Category: short films

Towards the end of 2019 I signed up for Edinburgh University’s Introduction to Filmmaking course. I had commissioned and produced three short films before, but I’d never directed or edited a film myself. In the first ten minutes of the first class, our tutor, Andrew Rooke, told us we were all there to make a film. We nodded and smiled. I don’t think I really believed him. But that man worked miracles. Over a ten week period, we went from concept to storyboards, from cinematography to sound design, from lighting to directing, and finally from editing to publishing. Every Thursday evening for three hours we slogged through theory and practice. Deadlines came and went, and I met every one of them. The last class was a mini film festival. We ate popcorn, showed our films, took questions from the tutor, and bowed. I was stupidly proud. I still am.

My initial concept proposal was to make a short campaigning film for Spokes Porty. Spokes Porty works to make walking and cycling safe, fun and practical for everyone in and around Portobello, Edinburgh. I thought it would be straightforward. No actors required. No script. No fancy lighting. All I had to do was find a cinematographer and some willing volunteers to get in front of the camera and talk about cycling.

However, as with all projects, things changed along the way. Despite intensive and careful planning, detailed call sheets and shot lists, everything that could go wrong did so. Filming on dark dreary Scottish winter days is not ideal. People get ill. Technology fails. I forgot how some things worked. I was stressed about recording the audio. I’d never fully understood that sound is more important than visuals. People will accept poor quality visuals if the sound is good. It doesn’t work the other way around.

But many things exceeded my expectations. Simon Russell, the cinematographer, was happy to work with a first time director for free. And the stars, local people aged from nine to ninety five, gave up their time to sit in front of a camera, speak into a microphone, and tell us about themselves with clarity, honesty and humour. It was humbling, inspiring, and fun.

Like everyone who goes out to record people’s feelings and experiences, I ended up with too much material for one short work. I didn’t want to waste it. So instead of making one film featuring four local people, I’m in the midst of making five films: four shorts and one longer version. I’ve been back to one person to record more audio, and I’ve put a GoPro on bike handlebars to get some more footage to use with it. I’ve also given the audio files to Porty Podcast. Podcast 151, supporting the films, is available from 4th January 2020.

This first film, launched on social media on the 1st January 2020, features Yassine and his son, Rayyan. It’s a simple love story about a father and son who travel around together on a bike. There was no time to cover the importance of character in documentary in the university course. Working with Yassine, I stumbled on it inadvertently. Yassine taught me that character is everything. First, find a character that is engaging, authentic, and has something important to say. Second, provide the conditions for that character to engage on screen and make an impact with an audience. Yassine did the first part. I hope we have managed to do the second.