I hesitated to share this film due to its deeply personal nature as a tribute to my late father, fearing it might intrude upon my family's privacy.
But it’s been really positively received by everyone who’s seen it, and it also really helped toward raising funds for a charity I recently ran a half marathon for.
My dad had dementia and was close to the end of his life when I made this, it still surprises me now how eloquent he is and clear on what’s important to him.
Sharing it reminds me that when we’re creating stories, we can trust that by speaking from a private, personal and seemingly incomprehensible place, it is often the most resonant.
The psychologist Carl Rogers knew it when he said “what is most personal is most universal”. What surprised me about this film is just how easily it came together.
It took an afternoon to shoot and perhaps a day to edit - no time at all, really.
What’s behind that relative ease is an approach that I just wanted his words to speak for themselves with no particular ‘messaging’ or ‘call to action’
As it turns out, in the right context, a message was loud and clear regardless, and has moved people to donate.
No, ghost gear isn't equipment for hunting down paranormal apparitions.
Ghost gear encompasses abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear, including nets, traps, and lines, which poses a persistent threat to marine life by continuing to trap and kill for years.
During a recent stroll down at Durdle Door, I stumbled upon a lost fishing pot, an unfortunate example of what is commonly known as Ghost Gear.
Alliances such as the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) actively collaborate with governments, NGOs, and businesses to address this pressing issue.
Over the past few years, we have produced a couple of films shedding light on this problem.
In collaboration with World Animal Protection, the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, and Pembrokeshire Coast Marine Reserve, we created two Public Service Announcements (PSAs) — one tailored for the diving community and another for the fishing community, the latter I'll post about shortly.
This film featuring Joanna Toole (https://joannatoolefoundation.org/) specifically targets the dive community, urging them to "Buddy Up," a term familiar to divers, for the protection of marine life.
This film was originally made for the World Animal Protection SeaChange campaign. World Animal Protection now point to the work of the GGGI. This film has been updated with the GGGI reporting tools.
For those who come across lost gear, the GGGI offers a helpful app for reporting, accessible through their website: https://www.ghostgear.org/.
Illusions
Directed by Andrew Davies
//Illusions (Dir. Andrew Davies 2021)
We wrapped on my latest music video for Faultress back in February when it was freezing cold in a cavernous old building in Hastings, South East England.
Faultress' latest release - 'Illusions' - is a downbeat self examination of what is real, what is experienced in a relationship with another or simply with oneself.
I hear internal voices coming through in the lyrics that feel like a conversation or an argument with the self. Rosi (AKA Faultress) and I talked about our love of the Babadook (2014 Dir. Kent) and the depiction of childhood nightmares which became an influence on the set design - a room that responds to our moods and psychodrama.
I was inspired by Kirusowa's use of weather as character (or pathetic fallacy) so mountains and waves sit just outside the window, and rain finds its way into the room and emotional plane that our character inhabits.
//VFX Breakdown of Illusions (c)Campaign Film LTD
4 key shots from CampaignFilm
Window & rain - created entirely in After Effects using caustics and particle simulations
Multiple Rosi - 5 shot composite using motion control via Edelkrone's slider and head and post produced in After Effects.
Practical rain - via a DIY suspended rainmaker and backlit using Aladdin lights from a gantry.
Digital clouds - created in After Effects
Credits
Directed by Andrew Davies CampaignFilm
Creative, Camera, editing and VFX courtesy of CampaignFilm LTD
Set raw material was provided by White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures.
The build and crew came from CampaignFilm with assistance from Scissorhands.tv and from Victoria Ford.
Lighting hire from MelodyVR
Behind the Scenes stills
//Images from left to right (c) CampaignFilm LTD
The empty studio space in the Observer Building in Hastings
Andrew Davies (Director) building the set
Set taking shape
Vicky working on a coiled hose-pipe suspended rainmaker
Set lit and getting a final sweep
Rosi Croom AKA Faultress in position before a take. Cam is an FS7 on an Edelkrone slider.
Final lit set
Rosi during a take
