THE IDEA

As a piece of self-generated work, I saw Spiral as an opportunity to push both myself and my team creatively, testing what could be achieved through practical filmmaking on a limited budget.

The starting point was a feeling of overwhelm and anxiety, and the ways in which people navigate and find release from it. The film explores how movement and sound can become a visual expression of internal emotion. It takes the audience on a journey from panic to a state of zen.

CREATIVE PROCESS

A huge part of launching these self generated projects is to create a coherent vision that I can then sell to my collaborators. For this I create a treatment which details every aspect of the film from the story, the look and feel to the performance and critically, on this project, the music.

In order to start things off, I needed a track. From there, the rest of the film would fall into place. I worked closely with musicians Jack Chown and Rudi Falla to put this together. From there I was able to work with the choreographer and dancer, Lesly Avendaño Sanchez, to block out every beat of the film. 

Here is some of the treatment that I shared with my team: 

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

After the tone, style and the story were set in place, I worked closely with Lesly Avendaño Sanchez (choreographer and dancer) the composing team (Jack Chown and Rudi Falla) cinematographer (Will Gething) and production designer (Darcy Norgan) to block out the drum beats, the dance moves and the paper explosions in order to time these up and create a sense of flow to the piece as a whole. It involved intense rehearsal sessions to work out each beat of the film. 

In order to make the papers fly, we tested various methods before landing on a combination of leaf blowers and hooking papers into the ceiling with fishing wire. A great testament to the power of collaboration. 

From there I created storyboards so that the creative team were all on the same page and to ensure that the film was executed to perfection. 

Here are some examples of those storyboards: 

PRODUCTION

Once the creative was in place and the storyboards, schedule and logistics had been figured out, I lead the team through production. On this project there was a real family feeling. The team shot at my old school and most of the crew bunked at my parents house, sharing meals together in the evenings. 

Here is a conversation with Jack Chown the composer, speaking about how we worked together to create the score and atmosphere for the piece:

FINAL FILM

The final film was accepted into various BAFTA and BIFA qualifying film festivals as well as receiving a Special Mention from the Jury of Sadler's Wells at their Dance Digital Film Festival. The film has also been featured on Promo News and Shots Creative.