Introduction:
My film ‘[BROADCASTNIGHTMARE/DREAM]’ is a lo-fi music video. It falls into the genre of lo-fi since the whole film was shot on an early 2000s camcorder; to compliment the lo-fi music I had written to accompany the film. Thematically, I wanted to explore the ideas of nostalgia and its impact on modern film and music through the lens of the lo-fi genre.
Inspiration:
The concept for this film was very inspired by SOV films such as Lynch’s ‘Inland Empire’. In the early days of my filmmaking, I had little gear and little money, so seeing a film that was all shot on consumer-grade camcorders and DV cameras was really inspiring for me and made making a film seem more than achievable. I bought a retro camcorder, wanting to capture the nostalgia of that time in a short. Naturally, having been a musician before I turned to filmmaking, this short was scored with one of my tracks. The lo-fi nature of my music matched with the lo-fi nature of the films I was making, complementing each other and creating something I’m super proud of.
The Process:
This short was filmed in Birmingham in one frantic evening. We had no budget at all, so my friend and I (who also stars in the film) had to shoot in public with an old camcorder from the early 2000s. In terms of ideas, I knew exactly what I wanted the film to be as I had already written the accompanying track. Bringing this idea into reality with such constraints was a gamble. In terms of process, we ended up selecting some specific locations that fit the atmosphere we were looking for. Then once we were there, we allowed the location to inform what we filmed. If the location had a certain architectural feature, we would use it as a part of the film and create movements around it. In this way, the locations we filmed in became part of the film itself. In the end, the gamble of bringing this idea to life paid off.
What It Means to Be a Finalist:
Being selected as a finalist has been an amazing experience! Having your films recognised is always very inspiring and pushes you forward to create further work. In terms of my career, this selection is a brilliant ‘string to my bow’ and since I’m currently finishing off my debut feature film, this selection will help push my future projects forward.
Where to Watch / Follow:
You can follow me on my most active page on Instagram @datshredboi, where I’m posting about my other festival selections, my new projects and updates about my debut feature film! I also publish my music on Bandcamp under ‘datshredboi’, and some of my films on YouTube under the same name.