It was around this time in the early hours of yesterday morning that I emailed the actors to say “this is the script we’re shooting.” At 9am they were at mine. They didn’t know the lines and I didn’t know all the filming locations. But we all knew the task – to complete the film within the day.
Why do this project? Because– why not! I think that we often over-complicate creativity, letting our own perfectionism get in the way of experimenting. So this was about just getting out there and doing something for the fun of it. For the challenge.
This is the first draft I wrote and I wrote at midnight when I wanted to be asleep. And the actors learned the lines scene by scene and then had to deliver, with no time to construct deep thoughts about character or motivation. There wasn’t time for that.
This was an experiment in jumping ahead first. My only hope was – I wanted the project to be more worthwhile doing it than not doing it. A fun, learning experience rather than a waste of time.
And it was. I cast two actors I’d never even met before. That’s a great directing challenge. We had no time to stop or think or analyse, we just had to keep shooting.
As I finished up the edit, I was a little exhausted. To be honest, forget about whether the film is any good I’m not even sure it makes sense.
But what does make sense is the experience we’ve had. There are many interpretations of success and achievement, but for me, the mere fact that yesterday there was nothing and today there is something makes me proud. We made a short film! I hope you like it. And if you don’t, never mind, we’ll just have to make another one.
You can watch the finished film below:
