Title: Night of the Screamer
Production Company: Disco Stoat
Role: Executive Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
'On a dark and restless night, a sinister figure lurks beneath the cold street lights, waiting to deliver a unique pain to an already grieving woman...'
Aidan Barker-Dean's return to directing is a wonderfully creepy tale of loss and recovery, and is currently screening at a variety of festivals around the UK. I was delighted to produce a film for someone else under the Disco Stoat brand, and as cinematographer spent every moment of the shoot trying to capture Aidan's vision perfectly. In post-production, I took my usual role as editor and worked tirelessly to coordinate all the departments to bring the Night of the Screamer to life. I'm pleased to say I think it's amongst our best work - now the next thing I make has to beat it!
‘I’ve been working with Alec as his 1st AD for many years now, but in that time I had somewhat neglected my own desire to direct. With Alec’s help and support I was finally able to get back into the swing of things and bring my latest short to life.
Alec was both producer and cinematographer for me (repaying all the years I slaved for him…) and I can honestly say that without him this film would not have happened. He can get anything done. Anything. The council changed the bloody street lights the day before filming (bastards), so he changed them back with the magic of film.’
- Aidan Barker-Dean, Director.
Title: Death Is Just A Feeling
Production Company: Disco Stoat
Role: Director, Producer, Editor
'When tragedy strikes Dawn's family, she will go to any lengths to try to keep her world together...'
As you scroll down you'll realise that I've mostly done comedy, and apparently this is because when I go for serious it turns out to be incredibly depressing. Death Is Just A Feeling is a visually experimental short about dealing with loss (badly), and has proved controversial at every festival it's screened at so far. 'Divisive', is how it's often described... I worked closely with the adult actors in some intense rehearsals to make sure that their performances were as close to perfect as possible before the child-actress was on set, and also spent a lot of time making sure she was comfortable and looked after. The result, I think, is a haunting, memorable, and thoroughly depressing film that is hard to get out of your head, and I'm very happy with how unhappy it makes everyone.
‘My daughter has worked on two projects where Alec was responsible for her safety and well-being on set. On both occasions, he ensured that she was well looked after, even under some very challenging conditions. At a very remote location Alec still made sure that she was kept warm, safe and had regular breaks from filming.
He took time out from very busy schedules to make sure that the children had fun and enjoyed the experience. Before every scene he checked that they were happy and created a very friendly environment. I would be very relaxed putting my daughter forward for a film knowing Alec was involved.’
- Alistair Scott, Father.
Title: Cups: First Glass
Production Company: Disco Stoat
Role: Director, Producer, Editor (and fantastic Actor.)
'Where did the Evil Cup come from? Why did he come? How many times can Alec laugh at the word 'come'? All this and more in the origin story that no one needed.'
Some films are the product of years of planning, and some films are the result of your friend turning up one afternoon and saying 'let's make a film about a plastic cup that haunts me.' This is, amazingly, the third film in that series. Yes, you read that correctly. In its defence, it's also the best one and the only one made with any semblance of a budget. Its only purpose is to entertain, and I think it does that very well. It's packed out with our particular brand of comedy and I don't think there's a dull moment in it. Dumb moments galore, but not dull. I've always maintained that sometimes a film can just be. Which is good, because this one just is.
‘I’ve worked with Alec on seven films now and it is always a great experience. It’s very nice to have a director who really understands cinematography and can be precise about the technical aspects of what he wants, as well as being trusting enough to let you have your own freedom and shooting style.
Not only that but his shoots are hands down the most fun I’ve had doing this job, he has the best crew and the atmosphere is amazing.’
- William Maas, Cinematographer.
Title: Zero
Production Company: Disco Stoat/Scattershot Productions
Role: Director, Editor
'An ancient prophecy divides two friends - is it worth sacrificing a few for the futures of many? Or are some prices too high to be paid?'
It's fair to say that I owed Dan Liscombe (writer) a few favours, so when he asked me to direct his short film/stunt reel I had no hesitation in agreeing. It was an interesting challenge to take on someone else's script, something I'm usually reluctant to do, but we didn't experience any friction. The whole process was long and difficult given that it's such a stunt and VFX-heavy film, but it was very rewarding working with the leads to help them combine their martial arts skills with a performance that they were happy with. It was also a pretty steep learning curve to create all the lightsabers, but I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out in the end! May the Force be with us all!
‘I’ve been a fan of Alec’s work since the earliest things he did, and witnessed the progression he and his team have made from amateur film makers to highly skilled professionals. Having worked as a stunt man and fight choreographer on many sets, when it came time to find someone to direct my first project, I knew Alec was the man I wanted.
As a Director, he has an unparalleled ability to put actors at ease and communicate to both cast and crew exactly what the vision is and how to achieve it.’
- Dan Liscombe, Writer.
Title: Scarytales
Production Company: Disco Stoat
Role: Director, Producer, Editor
'Ever wanted to watch three really stupid films but only one video? Well now you can, with the Scarytales Anthology. Prepare to be amazed at the stupidity as three modern fairytales come to life and then rapidly fall apart.'
So this happened. Mostly the Scarytales were an experiment to see if I could actually make a short film that was short - so naturally I made a trilogy of ridiculous B-movie comedy horrors. I went out of my way to make them as daft and shlocky as possible and I think it's safe to say we succeeded at that. All of our actors for this were so up for wildly improvising that it became a tricky edit, but it's all the better for their ad libbed madness. I don't think I can ever show these to my mum, but I had a lot of fun making them.
‘I don't know why I keep letting him talk me into this shit.’
- Kate Gamble, Fairy Sodmother
Title: Lilly
Production Company: Disco Stoat
Role: Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
'A young woman is stalked by an amateur photographer who becomes obsessed with her after witnessing her undressing in a window.'
Lilly was the first film I made with my current core team, as well as the first thing I made outside of university that wasn't Angelic-related, and I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. Jack Gamble presented me with a script and together we made it happen. Although I coached him on directing beforehand I needn't have bothered since he did a great job and I could focus almost entirely on the cinematography; it was on Lilly that I first discovered my enjoyment of using natural light. It was a challenging edit in some ways since the film has no dialogue, but I was rewarded for my efforts with a Best Editing award at the Birmingham Film Festival 2016.
‘Alec was an integral part of the Lilly team often acting as a linchpin for the project. His ideas and input were tremendous and it was an honour to have such a diversely skilled individual who can also work as part of a team on set and behind the scenes.
The final product was amazing thanks to him and truly a testament to his talents. Anyone would be lucky to have him as part of their team.’
- Jack Gamble, Director.
