"Stories Changing Lives": An Interview with Hunter Boydell

An in-depth conversation with founder of Breaking Jar Ltd , Hunter Boydell . Speaking on his personal route into the industry, the expanded LEGO universe, and the importance of getting young creatives into film.

ROSE MUDIE: Hi Hunter! You are the founder and Managing Director of independent production company Breaking Jar, but you are also a writer and director in your own right. Could you tell me a bit about your background, and how you got to where you are now?

HUNTER BOYDELL: To go right back to the beginning, I started writing when I was about 4 years old. I don’t think I was really writing; I was just getting family members to write stuff down for me. But I had ideas - I was drawing pictures and coming up with stories that I wanted to tell.

Then when I was 7, we got a video camera to make home movies, and that was when I saw an opportunity to film stuff - instead of just writing it down or drawing pictures, I could now record it on video. Then I started getting in front of the camera, getting my Dad or other family members to film me playing different characters.

From that point on, I was doing both creative writing (trying to write novels), and making films (short films, videos). That’s where it started. And I’ve kept them both going until the present day, but more so on the film side. I’m now telling my own stories on screen, bringing all the different parts together to make films!

ROSE: I love that you started with just a home camera, I was like that too! Speaking of film, is there a specific film or piece of media that stands out to you as being really crucial in shaping your creative vision? You have a very distinctive style - is there anything specific that inspired you?

HUNTER: Thank you! I think there are lots! The company that has shaped me more than anything else is LEGO. This is such a weird answer, but ever since I was little - about 5 - I didn’t just play with LEGO toys; the branding also used to really appeal to me. I used to get all the free catalogues from the toy shop, and I would look at every page and read all the product descriptions - so as well as playing with the physical toys, I was picking up on the stories.

LEGO as a company, in the early 2000s, were on the verge of going bust (or so I’ve heard), so they were getting very creative and experimenting with new stuff. They put so much creativity into the art, and the posters, and the stories behind the products. So you weren’t just buying a police car and a police minifigure - the characters had distinct names and backstories, distinct art and logos and fonts. This was when the internet was kicking off as well, so there would be a link at the bottom of the page that said “www.lego.com”, and it would encourage you to go to the website. Then on the website, you would find videos and cartoons, and so much more worldbuilding. I think that inspired me to want to have my own company, as well as making stuff.?

But apart from that there are so many - not just films, but different kinds of media, like TV shows, music videos, magazines, books, comics … So many different things I see that inspire me in some way. There is a film called Stalker from the ‘70s, by a Russian director called Tarkovsky, which we were shown at school. Everyone in my class was like, “This film is so boring! Why are we being forced to watch this?” I didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but I actually really liked it! It’s very slow-paced, and there are times when it holds on a single shot for several minutes, and you just watch the characters stand there and look out at the landscape. You get to see every single detail of the trees, and the plants, and the sky, and the human body language - like you are a fly on the wall, just watching people do people things.

ROSE: I love that!

HUNTER: And then after a really long take, they will say, “… Shall we go?”, and the other character will say, “... Yes, let’s go”. And you’ve just sat there with them for 5 minutes and nothing has happened! I had never seen something like that before: that it’s OK to slow everything down, and just show real life in such an authentic way. There are no flashy transitions or effects, it is just life on camera. I didn’t even understand the language, as it’s in Russian, but I could read the subtitles, and I could see the body language, and I could pick up on what was happening. I think the more time has passed since I saw it, the more Stalker has shaped me stylistically.

ROSE: I love the idea of an extended LEGO cinematic universe - the LCU! I was obsessed with LEGO as a kid too. What you said about the branding and the posters and the website links - I can see so much of that in how Breaking Jar operates as a company. You have the short films you have made, but there is also so much outreach - so many different levels and interconnected projects. For you personally, what is Breaking Jar’s main aim?

HUNTER: I am trying to simplify everything down to the motto, which is “Stories Changing Lives”. Just those 3 words. Everything we do has to come back to that in some way: that fictional films and media can actually impact our lives in a meaningful way. Not just trash entertainment that you put on in the background as a waste of time, but really impactful work. Whether that’s because it impacts the audience, as they watch the films, or because the process of making it impacts people’s lives - the cast, the crew, and all the people involved in the production process.

Everything else - like a social media campaign, or an event - has to be something to do with getting people into film and filmmaking in order to make a positive impact on their lives.

ROSE: It sounds like filmmaking for you is very personal, that you commit a lot of yourself to it. I love the “Stories Changing Lives” motto, because it shows how individual and important media and art can be.?

But it is also incredibly difficult, when you are dedicating so much of yourself. The creative industry is known for being very difficult to get started in. In the early days of starting the company, what would you say was the most challenging moment, and the most rewarding?

HUNTER: I think I am still in it right now! Even though it’s been four years, it is still early days! Oh man.?

ROSE: “It’s all challenging!”

HUNTER: Yeah, it’s all challenging! I think there are two things that are most challenging: one is negative feedback, and the other is no feedback. And I don’t know which is worse.

When somebody says something critical, when they are not happy about something, that’s a massive blow. Because, as you said, I put so much of myself into everything, and I genuinely believe in everything that I am doing. Even if I am doing something that is menial or seems far away from the main mission - like sending out emails, or trying to crop a picture for an Instagram post - even mundane tasks all come back to the mission of trying to genuinely impact people’s lives. So if somebody criticises it, or disagrees with something I’ve written in the email, or doesn’t like the post, then that hurts a bit, because I am doing it for a reason - I’ve put heart into it.?

But on the other hand, at least they engage! Even if someone gives negative feedback, at least they care enough to feed back. I think maybe the biggest challenge is apathy - when people just don’t care. Like when you post something and it gets zero reactions. Especially with our generation and social media, that is a big challenge. You put something out there expecting validation, because it’s social media - you are not putting it out there to get no likes! When you put on an event, you are not doing it for no one to turn up - you are expecting people to turn up!

And so then when nobody turns up - which has happened! I have run events that have had zero attendants … Or when you create a product that makes zero sales … Or when you create a whole suite of products, and then you have zero sales on any of them - which has also happened! It’s like, “You mean I just spent an entire year creating this whole thing to help people, and the number of people who have benefited from it is zero?” I’d almost rather they had bought it, hated it, and then given me some feedback, rather than just …

ROSE: Nothing!

HUNTER: Yeah, nothing! Zero impact on anybody. So, I think that’s probably the most frustrating thing - where there is just a void, apathy, people just not paying attention.

The most rewarding then is when people do get involved, and when they tell me it has impacted them in a positive way. Obviously when there is praise that’s very nice - where someone says, “Well done! Great job! I really enjoyed that! That was great!” But when they say it impacted them, that really means a lot. One of the most rewarding moments is on Sparks May Fly , which is a short film we made last year. I hope she won’t mind me sharing this, but our DOP, Gabby, who shot every frame of the film … There was a point where I had miscalculated the tide times, and so we were down by the River Thames, and I was expecting to have a whole beach to shoot on, but we had about an inch of pebbles - the waves were coming right up to the wall, so there was no ground!

Gabby was there with her very expensive camera, squatting down under the stairs, trying not to get covered in water. I was so paranoid that the camera was going to get wet. I was freaking out - you know, “Poor Gabby! She must be so stressed right now! She’s about to get drowned by the waves!” And then I looked at her, and her eyes were just glowing: she was having so much fun. She was feeling so fulfilled, and having such an enjoyable experience, getting to do what she loves, which is the cinematography side of things, getting to angle those shots and capture those exact frames, using her own camera, her own taste, her own style. By putting that project together, I had created an opportunity for her to come and practise her craft.?

I was getting stressed out, but when I looked at her, I could see that she wasn’t feeling any of that stress. She was just so happy to be there. If I hadn’t written that script, organised that team, chosen that location, made the whole thing happen as a director, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to come and do that.?

And so I think seeing other people get joy from the projects, in one way or another - “Stories Changing Lives” - seeing them really get something out of it, is probably the most rewarding. As you say, I put so much of myself into it, but it’s when it ends up not being about me at all, that’s the most rewarding. When other people are loving it in their own right. When it’s bigger than me. That is really cool.?

ROSE: It also shows how important it is to have a good team around you. When you are choosing collaborators to work with, or reaching out to people, or people reach out to you and say, “I have this idea … I want to do this … I’ve written this script …”, what stands out to you as being the reason for going with them? Is there a certain thing? A way that they approach you? Or do you go for projects over people?

HUNTER: I think it is about the person, definitely. I think whatever projects they are making will come out of who they are as a person, and their ethos and values. Sometimes I have said to people, I really want to work with you, but I don’t feel comfortable with some of the stuff in your project, because it doesn’t align with the values that Breaking Jar has. I don’t want you to have to compromise your story to try and fit in with us, because that wouldn’t be fun for you (or for us). So, do you have any other stories that we could work on together? Because I would really like to work with you, but I don’t think it is fair for us to say yes to a project that isn’t aligned - because then either we are going to influence you to change it (which would suck for you, because it’s your story), or more likely, it would be frustrating because we would be butting heads. I’m getting very good at saying no to stuff that isn’t aligned.?

In terms of what I do look for, it is mostly about the person. The biggest thing I ask them is, “What’s in it for you?” If they are trying to do me a favour, I don’t like that as a dynamic. If you are doing this to be nice, or because you think we need it - we have plenty of our own stuff to be getting on with, we don’t need anyone else’s ideas. I already have a million ideas that I’m struggling to execute! And so it’s about: What is the benefit for them? Why do they want to be involved with us? What are they going to get out of it? If they have that, then they will be genuinely motivated to do it, for their own reasons. I already know that we are motivated, we are keen. So if they are genuinely keen as well, we can run alongside each other and make it happen. But if they are doing it for any other reason - a sense of obligation, or someone told them to, or it seemed like a good idea, or they are just trying to be nice, or they felt they couldn’t say no - they are probably not going to stick around.

One other thing, in terms of films that we make and the projects that we do, is - and I am still figuring this out - I feel they should always have an upward trajectory, where the stories are giving people hope in some way. I have found that stories can make me really anxious if they are pessimistic.?

ROSE: We have enough pessimism, we don’t need any more!

HUNTER: Exactly. I think it’s easier to make a depressing film, because you just have some really horrible stuff happen, and then everyone gets disturbed by it. It’s harder to make something that is genuinely uplifting; I think that is more of a challenge. I look for stories that, even if they deal with really difficult subject matter, they show how human beings work through this issue, come out the other side, and find a solution. There is a feeling of authenticity and honesty in dealing with it: they are not sensationalising it, or using it as entertainment, they are actually addressing the issue as an issue. I think about how stories deal with certain subject matter, and how that is addressed - whether that’s sexuality, violence …

ROSE: Sparks May Fly dealt with addiction, didn’t it?

HUNTER: Yes, 100%. That was something that I really wanted to delve into. And we went for it in a way that is very metaphorical, as I hope that people can relate to it not only with substance addiction, but any kind of negative habits or negative cycles. That they would see a bit of their own life in that metaphor, and connect with it. In the story of Sparks May Fly, for the character, it gets worse and then it gets better, and they actually find the solution at the end. It’s not that everything is great now or that everything is fixed - they might fall again - but it’s about showing, in that 20-minute film, a solution. We are not just using it as entertainment, to make everybody say, “That was such a good film: it was so intense, it was so dark!” I have this desire to make it more uplifting and optimistic than that.

ROSE: As someone who knows about the projects Breaking Jar has done, I can really see that thread through a lot of your work - even before Breaking Jar, when you were making your own films during university. The idea that there has to be some level of growth or progression. I also massively agree that the sensationalisation of really horrific things is very common in media nowadays, because it grabs people’s attention. It is definitely harder to make a happy film than it is to make a sad film!?

You started off doing your own thing as a writer-director, and now, whilst you are still leaning into that, you are also taking a step back, to help other people tell their stories. How do you think you personally have changed as a creative, by putting on all these different hats?

HUNTER: I think in general, it has made me formularise everything. In order to teach other people, I have needed to put very abstract ideas into formulas and frameworks. To break down how you actually make a film - because previously, I was just kind of DOING it. I never went to film school; I never read a textbook about it. So, I have been thinking about how I do the things that I do, and making sure that I am using all the correct terminology to describe stuff that I was just doing instinctively, in order to communicate clearly with other filmmakers.?

Another way it has changed is that it’s not this abstract creative thing, but it’s a very tangible, practical thing - almost like a recipe. How do you put some of yourself into the film? How do you capture emotions you have personally been through in your own life, and express that in a creative way? I now have steps that I follow for how to do that. So it takes the emotionally-charged, creative stuff, which I do more naturally, and puts it into a framework, which I can then, if I get lost, go back to and say, “Stick to the plan, Hunter. Step 1. Step 2. Step 3…”

I have a lot more structure around it now, because I have had to develop those structures to teach other people what to do. It’s really cool. It makes it a lot easier to do it, and to feel safe doing it, and to feel a sense of security that I am going to make it to the end of the project - because I have a recipe that I am following, rather than just hoping for the best and figuring it out.?

ROSE: I think that’s how everyone starts out, especially in the creative industry. You have this passion, an idea of what you want to do, but you don’t really know how to do it; you just fumble around in the dark!

So, if there is a young creator reading this who has a script, or who wants to get some experience as a cinematographer, or any other roles, what can Breaking Jar do for them?

HUNTER: If you are looking for experience as a producer, cinematographer, make-up artist, costume designer, actor, composer, sound, lighting, any of the different crew roles - we have some of our own projects coming up, which you may be able to get involved with. We are always looking for people to join the teams of our own films! But obviously we can only do those however often we have capacity to do an entire production. So the other thing we are doing now is helping other people to get their own films made - that generates a lot more activity, because we might only do a film once every year or two at the moment, but we can help five people every month to get their own films up and running!

So, if you have an interest in writing and directing, we can support you to get your own short film production off the ground as a first-time director. And then you are going to need actors, a cinematographer, and a crew - so we can reach out to our network and let people know about your project, so they can all apply to be a part of your film!?

In short: if you want to direct like me, we can help you do that, or if you want to be part of a production in another role, we can help you with that too!

ROSE: It is really important work. It is really difficult to get into this industry, and Breaking Jar plays such a crucial role in making sure people have that access, so well done!

My final question is, where do you want the company to go? What do you want the company to have achieved in, say, 5 years’ time??

HUNTER: This is probably not in 5 years, maybe a few decades, but I had this idea that I wanted it to be - I can’t remember the phrase, it was something like -“The World’s Favourite Production Company”. At the moment, you have big powerhouses like Disney, that are just churning out loads of stuff. You have people that love Disney, and they love Mickey Mouse, and all the characters and the world around it, and they go to Disneyland and it’s their favourite place. And then you have people who hate Disney, because they see Disney as this corporate giant, this soulless machine, just putting out content that’s exploiting us all as audience members.

So then I changed it to “The People’s Favourite Production Company” - if we got that big, then we could be the people’s favourite, the people’s champion. And then I realised that I had put myself into a corner there, because you are never going to please everyone.?

ROSE: Everyone’s a critic!

HUNTER: Exactly! Trying to be the people’s favourite - that is not really a pedestal that I wanted it to be on. So then I rethought, and my current aim is to be “God’s Favourite Production Company”. That means a lot to me because of my personal faith, and the values that I try to practise. At the end of the day, if I do everything for an audience of 1, which is just God, then I trust that those principles and values are going to produce the kinds of results that will benefit people and have a positive impact in society. But I am not going to rely on people’s opinions, or try to be the people’s favourite. I’ll just try to keep doing what we are doing, and do it better, and do more of it. Not necessarily bigger - although I would like to, just because it’s fun to say, “Breaking Jar is now a huge company and we have offices and staff” - it’s not necessarily about the scale, it’s about the amount of impact. In a way, I quite like the idea of being in the shadows - that people don’t necessarily know about us, until they do!

In terms of a 5-year goal, something I really want to happen is that the people in the industry, the film studios, the agencies, and the directors, will just start hearing of Breaking Jar, as a side effect. They will have loads of people applying for roles on their productions whose CVs say, “Did so-and-so at Breaking Jar”; or people will be applying for funding for their film, and it will say, “Just went through the mentoring programme at Breaking Jar”; or they will have a load of actors applying to be in their film, and all their showreels will be from Breaking Jar films!

I want to be at the grassroots level. As you were saying, helping people get into film, at entry level, because it is so hard to just get your foot in the door. Being that first step for people. Breaking Jar can be a tiny little door that everybody has been through, so then the people in the industry - the big giants - start wondering what Breaking Jar is, and where all these people have come from! And it’s people that might not have been there otherwise; we have made a way for them to get in.?

So, in 5 years, I would just like people in the film industry to not be able to ignore it, because it keeps coming up, and everybody seems to have benefited from Breaking Jar in some way. That would be a cool 5-year goal.

ROSE: “Stories Changing Lives” - it really sticks with the motto. That’s a good goal!?

How do people get in contact with you? I know there is a website, and a form on there?

HUNTER: The website is www.breakingjar.com . Click on “Your Story” (or go to breakingjar.com/careers ). There is a quick questionnaire you can fill in there, so we can identify where you’re at in your journey with film and how best to support you. If you are looking for work experience, training, mentoring, networking, community, resources, or you are looking to actually make your own film as a director, we can help you! You’ll also find the films we have made on the website, and lots of other info.

ROSE: Is there anything else you want to say that I haven’t asked you?

HUNTER: When I was younger, I thought that filmmaking meant you wear certain types of clothes, and live a certain kind of lifestyle, and you are destined to be a starving artist living in a basement somewhere … It didn’t seem very aspirational. Everyone seems angry and frustrated, because their career isn’t going anywhere, and everyone is jealous of the 1%. Like, “Oh, it’s all well and good for Leo DiCaprio, but what about the rest of us, suffering?” There is so much negative energy around it.

I want filmmaking to be something that people feel is fun, light, and positive. I think especially today, with the technology we have, it’s much more accessible than it used to be. So it’s worth having a go at it, and using it as a tool to make a positive impact, rather than just being bitter like all those other people.

ROSE: I really needed to hear that. That is so true - I got into this industry to have fun and make stuff. And you’re right, you get so bogged down in the “corporate-ness” of it all. But fundamentally, art is meant to be creative, fun, and collaborative - and that is what Breaking Jar is doing.

Interview by Rose Mudie

Find out more about Breaking Jar Ltd: www.breakingjar.com

See more of Hunter Boydell's work: www.hunterboydell.com