Darren S Cook

During two lessons we managed to have an amazing opportunity and have a guest speaker into our lesson award winning producer and director Darren S Cook talk about his work with short films and how he came about the ideas and how he stuck to the time limit and budgeting. This was a very lucky opportunity as Darren is a stepdad to one of the students in our class so he was very willing to come in and talk to us.

Darren s cook is an independent film and tv director with a passion for moving image who has been involved in the industry for over 22 years, he has worked on many different sets including Three, Broken Silence and Behind Closed doors. During the two hours he talked to us about how the film industry works and how it is very competitive and time consuming. Whist he was here we were allowed to watch some of his work alongside students as well his own, this was very helpful as short films are normally hard to construct so seeing the different things that he has out together makes it easier for us to see what is good and not. We watched some films that did not have a budget just like ours and how he relied on friends and family to help create the short film, he also said how he managed to use someones house whilst they were on holiday and bring the set in and then make sure that all of their valuables went back into the same place and this was free. However this didn't change the quality of the film and it looked as though it could have been filmed with a budget of over £1000. This allowed me to feel as though my short film can look professional even if I didn't have any money to spend on it, in addition he said how he used some cameras that we have at school so it could look the same quality if filmed correctly. As he didn't have a lot of money to spend on equipment just like us he said a few tricks to use to get the same effect, one being he placed a camera on a penny board and then rolled it across the floor to get the same shot of a track. This made me think about what other things I could do to make the filming look more professional.

A lot of the short films that he showed us had a simple plot, so he suggested that we should keep our plot simple because it is easier to film and get the audience interested. When we looked at the codes and conventions of a short film it suggested that you should have a twist when talking to Darren he said that we should but to make it not complicated.

Darren also said how he doesn't normally edit the videos however when he does it normally takes an hour to edit a 1 minute clip this made me realise how much work and time is going to go into making this short film. In addition he said how editing can make a film look so different once you have finished to the raw footage and it can change the whole look with the different editing skills and music.

After he finished talking to us we were allowed to ask any questions about his job role and any more information that we needed to make our short film special. Someone asked if he has ever worked on something he hated and shockingly he said yes to a project that he has just filmed. As he doesn't like it they have not invited him to any events contributing to this film and he doesn't even want to watch the final product which is shocking to hear as he is a well adapted film maker and you wouldn't think that something he is doing could possibly be something that he dislikes.

The first Short film that we watched was called Wisdom and this had a higher end budget. Although there was only two characters they are both well established actors so some of their budget had to pay theme. In addition the vast amount of props had to be bought, the chair is actually an old execution chair that they have draped fairy lights around, the tools that are on the table are old gardening tools that have been wrapped in leather and the table is an old desk that has been covered in leather.



WISDOM from Darren S Cook on Vimeo.


Next was Little Angels which was a university students work and he was asked to film it in a London graveyard. He said how this was a great experience and whilst on the set the actor who was playing the mental character was actually scaring him in how good he was.


 
Little Angels from Darren S Cook on Vimeo.








THREE from Darren S Cook on Vimeo.

Lastly was Three which was a short film made with only Three actors throughout the night, he said that this was one of his first short film that he created and is still one of his favourites.

I will defiantly take on board what he has said to us and will also look as his other short films to get inspirations for different camera shots and editing skills.