HOW I MADE A BRANDING FILM - MY FIRST EVER BEHIND THE SCENES

This is a tale of an extraordinary man called Jamie Wilson who was faced with a devastation in his family which led him on a journey to build a business to help the world. I won’t forget my first chat with Jamie. I was in Sydney when he rang me. He expressed how he loved my work and wanted to make a film for his brand. I asked him loads of questions so I could understand his vision and what he wanted to communicate. After multiple phone calls, emails and WhatsApp chats we finally decided to embark on a journey to make a movie together.

Pre-production started almost straight away. My vision for the film after listening to him was to inspire the audience to take responsibility for their affairs in case of a devastation or disaster, by connecting with the pain of Jamie’s story. Like all good films we needed to show not tell. Jamie’s story is real and could happen to anyone of us reading this and some of us may already have experienced this. But how the hell was I going to get him to open up to me? I am obsessed with humanizing brands. When it comes down to it my job is to communicate an idea, product or service to support the vision of the brand. I do this with one thing in mind, to create an emotional connection with the client’s audience. There’s so much shit online these days pushing this, that and the other but we all know when we’re being sold to and can smell bullshit from a mile away. Any filmmaker knows it takes emotional intelligence and a great deal of sensitivity to draw out such a personal and powerful story especially when someone has endured pain like Jamie and his family did. I knew my pre-production needed to guide the story convey their vulnerability. I knew the strength of this film would be a reflection of mine and Jamie’s connection which will ultimately be my responsibility. It would simply come down to trust and the warmth of our friendship. If I couldn’t make him comfortable to be vulnerable in my presence, this film wouldn’t stand a chance. So I spent an incredible amount of time getting to know him, his family and his team. I learned a lot about his father through family memorabilia, photos, videos and intimate stories of Jamie growing up. A big part of filmmaking is about being present by listening, feeling and observing to understand the essence of the story.

I knew that I wanted to film in Brisbane so instead of flying, I decided to drive. A long road trip which allowed me to bring extra gear and be mobile during the shoot. I was directing, shooting and editing this film. Due to the sensitivity of Jamie’s story, I wanted to keep my team small, light and nimble. This decision presents challenges in itself especially when lugging expensive gear from location to location. But I endure this struggle for two reasons, we don’t draw unwanted attention and it makes the client feel comfortable in front of the camera. I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of the technical aspects of the shoot. Simply because as I grow in my career it becomes less and less about the technology and more and more about the feelings they are trying to communicate. So I set off to Brisbane, stepped on the gas, windows down, music blasting and after ten hours I had arrived. Jamie and his family were incredibly warm and welcoming. We met everyone, did a location scout and pre-interviews over dinner and decided that the main interviews will be shot at Jamie’s family home. I had to go back several times to shoot and re-shoot but there was one particular scene that we couldn’t ask to be reshot. This was when we asked Jamie’s mother to be brave enough in front of the camera to look through old photos of her husband. This brought back memories and was hard to watch let alone film. My biggest advice when doing such a scene is to plan ahead, improvise and again stay present. In saying this it can be hard when shooting children. Directing and filming can get in the way #daddymodeon. I’m never satisfied with how much footage I’ve captured. It’s always a balance between the talent’s availability and how far we can push for more. After many late nights and early mornings of asking Jamie and his family to show up, we had enough footage to head back to Sydney. I left feeling like I’d made friends for life. They are an incredible family that has built a strength of togetherness through this ordeal.

Post-production was an adventure in itself. I’d made a decision to move and expand my services to Asia due to a new opportunity. So here I am bags packed full of footage only to realize that my studio would take weeks to arrive in Singapore. I couldn’t wait to begin editing so I decided to buy the latest Macbook Pro and spec it out to the max to begin editing on the go. I began editing at airports, on planes, in cafes and anywhere I could find a power socket. I realized this was crazy and I needed more screen real estate. So I ran around hotels looking to hire a suite with large television screens to plug into. After several attempts, I managed to find the perfect setup. I finally settled into a rhythm with my new surroundings and got in the zone. A few hours into the edit I felt a burning sensation in my body and half an hour later I was being rushed to the nearest emergency room. The doctor ran multiple tests and checked me for all sorts of things. I was afraid of being quarantined especially being in South East Asia. I’d not taken any jabs to prep so I was freaking out. I was diagnosed with a bacterial infection. After three days of being bedridden, tired and overwhelmed I managed to find my flow. Listening back to Jamie speak on camera is one thing but spending time with him was different. How Jamie viewed himself, how he built his business, his mental state especially when he hit curve balls but most of all his self-belief which is something I noted. I’ve spoken about backing yourself 100% before and Jamie is a great testament to it. The edit started to come together. I used sound to snap into different transitions of the story. The pacing was a big deal as there was so much I had to cut out to keep on track to shape the overall message of the story. I am proud of the film but most of all I’m proud of the talent in the film as they are not professional actors. I believe it was our connection and dedication to the story that brought it to life.