Anthea Williams & Nick Payne create a short film with Spontaneous Reels!
About a month ago, I had the exciting opportunity of exploring a new part of my directing work: film. I was thrilled when burgeoning actor/filmmakers Tristan Shepherd and Andrew Nolan asked me to direct a short film for their ongoing project, Spontaneous Reels. Ever since Tristan and I worked on nabokov's Present:Tense together late last year we'd been keen to get back into the rehearsal room and this seemed like the perfect chance.
Spontaneous Reels is a fantastic challenge. I was able to conceive, direct, and edit an entire film in just two and a half days. The rules are simple, you make a short film from initial idea to edit and upload in a weekend. It works like this: you meet with your team on a Friday to come up with the idea for the film, then you shoot all the footage on Saturday, finally you have to edit the footage on Sunday and get it online by midnight - yikes!
Having never worked on a film before there was no way I wanted to go into it with out a fantastic writer by my side and I'd been dying to work with Nick Payne, who's currently the Bush Theatre resident playwright ever since we first read his fantastic play, IF THERE IS I HAVEN'T FOUND IT YET, which was on here last October. Luckily he was up for the challenge. I also have to thank my old mate Kyle Blanshard who's been directing film for years and came along for the adventure.
Friday started with a jolly table discussion with the team, including actor Jamie Walwork. Nick and I loved the energy of the guys and he was inspired (in true super hero playwright style) to write a short script in a mere four hours. The actors had it by Friday evening and come Saturday morning, off we went with THE MERRY CELESTE. By Sunday night, I was exhausted but exhilarated knowing I had not only discovered a new side to my craft but also collaborated with a fabulous group of artists.
Click the links to check it out!
