Being involved in the production of independent films can be a complicated and stressful task. I’ve worked with many fantastic people over the years of many projects, some which have garnered success for their creators, some which have been doomed to failure, which can be incredibly sad, as every film or web-series has a lot of love pooled into it, even if it doesn’t look like a Hollywood blockbuster.
I can honestly say I have never worked on a bad film, however as an independent film maker myself, I know the extreme suffering involved in many steps of the film production process. Writing can be horribly hard at times, and a lot of the time you have to sacrifice what could be a fantastic screenplay because the scripts can become too complicated for an audience.Cast members may also have issues with what happens within the script and strong-arm you out of things which you feel are necessary to make the film work. The cast can on some projects be unreliable, or they can turn against the project or give it up for something more lucrative. Composers can back out on you, which will usually be money related. As a composer myself, I have always tried to be as loyal to projects as possible.
Usually the biggest problem is money. People who work on films are not greedy, especially the independent ones, but everyone needs to live and not everyone works on these films as a hobby. So where am I going with this? Well, it’s hard to make a film and it’s great to talk about success when it finally happens. So here goes!
Rebecca Gold
Rebecca Gold is off to a fantastic start. Directed by the phenomenally geeky Ian David Diaz, who I have come to revere as some kind of Indie Film Making God, Rebecca Gold has received award after award. I’ve literally lost track of the amount of awards this little web-series has won. Beautifully acted, directed, scored, filmed and edited, the series is a culmination of efforts from many talented film makers all working to bring the project to life.
I think that it’s probably one of the best things I have ever had the privilege of working on and I’ve made many fantastic friends through the process. Special shout out to Ian Diaz, Paul Coster, Katie Sheridan and Keith Eyles! I messed around a bit with camera work and did some behind the scenes photography. I also got to get shot by a hot female assassin, although you can’t tell it’s me!!! Here are the awards Rebecca Gold has achieved so far, and with the idea of a second series in the works, I’m looking forwards to seeing where this goes!
If you want to watch Rebecca Gold, you can do so through my website which will give you a rundown of each episode, and you can see each episode by clicking: here!
It’s rare that I get a chance to shine on the silver screen, and I’m more than happy to settle for bronze! I went to see Mask of Thorn at it’s premiere at Horror on Sea two years back. I was astounded that I could have been a part of something so great. It all started a few years back. I met Mj Dixon online in a Facebook Group I admin. I liked his work and thought that he was pretty much someone like me. He’s a creator, and his work is incredible, by contrast, I feel that mine is not in any way special. He was working on a film: Cleaver. It was a horror about a man who devolves into madness and becomes a psychotic killer clown. I up-fronted some money to the project so it could get made. The film featured a great soundtrack and awesome actors, and I was so happy to be a part in it’s creation even though it had only been giving towards the project. As a composer I had offered to help with musical scores, but Mj had that mastered. Eventually, I blagged a small role in his film Mask of Thorn, which will be available to purchase on the 18th.
I arrived in Milton Keynes and I was absolutely terrified. I’m not generally good at meeting new people, but I was welcomed in by Mj and Anna, and strangely enough after about an hour of talking, it felt like I’d known them a lifetime. The struggle of independent film makers is real. We don’t exist on massive sums of money, or have the amounts needed to create a Hollywood blockbuster. I think personally that if most of us were given the amount used to make a single episode of one low budget TV program, it could pay for a lifetime’s work in the Indy film industry.
Being a part of the creation of an independent film is something else, especially at this level. Struggling with an unfathomably low budget, and so many costs and organisational necessities, I could see how Mj was leagues beyond me. (Though he’s far too humble for his own damn good sometimes and would never say that himself!) Mj is one of the most driven and dedicated people I’ve ever met with. He works incredibly hard to craft his films and bring his visions to life. Anna is an astounding support and producer, and not only that she is a wonderful support and friend.
Every person I got to work at on the film was incredible. From Will Marshall’s sly and subtle comic quips, to Eve’s unending stamina and dedication, going days without rest in order to play her role. Every single person involved in the production was incredible in their own way, and I made a fantastic friend along the way in Atticus Machiavellian, who is probably one of the most intelligent and unusual people I’ve ever met. I am exceptionally fond of all of the cast and crew. Special shout out to Chloe, thanks for putting up with me and being such a star to work with! Whilst I never met him on the scene, I also became friends with Martin W. Payne who supported me through so much of the struggle I’ve had over the past year.
I am really grateful to Bam for setting me straight on a few things, and helping me re-assess a few things in my life. Watching him work was amazing, and he taught me to be more open minded when it came to my political beliefs. Of all the people I have ever worked with, he has to be one of the most dedicated human beings when it comes to getting things right in the set up for production. Some of the feats he accomplished whilst setting up the old school to look like a hospital were incredible. Then again, I think just about everyone at Mycho is incredible.
I would not recommend a film I didn’t think was incredible. Mask of Thorn isn’t just incredible though, it’s the story of a crew that made an amazing film that for the budget should not really exist. The quality is amazing, the cast are incredible, the music is great! (One of my songs got in!) Hehe. This film is incredible, and should be watched not only by everyone who works on independent films but by everyone who appreciates the value of struggle.
We all go through struggles in life, and Mask of Thorn is the result of that. It’s a project I am so proud to have been a part of, and it changed my life. You can order it on amazon, and support an incredible company. http://bit.ly/Maskofthorn
Many years ago I started working with DT Films on a number of different projects which all touched upon very real issues. I got to score parts of their series: Too Close For Comfort, which featured Lynda Bellingham, Michael Peluso and Senel Karava. Too Close for Comfort touched upon some very dark themes, and I was always blown away on re watching by the scene you can see at 7:52. Now the whole series is fantastic but for me, Senel’s acting really shocked me. Until I wrote the score for Too Close for Comfort, I had mainly focused on horror films. For the first time I had scored a drama, and a good one. It opened new doorways to me.
Last year I became involved with DT Films again, this time in another hard hitting drama: The Edge, a film about domestic abuse. It was a hard piece to score and I worked on creating a strong sound undercurrent to make the audience feel rather uncomfortable. It was an interesting film because it showed the darkness surrounding the way some people interact in their private lives. I found the film rather horrible, and it hit me pretty deep. Having been on the receiving end of a physically abusive girlfriend who used to hit me until my arms were black with bruises, I felt rather ill as I scored this piece. There was some astounding acting from everyone involved and both Dean Kilbey and Donna Taylor got best Male and Female actor respectively! Congratulations!!! I really loved The Edge because it affected me, as most of DT Films’ work on an emotional level, which is generally quite a hard feat to accomplish!
More recently I have worked with DT Films on Stages. I got to see a wonderful and moving piece put across by a fantastic cast. It was the story of a relationship breaking down, of physical illnesses like Parkinson’s having a horrible affect on peoples lives, of the impact of abuse, suicide and so many other things all put into a small package. What I really loved about this film is that in many ways, I could understand why the protagonist’s husband had taken his own life. I understood why he might have ended up cheating, and the film didn’t just make him out to be a completely selfish villain. All of the characters were fantastic to watch and I cannot wait to show you the trailer when it’s out! I certainly hope it has some of my music in it! I highly recommend checking out DT Films and their work! You can find out more about them on their website at: http://www.dtfilms.co.uk/
Walrus persuades Mandrake to accompany him to Aurora, a planet many light years away in order to assist his old acquaintance, Terry B. Traitormass. Traitormass, known as the Man With A Thousand Faces has a long history with Walrus in which the two of them have betrayed each other… This time, Walrus hopes to even out the score with Traitormass, before Traitormass betrays him… What will happen? Only time will tell!
The Making Of Bodywarp
Bodywarp is possibly the only episode that has had a semi-decent budget. The total cost for the episode is probably about £700.00. We won’t see money like that ever again! Most of it went on making the Alien which gave me several heart attacks whenever I looked over at it. I had it on my bed and my computer was right next to me and I kept forgetting it was there – then thinking: “Good god man that’s freaky!!!” Whenever I looked at it. I thought the best beginning would be Chan going on a voyage to see his old friend with a little reasoning behind it. There’s a little which Chan doesn’t tell Mandrake in the beginning. I thought this would drive more of a wedge between them. It turns out that Traitormass has actually invited Walrus to visit him for possibly more than one reason! Though he probably does want to betray him as well!
Basically I thought: What could a backstabbing traitor possibly want with someone like Chan and realised that he could be betraying people without intent, which would be a worrying problem for anyone! Rather than having both Chan and Mandrake going down together, which would have made it hard for Traitormass to betray Walrus, so Walrus has to go down alone. (The old Split up and Look for Clues!) I emotionally blackmailed Chris into helping me and playing the role of Traitormass. This was a huge mistake as he is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. Chris made filming almost impossible because we couldn’t stop cracking up on set. He was so good in fact that I begged him to join me as permanent crew!
The episode design was simple. Walrus would go down alone to meet his old friend Traitormass and get tricked by him. I worked out that the most ridiculous idea would be for him to walk willingly into an obvious trap, whilst being good natured enough to to trust even a treacherous traitor like Traitormass. I had some ideas for the future involving Vegans from Vega and Vegans so I threw in a small joke about Vegans from Vega eating meat. I used the Alien mask I’d bought from Shattered FX “Vok” and crafted a body for the Alien. I built a dummy body and filled it with a smoke machine and my trap was ready for Walrus to blunder into which he did. Much to the amusement and relief of all concerned.
I had the plan to split Walrus and Mandrake up for two episodes where Traitormass would do a Bodywarp, making himself look like Chan Walrus. Mandrake would then later realise the deception and hilarity would ensue as he wound Traitormass up… However Chris was so brilliant in his role that I insisted that he had to join me! I rewrote the episode so that Walrus would be left behind, and allow an option for Traitormass and Mandrake to sort of bond. My new plan involved them all meeting up in a few episodes time… But no spoilers! Maybe I know what I’ve got planned next for the series! Maybe I don’t! Sometimes it’s the little mysteries of life that make it all the more tantalizing!
The entire episode idea was inspired by the episode Turnabout Intruder from Star Trek TOS in which a character called Janet Lester body swaps with Kirk. I changed the concept slightly so Traitormass instead adopts a brilliant disguise. Originally I was going to play two characters and film scenes twice with me in both roles, but then a brilliant idea struck: What if Traitormass’ disguise is so bad that it’s obvious to see though, but no one can actually see through it. So instead of giving him a good disguise, I didn’t even give him a costume change, just a wig and a green pen to draw Walrus’ beard on. He also shaves off Walrus’ beard while he’s asleep because I hate beards and it would logically make him look less like the Chan Walrus that Mandrake is familiar with.
Pointless Trivia
• I swapped the wigs intentionally as a nod to Glynis Barber’s inexplicable hairstyle and costume changes in Blake’s 7. • The Green marker pen was unintentional, I originally wanted to use a red one but I couldn’t find it at the time of the shoot. • Traitormass’ name is a joke relating to Professor Quatermass from the Quatermass Xperiment. Originally I wanted to have an episode called the Traitormass Xperiment. • The sets were made and built in my kitchen and the front room. • To get the effect on the TV screen behind the dead Alien, I used a HDMI lead to connect it to an AF101e Camera I had set up filming at the same time. • The hand scanner Walrus uses is part of a car seat. Don’t judge me. • I grew a beard for the character of Chan Walrus just to give him it as a recognisable character trait in the episode. • Chan Walrus actually wears a wig, and so does Mandrake. • I lost Mandrake’s visor for this episode because I am an idiot.
Something truly scary is lurking in the vents in the Galactipol patrol ship that Walrus and Mandrake stole last episode. They have no idea what it is, what it looks like and what it’s obviously sketchy motives are! Will they be able to stop this threat to their very lives?
The Making Of What Lurks Above
What Lurks above was made on a draconian time limit. I had to get an episode up and out as quickly as possible and had very little option in regards to what I could do. It was hard to make an episode with Walrus and Mandrake arguing because they’d just worked together, however I had to find a way to drive a rift between them in a way that would give them the option to still get along as friends.
Around the time I was writing the pilot of Chan Walrus: Space Adventurer, I was working on a film called Aircraft II by my good friend Hen Jach. He and our talented mutual friend John Simpson had designed a fantastic interior for their Aircraft, and I begged Hen to let me on board so I could use it. I also asked Hen if he wanted a role in my wacky sci fi series. He was very happy, and so I thought that we might as well do something that resembled my favourite film of all time: Alien.
One of the best moments in that film were the moments where Dallas is crawling through the vents so I figured I’d send Mandrake into the vents because he’s slightly less cowardly than Walrus. But I had to put something in the vents that was much scarier than any xenomorph! I chose the most frightening thing that came to mind. An Intergalactic Salesman!!! (I pull no punches with the terror I create!!!)
At the end of the episode the main joke is that Walrus has had a gun the entire time, which we actually see earlier in the episode! He sent Mandrake up into a possibly life threatening situation with a terrible makeshift weapon. Whilst everything is OK because the salesman wasn’t dangerous, this is still an unfortunate rift in their friendship which Mandrake brushes off. He doesn’t have a lot of faith in Walrus at the best of times so he passes it off as something that’s just in Chan’s nature.
Pointless Trivia
• The guns in Chan Walrus are made by Martin Bower who originally designed them for Blake’s 7! • John Simpson and Hen Jach are much better set designers than me! The hold of the ship was made on the Aircraft II set and is AWESOME! • I made the radar in Microsoft Paint. Don’t judge me. • We had to take the candle going out 5 times as the blasted thing just wouldn’t go out! • The Vents aren’t actually filmed in Vents, I forced Rikki to crawl on stone floor for this episode. • We lost Rikki’s visor making the episode we wouldn’t find it for months! • The blue blazer for Chan I used to create a contrast with Mandrake’s red because for once I had proper lights. • The lights on the Aircraft II set weren’t mine!
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