Shona Films » UNCUT FUNK/DOG EAT DOG

DOG EAT DOG (2001)

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:51:06 +0000

Feature film made by Film 4 written with Moody Shoaibi. The real highlights of this experience were meeting Gary Kemp and asking him about ‘True.’ Come on! Don’t sneer. We’ve all snogged to it in some capacity and it amused me greatly that here I was working with someone who I had listened to off a radio in Africa and seen on TV. A groomed man who carried himself with the disposition of a man who has written a song EVERYONE in the WORLD knows, I liked him.

Alan Davis and Pal Aron who were in the film were also fantastic to work with. They’re both so easy to act off. As an actor you’re as good as the board that bounces the words back to you. Their naturalism enticed you in. With Alan his style of acting relaxes you. Allows you to free up. Ricky Gervais of course is also in the film. Only 3 scenes. But he is supremely funny. Course this was in the days when he was on the 11 o’clock show, before he smashed it up but I like to think that we were in there first.

UNCUT FUNK (1999) BBC 2 SKETCHES

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:42:32 +0000

The job that I had the most amount of fun on…it’s a shame the BBC buried it late Friday nights…but up until this day people still come up to me on the street quoting characters! Rizla paper. Mars bar. Toffee crisp.

Safehouse

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:40:01 +0000

So this was my first short film and it was shot on 16mm over 2 days. It was adapted from a short comic story published by Vertigo written by the brilliant Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Tim Brad-Street. (God I hope I got that right.) I reset it in a British context and it was a practise run for us (so please don’t sue us DC we haven’t sold it or presented it to a paying audience…and Tim and Brian I shot this as a homage to your work I meant no disrespect.)

I wanted to do something very cheap and so I thought I could slash the budget by removing the editing process. So its a film with no cuts and is one take. We found a house in the middle of nowhere and set up the lights one day! DOP Sarah Bartles-Smith did such an incredible job lighting an entire house and we had the biggest flag in the World. We rehearsed again and again then the next day we shot it. We got picture perfect on take 7 but had no sound! So all the sound is ADRed.

Very few people have seen this. And its my first short so I can see its flaws but is interesting to watch for the mistakes and the influences. The man with breasts? Watchmen. The music. Alien. (Ouch.) This was in the days when I didn’t have confidence in what I wanted to say. Was trying to find my voice and style. The film is about something but crucially not about something that particularly chimed with something within me…if that makes sense. My next film did though.

It cost 3 grand which felt like a huge amount. John Hembrough did the steadicam and was so consistent on every take.

Sweet Soul Sounds

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:37:38 +0000

Sweet Soul Sounds sketch. Love the voiceover in this. I think the gag works because of the choice of tracks. Christopher Cross if you get caught between the Moon and New York City.

Army commercial 2

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:35:58 +0000

Below is another commercial we did for the army…no we didn’t. Just fucking witcha. It’s a spoof of the ‘Be the Best’ ads they ran a few years ago.

Army commercial 1

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:57:35 +0000

Another one…