable and trusts the creative. That, and a couple of beers normally does the job!
BERWYN, 100,000,000
The idea of travel – both literally, and metaphorically, a journey of the soul – is something that often crops up in your work. What interests you about it? Are there any other themes you feel drawn to as a filmmaker and want to explore in future work?
Ha! Nicely spotted. We have a running joke that I can’t make another film based around a moving vehicle for a while. I like putting people in quite vulnerable environments. I have my most existential moments when I’m travelling. You look out the window and the world suddenly feels massive, it makes you feel small. There is no better backdrop than the pace of life rushing past someone infinitely when they’re on the move – it’s constantly interesting to look at, but weirdly lonely at the same time. At the moment, I’m trying to scratch the itch of making a documentary. Beyond the travelling vehicles, I’m really drawn to people with big characters. I love people with passion: outsiders and disruptors. They make you feel something.
You’ve just finished your first commercial campaign for Google Lens – what was making the jump from music videos to commercials like? Can you tell us a bit about the brief? Did you instantly know how you were going to approach it, or did the idea take a bit of time to percolate and evolve?
Yes! Big ups Google. I have loved the process. Google have been great clients to work with and I’ve enjoyed getting really stuck into their brand, audience and headspace. The brief was sick. I just fell into the cusp of Gen-Z so this was all about my people! It was great to work with such a diverse cast across so many locations. My approach came quite quickly. I wanted the footage to feel genuinely like it was coming from the perspective of someone holding their phone and Google Lensing their mate. This meant that our cast always responded with warmth and cheerfulness. The actuality also allowed for us to have loads of fun with dynamic steady cam movements to mirror the jankiness of how a phone is operated.
Having got the Google spot under your belt, what’s next? What would be your dream client/brief?
I am so hungry! I want to work with the biggest brands to create real moments in time. I always gravitate towards anything that is high energy, youthful and allows us to really flex with creative approaches to tell epic stories. When I was younger, I used to be a kayaking coach so the dream is definitely a full circle moment in that space.
INFO:
@loose.work
