Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download

SAE Magazine 12-2

Well one such individual decided to do just that! David Hawkins, SAE London's very own Head of Film started his career as an award-winning Cin- ematographer in Australia, most notably as Direc- tor of Photography on the Academy Award (Oscar) nominated short film 'The Saviour'. With a unique ability to interpret visually, David focuses his skills on directing films that play with genre and conven- tion. Alongside producer Kate Talbot, he brings a fresh voice and innovative approach to storytelling and now his first major film "Bound by Blue". Why would an individual even attempt such task without funding? Well, if you aren’t among the big award winners or making millions in the industry, nor do you have family connections or mountains of experience in your prospective role, then just like David and his producer, Kate Talbot, they just want- ed to make a feature film. So making a feature film without funding? The easy answer would be arrogance maybe. David has de- scribed himself as an over-educated corporate cam- eraman with dreams of directing feature films, so then why not? In 2010, after attending the opening night film screening of one of Australia’s foremost festivals, David began ranting again (which may seem to be a recurring issue with him). He told ev- eryone who asked exactly what he thought of the film, and very quickly people stopped asking. "If that film had been dragged to life by the sheer deter- mination of the filmmakers then I would give them a standing ovation, but to create such an uninspired and poorly produced piece of crap when you have money and support being handed to you is a joke!" David’s wife also got a little sick of hearing it over and over again I was told, particularly when he began to add "I could make a better film than that with my eyes shut." So like any sane person would Mrs Hawkins told David to "Do it. Stop complain- ing about it and do it." "A challenge!" However after speaking with Mrs Hawkins it seems she may be regretting her ear- lier encouragement as it has become an epic battle against the overwhelming forces of money, logis- tics and encroaching insanity to make a big little film called "Bound by Blue". So who thinks that making a 70-minute film with no money isn’t challenging enough? As David takes me on his epic journey, he decides to make it even more complicated. Wanting to be different and not do the cliché film with a guy in a box bur- ied somewhere in the desert where he spends the entire movie on the phone (sorry Rodrigo Cortés but "Buried?" not your finest) but...how about lots of actors? And loads of locations? What about big, fancy and expensive locations?And cameras? Lots of cameras! And a bespoke score? So laying the groundwork David decides if the team is going to make a film that nobody is going to watch then he needs to ensure the steepest learn- ing curve possible. The biggest fear is actors, and crossing the chasm of knowledge that he knows lies between a DOP and a Director. So instead of a script a one-paragraph action plan is used to get the actors to improvise. But not in rehearsal oh no, they do improv on set! In addition, as a cinematographer David has often been on the receiving end of ridiculous requests fromwannabefeaturedirectors,"Yeah,sotheshoot will be 6 days a week for 6 weeks. But you’ll get a DVD at the end. Maybe your landlord will take it in lieu of rent?" There seems to be a ludicrous ex- pectancy that others should suffer so that one per- son can get their break. Not us. We will organise the schedule completely around the availability of the cast and crew, even it takes us 2 whole months. Lastly not having the money, he needs and is deter- mined that he will not fester away, waiting years to source the financing. So he decides not to pay any- body (have to be fair across the board really) and to work with anything and everything that is given to them. Beggars can’t be choosers (love that old cliché!). It was one thing to set these 'rules' for making Bound by Blue; it was another to actually live by them. Guaranteeing that the experience would not have been nearly as interesting or overwhelming if they had followed a more traditional route – in fact it’s a certainty that they made Kate’s (producer) job about a million times more difficult than it al- ready was. A disaster waiting to happen you ask? Perhaps not as it seems he may actually know what he is doing. ➤ “Do it. Stop complaining about it and do it.” 103 Production & Know How // Film Index

Pages