Just had a interview with digital video magazine i recall the magazine used to be
Camcorder User it seems that the magazine has gone with dumbing down that most
UK magazines do now reprinting the same unintresting articles which are very basic,
i highly doubt they will publish the interview so here it is in full:
I am a freelance writer working on a feature on modern horror film. I would like to
include an interview with you about your company Digital Nasties. The interview
would be about what it’s like making low-budget horror films in the UK, and what
advice you’d give to people wanting to do the same. Also, stuff like your favourite
horror films etc.
The Questions:
Q1: Digital Nasties is a great idea — a real low-budget studio for
horror, doing what the fans want. But what made you want to set it up?
A1: I was at college making short student films, i and some friends got really sick
of the type of films we studied in class, the kind of mainstream hollywood films that
should never studied, one of the most disappointing, even disgraceful, aspects of
the college course was that we never got to pick what movies we studied, i was
into video nasty movies at the time and still am, we talked in class about making
sci-fi and horror films away from the college course, at the time we shot mostly
on digital 8 and the first film we made was Chameleon, and we picked the name
digital nasties as my love of the video nasty movies and the fact was shot on digital.
Q2: Can you tell us about the high and low points in making your
films? Making any film in the UK is never easy — but was the money hard to
raise, or were there particular challenges in production? What were the
worst moments, and the best?
A2.Highs, getting up early before the morning sun and getting the sets and actors
ready before the mad rush of filming, low points actors who show up one day film
lots of important scenes and the next day never show up because they had a better
offer or don’t like getting up so early ,also people on the internet who just love to
destroy movies because they are under constant pressure to produce new material
for the website and nothing better than a bad review! if only most online movie
reviews sites had mconstructive criticism, particular challenges I know a number
of people who have been turned down for funding a number of times, with the
type of films we make i don’t think the British Council or The National Lottery would
fund that kind of film! but what I can’t understand is some of the very big U.S.
distributors offering to fund the very same productions that in the U.K. no one would
put into national distribution, the best by going out and filming in a group has allowed
me to learn thing many that college classes didn’t teach.
Q3: What do you think about horror film as a genre these days? Is it
in a good period? Is UK horror distinctive in any way? Have a rant
about your views, if you will, on where the genre is these days!
A3. what can i say i’m a fan of 80’s horror films when blood and sex were
less censored and had a lot more impact, most modern horror films have lot the
atmosphere that remained consistently gritty and brutal, not the nice goreless
teen horror and remakes that fill HMV’s stores, i still think that Scream was the
turning point to the blood less teen horror of today!teenagers getting doing drugs,
having sex, then running around screaming it gets boring after 30 different series
with same theme! while UK independent horror films like 28 days later &
Shaun of the Dead are some of the very best the genre has ever offered.
Q4: What do you think are the ingredients of a great horror film? Are there
particular stories,themes, or particular types of lighting, music etc?
A4. The score can make or break a film, you could make the best film ever made
and if you pick the wrong music and the film will loss most of it atmosphere, say
you add electronic dance music you may send your viewer into delirium.
Q5: How do you get your films seen? Do you sell them direct on DVD,
or to cable or horror festivals?
A5. Most sales of digital nasties films come from the internet we set up a open
source shopping cart to take payment as we only sell over our website to keep
down costs, 100% of the money made of the site goes back into the next production,
we also send screeners out to review websites, we have not yet entered any film
festivals but we plan to soon!.
Q6: What would say are the best horror films? Which ones have influenced
you in your films?
A6. The films that have been biggest influence on us and still are Zombie Flesh Eaters
this shouts out decay with particularly effective widescreen photography ghostly
zombies, it quite a fantastic movie something that hollywood could never match,
Profondo rosso contents some stunning set pieces, visuals staging and elaborate
murder scenes, Living Dead At Manchester Morgue the impressive surreal atmosphere
screams out here with very strong plot twists with zombies infesting the isolated lakes
district, night of the living dead & Peter Jackson’s bad taste it’s so over the top it get
funner each time you watch it.
Q7: Finally, if readers were going to make their own horror film, can
you give any advice about the best way to make sure that they make a film?
A7. Get your nearest video camera, write a short story and few lines for the script,
and just go out and film it, i know a lot of people who been to college and film school
wrote two or three scripts looked for funding and never got it and give up the ghost
without even filming one frame of video, don’t look for the money because if you make
a great film or short the money will find you!
