Ask Tim Bunn, the Director/Producer of the “The Girl is Mime”, winner at the Filmapalooza 2011
1. How did you get started as a director?
I’ve always been a massive film fan and knew it was all I wanted to do from a young age. I started off doing Drama at school and always enjoyed acting; but as I got older the opportunity for acting slowly dwindled and I ended up behind the camera making short films. I then went on to study Film Production at university.
2. Tell us a little bit about the team background.
It’s mostly made up of friends. Luckily, I have very talented friends, most of whom possess the desire to work in film or TV.
Joe Patrick, writer and producer, I have known for about 13 years. We went to school together; to university together and now we work together. We both have similar goals and ambitions when it comes to film. Tim Woodall and Jackie Thompson, writer and writer/producer, both worked with Joe on a previous short film.
Daniel Caren, the actor, is a cousin of Joe’s girlfriend. Jennifer Rhowen Short, actress, is friends with Jackie and had also worked on a previous film. Mark Adcock, the Director of Photography, I met on a music video shoot where I was a lowly camera assistant and he very kindly gave me some of his precious time to make the film look beautiful. Peter Spinney, chief lighting, is a stills photographer who I work with in my day-to-day job.
Joe is friends with a band called The Miserable Rich, who put together the brilliant soundtrack that gives a whole new dimension to the film. I managed to persuade a few lovely ladies from a local make-up school to come down and make the actors look even more beautiful. Jackie knew a couple of special effects guys who did a few bits and pieces for us.
The rest of the crew are friends and family who were just there to lend a hand. My girlfriend and Joe’s girlfriend helped find costumes and my dad was there to drive equipment around in his truck.
It was a great group and we had a great time making the film.
3. Tell us three interesting things about the team.
Joe Patrick, Writer/Producer, and Tim Woodall, Writer, have both worked with Martin Freeman before. They wrote a directed a short film called “HIV: The Musical”. Check it out on YouTube.
Daniel Caren, the actor, recently completed a feature film in a main role. It’s called “The Hike” and hits British cinemas this month.
The Director of Photography, Mark Adcock, is always in demand; you can often find him working on music videos with the likes of Kylie Minogue.
4. How did you come about with the story?
When Martin Freeman agreed to come on board, Joe wanted to paint his face (I have no idea why) and came up with the idea of making him a mime once we had been given silent film. Interestingly, we spent all night writing a completely different script to what you see on screen. It was only two hours before we were due to start shooting that Joe decided we needed to change the entire plot. I think he was right though.
5. What was the experience like working with an A-list actor with limited budget and to finish everything in 48 hours?
Martin is a fantastic guy and is keen to help filmmakers in the early parts of their careers.
As a director, an actor of his quality makes your life so much easier. He understands exactly what you want and can deliver it (and more) on the first take. He also develops the character he’s playing, makes it his own and can then add things and do things that you would never think of. It really brings a whole new dimension to the character and consequently, the film.
Finishing everything in 48 hours and with little money is always a challenge. However, I think they are both the common restrictions on almost every film; every director and producer wants more time and more money. It’s just exaggerated in the extreme for the 48 Hour Film Project.
Personally, it was tough. A lot of hard work went into our film; but ultimately I think as a concept, the project is a great idea. It means that after two days, you’ve got a film… and hopefully, you’ve had some fun.
6. What were the difficulties the team faced throughout the 48 hour weekend? Both creative and technical aspects.
Honestly, the production went relatively smoothly and I felt like luck was on our side too; which is something that helps when you’re working with such tight constraints.
I mentioned before that we changed the script at the last minute, which was certainly a big risk to take but I trusted that the team could get it done. I did a lot of pre-production on the film but one of the things I couldn’t get sorted was sound man. Amazingly, we drew silent film and that’s when I started to feel that luck was on our side.
Towards the end of the shoot, we left ourselves with a lot to do in the last hour of filming. This meant that maybe a few things were a little bit more rushed than I would have liked. There was a lot of planning that went into our production and I think that’s the key to a successful 48 Hour Film Project’s film.
7. Best and worst part of being director/producer for the film?
I enjoy the challenge of making a film and when you’re the director/producer you get to make the important decisions. I think most directors would admit to being control freaks and to some extent, you have to be. You have to know what you want and then do your best to realise it on screen.
The worst thing is the responsibility and pressure. You’ve got lots of people helping you, working hard and you don’t want to let them down. You want to make sure that you produce something that everyone can be proud of and enjoy.
8. How are you finding things since winning Filmapalooza 2011?
Good. It’s well known that it’s far from easy to become successful in the film industry and I still feel I’ve got a long way to go and a lot to learn before I can achieve everything I want to.
We’ve been submitting “The Girl Is Mime” to numerous festivals around the world and so far it has screened at Cannes Film Festival as part of the Short Film Corner event, LA International Shorts Festival and the Raindance Festival, where it was also nominated for Best UK Short, since Filmapalooza 2011.
9. What do you consider the elements of a good film? A great one?
A good film meets all of viewers’ expectations. If it’s a comedy, it makes you laugh. If it’s a horror, it makes you scared. A great film does these things too but it also pushes boundaries, technically, creatively, in any aspect really. It pushes beyond your expectations and delivers something that you weren’t expecting.
10. What would be the one thing that you would advise the teams competing in the 48 Hour Film Project?
Pre-Production. To make a film in 48 hours you need to work as efficiently as possible. Therefore it’s crucial to have as much in place as possible. Obviously with the nature of the project, you can’t plan everything but the more you plan, the more it will help your cause.
You can get your equipment ready, give people their roles and jobs, and have a few locations in mind. Decide how long you’re going to write for, how long you’re going to shoot for and how long you’re going to edit for. Then do you best to stick to that schedule. And most importantly of all, try to have fun.
Behind The Scenes: The Girl is Mime from Sam Sapin on Vimeo.
“The Girl is Mime” will be screened during the Kuala Lumpur 48 Hour Film Project’s Best of 2010 Film Screenings on, Saturday, 22 October 2010 at 4:30 pm at Stor Teater Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur.
