Something about a swill bucket...

Freedman Chair

2012-02-09T00:08:00.003Z

Just a little something I directed just before leaving for India back in October last year. (Click the title to link to the video on Freedman Chair website.) This marvellous chair went on the win the British Invention Award 2011 and appear in magazines such as Wired. I would smugly like to think that this little video helped it along the way but the real driving force is Simon, the chairs inventor - he's truly an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. Chairs are £1500 a pop but if you've ever suffered from back pain and have a bit of spare cash it's probably well worth it.
Check it out.

Freelance life so far

2011-12-15T11:38:00.003Z

So in the middle of October I left my full-time job to branch out into the freelance world. The first thing I did was bugger off to India for 3 weeks. I absolutely fell in love with Palolem (Goa) and since I returned to London all I can think about is how to get back there.

I mean look at it... it's bloody paradise!

The good news is that I've been getting work and earning money. I guess my CV looks alright as people have been very receptive and lovely.

I'm chatting to a couple of people about music videos and need to write up my ideas over the next couple of weeks (when I find a window where I'm not working). Hopefully they'll work out and sometime in the new year I'll be posting some music videos directed by yours truly. Watch this space.

I've also got a couple of film ideas floating around my brain and hoping to earn enough in the next couple of months to get back to Palolem for a month and spend my days on the beach and my nights writing scripts.

2011 seems to be coming to a close in a very positive light. Bring on 2012!

Peace and love.

Taking the plunge

2011-08-31T14:09:00.005+01:00

So after some time to-ing and fro-ing I've finally decided to take the plunge and leave the comfort of in-house production to try and make it in the big bad world of freelancing.
I'd like to clarify that this is in no way reflective of not liking my job or the people I work with. It's quite the opposite in fact. The job and the people are so good that it's stopped me doing it sooner. But I want to be a director not a producer and if you want to be a director you've got to have a showreel. And if you want to make a showreel then you need time. And time for your own projects is something you just don't have when you work in house.
So I'm flying the nest as it were. It's scary and exciting.
Fingers crossed I won't be penniless and on the street in a few months.

In the interests of trying to drum up a bit of work here's a couple of stills of 2nd unit directing/camera work that I've done whilst in house.

HSBC "Student"

Historic Scotland "Stewart Dynasty"

Green Party "No Joke"

Turning Japanese

2011-08-31T13:19:00.003+01:00

About a month I went to Japan on a job. I've always wanted to go to Japan and it didn't disappoint. When I got the news I was going (the night before flying) I was literally jumping around with excitement. Tokyo is insane. Despite working constantly and surviving on no more than 2 hours sleep a night for 8 days I had an amazing time.

I can confirm the following facts about Japan:
Vending machines are everywhere.
Japanese children are the cutest in the world.
Japanese people are unbelievably courteous and polite but they can't handle their drink.
Addresses have 3 coordinates; x, y and z. I.E. upwards as well.
Earthquakes are terrifying. (Experienced a 'small' one at 4am one night, 18th floor hotel room swaying from side to side... eek!)
Fuji Rocks is the cleanest festival I've ever been to.
Being a vegetarian is Japan is very tricky.
JAPAN IS AWESOME!

Anywhere we were there shooting a video for Kaiser Chiefs (who were all very nice chaps by the way).
Here it is:

Despite being there as production/DIT I got to shoot a bit too and there are a few of my shots in the final cut.
*smugly pats self on back*

So the moral of the story is: if you ever get the chance to go to Japan... DO IT! You won't regret it.

Worn By

2011-08-11T13:41:00.002+01:00

I only bloody directed something didn't I?
I've been on about this for ages. And I wasn't lying I really did do it. It's finally finished.

I'd like to thank everyone that helped me on this as it's all about the team work.
DoP: Sam Goldie
Additional camera: Cassidy Burcher
Art Department/Stylist: Elin Evans
Editor: Charlie Moreton @ Work Post
Colourist: Luke Morrison @ The Mill

Here it is...

Worn By "101%" from Sarah Du Casse on Vimeo.

Some photos I've taken

2011-07-07T12:35:00.014+01:00

CLOWNS

This and some other photos from the same night were used on a belt for Lowlife designed by Niklas Dahlbeck

DOGFACE

THE HOOD

SLEEPYTIME

FRENCH

WINE

HAT

SKY

MEOW

Where's Your Line?

2010-11-17T12:01:00.002Z

I recently worked on a viral campaign for The Havens which has gone live on Youtube today. The campaign is aimed at 18-25 year olds and aims to foster the debate about sexual consent. The shoot for this job was super fun, although I did quite literally fall asleep at a few points (in my defence - I'd been working my fingers to the bone all week and it did go on all night!). The crew were all great and the actors did a fantastic job.

We attended the premiere screening last night at the Bermondsey Square Hotel which was full of all sorts of police, NHS, government and youth worker type people. The film went down really well and really proved to have the shocking impact that we were all hoping for. Boris Johnson himself sent us a pre-recorded video message congratulating everyone on their hard work and despite rolling the r when pronouncing the word rape he didn't say anything too inappropriate. Well done Bo-Jo!

They've done a feature on Sky News today about the film and the issue of consent which you can watch here

Working on jobs like this which might actually help society (as opposed to selling shit) make me feel pretty good about what I do.

So please have a look at the link below and be sure to explore the interactive element by clicking when you think the line has been crossed.

Watch The Havens - Where's Your Line? here

And be careful out there kids.

Bits and Bobs

2010-11-10T11:32:00.004Z

These are a few videos from the summer I shot for Sup Magazine which feels so long ago now that's it 5 degrees outside :(

The first vid was shot on my Canon XHA1 at the Professor Green album launch party. A night that ended with me drunkenly kipping at the flat of Synamatix from The Daily Street. (Him and Suffocake provided myself and the lovely Jo Fuertes Knight with pizza - top boys.) There's loads more footage from that night - including some absolutely sick live performances by Pro. Unfortunately the editing of the footage coincided with the death of my grandad so the majority of the stuff I shot is yet to see the light of day but it will - watch this space!

DJ IQ Interview at Professor Green Album Launch Party from 'SUP Magazine on Vimeo.

The following two videos were shot at Shoreditch 1-2-3-4 on a Flipcam that I borrowed off a colleague. For a camera that can fit in the pocket of your skinny jeans (Shoreditch - natch!) it's actually surprisingly decent - only problem with a camera that small is that there's no disguising the drunken hand wobbles. (I'm really not normally drunk when I'm working - it was literally just these two times! Maybe I shouldn't be mentioning it but they were at parties/festivals and it's not like I was getting paid... Oh god stop talking!)

First vid is We Have Band who I first saw live back in January with Tinie Tempah and Ellie Goulding at an amazing gig at Dingwalls. I fell in love with them at that gig and have tried to catch them as many as times as possible since.

We Have Band performing You Came Out live at The 1-2-3-4 from 'SUP Magazine on Vimeo.

And here are La Shark. Lewis their bassist and I share some good friends and I'd been meaning to catch his band for a while. Here are the results when I finally did. The boys had a very early slot but I predict big things for these guys - you heard it here first! (You've probably heard it other places before like here.)

La Shark Live at The 1-2-3-4 from 'SUP Magazine on Vimeo.

So that's that.

Peace out.

Pride

2010-10-29T11:42:00.002+01:00

Recent(ish) job I worked on.
Other recent work is yet to be completed but patience is a virtue as they say.

Perks of the job

2010-07-14T17:42:00.004+01:00

At the end of play yesterday one of my colleagues started wandering around the office muttering something about The xx. After missing out on Monday night's gig at the Roundhouse as part of the iTunes Festival (which 3 of my friends attended) I screeched "Me, me, meeeeeeeeee!" and hastily snatched the tickets out of his hands. Two free tickets to see The xx at Somerset House - WIN! Turns out one of the producers had bought the tickets and then couldn't go.

So I had an hour to find someone to go with. Many phone calls ensued with the recipients cursing their friends and families or anyone else who they'd previously made plans with. Turns out that my friend Lucy was about to surprise our friend Gary with tickets that she'd bought him for his birthday so Gary's girlfriend Jade took my extra ticket and the four of us set off to Somerset House (via a drink at The Lyceum).

We lamented our lack of suitable rain protection as we wandered across the road to Somerset House but made our way nonetheless because we weren't going to let a bit of drizzle put us off.

There was a bit of drama getting in as Jade got swept away by a security guard only to reappear and beckon me to join her outside. They started asking me the postcode and the last 4 digits of the card number of the person that purchased the tickets. Ridiculous! But after a while they changed their minds and let us go in anyway (only after I'd called the producers' assistant to see if she knew the details they were after, to which the response was "Errrr...").

We were in! Success! To the bar! I knew it would be expensive in there but a pint of Pimms was £8. £8?! I opted for a pint for Carling at £3.80 (Jade was buying though so maybe I shouldn't have been such a good Samaritan and gone for the Pimms). We headed over towards the stage to find a good vantage point. Rain droplets plopped into my pint as we pondered why none of the support acts had been announced. None of us knew who they were but all agreed that despite looking a bit like students mucking around in their university bedrooms they were quite good.

We watched the clock (literally a massive clock in the courtyard of Somerset House) waiting for The xx to come on stage. Then finally, they did. I won't list out the set list or describe the timbre or any of that shit but here follows a brief summary of my feelings about the gig.

The band were pretty tight, they mentioned they'd been touring for a year and a half and I imagine you get pretty tight after all those gigs so nothing shocking there. Some of my enjoyment of their husky tones and melancholic riffs may have been hampered by the crowd. To my right was a girl who insisted on moving around vigorously (not sure you could call it dancing) when everyone else seemed happy with a gentle sway. To my left was a couple who can only be described as sickly and smug. Although in front of me was an extremely attractive young man, so swings and roundabouts. The music was definitely good, the bassline rumbled through the courtyard and my chest, the staccato guitar riffs pierced the air and their voices harmonized all nice like. The atmosphere was somewhat lacking though. I felt a bit sorry for bassist, Oliver Sim, when he announced that they'd been looking forward to the gig for a long time, in one the sincerest thank you speeches I've ever heard from a band. Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was Boppy McGee elbowing me unnecessarily. But really I reckon the problem was me. I was waiting for it to get a bit more euphoric, for something to drop and for everyone to suddenly go mental. I was waiting for that part of the night when the crowd surges forward and your feet get lifted off the floor. Maybe I've been hanging out in the dance tent too long.

There was a confetti bomb though. Always a winner.

The xx are definitely worth a punt (although apparently they won't be playing in London for a while now) and were a lovely unexpected Tuesday night treat for me.

Read my good friend Amy's review of The xx at the iTunes festival here.

Mwhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh!

2010-07-13T17:52:00.009+01:00

Here's something I worked on recently(ish), 'Evil Genius' for Paddy Power.

The art department guys did what can only be described as a bang up job, despite wet paint getting on the directors' jacket (don't worry I used my magic skills to get rid of it - please note: black paint on white patterned jacket = BARE SKILLS).
So if you're looking for some top notch art department chaps then check out these fellas:
Simon Davis
Nigel Howlett

The actor Robert Jezek was also a complete legend. Such a nice guy and absolutely hilarious.

I'm being so nice and it's genuinely sincere. I could do A LOT of bitching about the client on this job but I don't want to to ruin the tone of this rather pleasant blog.

Peace and love.

Visas - the bane of my existence

2010-06-29T14:45:00.002+01:00

America - the land of opportunity. I remember seeing something (perhaps on 'Stephen Fry In America') that said that America had some huge stretches of unprotected border and was surprisingly easy to enter. Pah! America is the land of no opportunities, the land surrounded by huge walls constructed of ridiculous protocol and beaurocracy.
I'm ranting because for the past three weeks I've been attempting to secure temporary work visas to go shoot a commercial in the US. (Please note I'm not trying to secure visas for the purposes of drug smuggling, terrorism or any other unsavoury activities.) Upon asking around the office about where to start I was met with sighs and tales of woe about how no one had ever been able to get a temporary work visa in time and they would always either lose the job or go shoot it somewhere else.
But ever the optimist I soldiered on. There must be a way! How naive I was. I called a couple of visa consultants for advice on which visa we should be applying for. With one type of temporary work visa you need to go through a US lawyer and get a petition from the US saying they want you, you also need to have a degree in the specific area relating to what you're doing there. With another type of visa you don't need any of that stuff but what you're shooting has to be news or informational. Already tiny 'problem' flags are going up in my mind.
I was advised to send an email to the embassy outlining what we were doing. They would then reply telling me which visas would be most suitable to apply for. Great. So I sent the email. No response. Hmmm that's weird. I'll call them up to see what's going on. Oh I can't speak to anyone at the actual embassy? I have to speak to some chump in a call centre in Scotland? "Hi Scotland! So what's going on with my email? Oh you can't access the database? So what kind of visa should I be applying for? Oh I see you don't know anything. I should send a new email with a new reference number?" And so it begins again. I've now been through this cycle 4 times.
Why America? Why won't you reply to my emails? Why don't you want us? We're good people really. Please let us in! *silence*
So the moral of the story is: don't bother in the first place. Seriously. You'll never get that time back.

Things I like to read

2010-05-13T23:35:00.003+01:00

Here's some pages and blogs I like to read, some ad related some not so much...

Rattling Stick

I am the client

Sue Sylvester - Legend amongst mere mortals

Texts From Last Night

Fooood brought to you by Becca. You'll find her in Room 2

Quotes From The Street

Illustrations and ting courtesy of James Robertson

Art and ting brought to you by Dan Eaglesham

Light amusement from G-man

There's more but I've realised this is just a list of links and not really a blog as such so I'll cease and desist.

Word to your mother.

Office Politics

2010-04-19T20:29:00.006+01:00

Here's something I worked on recently.

In unrelated news I hate the BNP. I'll be voting Lib Dem on May 6th.

Never work with children and animals... at least not this one

2010-04-13T17:44:00.003+01:00

I am currently in pre-production for a commercial for a popular cereal product due to shoot at the end of April. The ad will feature a young child. I've worked with children (and indeed animals) a few times over the last couple of years and *touch wood* there have been no huge problems yet. As long as no-one breaks the rules on shooting hours and all the licenses are in place then problems can be avoided.
Never before sitting in on the first casting session for this job have I understood the importance of getting exactly the right child for the job though. A kid's a kid right? Wrong.
We asked one delightful 7 year old if he liked super-heroes.
His response: "No."
Casting director: "Why's that then?"
7 year old: "Cos they're gay."
The room: *Stunned silence.* *Awkward glances.* *Nervous smiles.*
Call me old-fashioned but I'm pretty sure super-heroes were cool when I was 7. I wanted to correct the child that in fact not all men who wear tights are homosexual. And that if a super-hero did happen to enjoy other men sexually then that doesn't make him less awesome. I thought better of it upon considering I might be delving into some trauma he's experienced with his father. Never bring up the daddy issues - it never ends well. Also he's 7, and probably doesn't really understand what 'gay' is.

We now have a shortlist of 3 boys - homophobe junior isn't in there.

George Orwell

2010-03-30T21:34:00.003+01:00

"Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket."

Ah George how right you were. Although I mostly do genuinely like my job sometimes you can't help but wonder if working in advertising makes you somewhat responsible for commercialism, consumerism and the general state of the modern world. As a teen I was very disillusioned with the world and held ideals of shared wealth and communal living close to my heart. Upon growing up (a bit) it became clear that communism just doesn't seem to work (won't point at China too much but...). Whilst there's something appealing about living in a hippy commune outside the realms of society quite frankly I can barely handle camping at a festival anymore.

So now I work in advertising helping brands to sell people products that they probably don't need or really want. Whilst the hours are long and the pay measly there are some pretty addictive perks. Parties, gifts, free lunches, travel and shoot loot to name a few. (Shoot loot is all the stuff that gets bought for a shoot which you can then keep when the job is over - I've had food, clothes, shoes, jewellery, make up and a TV before.) Then there's the recession which has given me what I shall refer to as 'the fear' of leaving my job.

So anyway, here's my first entry into the blogosphere and I guess some kind of welcome into my rather conflicted world. Watch as materialism ebbs away at my morals and I sink further into the depths of advertising. Luckily there are a fair few people in the industry who know it's all bullshit - here's hoping I can continue to be one of them.