Short Film Showcase: Wax

In terms of the background of the production, to be honest it was originally intended for me to direct as a piece to ‘keep frosty’ in terms of dramatic content. As a working director, it’s very easy to fall into solely working on jobs for money which don’t appeal or reward creatively. Whilst I am always developing my own material (two shorts and two features at present) such development can be a slow process. As such, I often keep an eye out for material that appeals to my sensibilities and will work well as a practice-board for techniques both narratively and technically that I would like to either explore, develop or hone. I was in conversation with Kevin about several other scripts of his, when he mentioned this one in passing – initially under another title, the visuals immediately struck me and I agreed pretty much instantly to direct it.

In terms of myself and what I do — well, I’ve been producing and directing shorts since childhood, did the uni and managed to get a job straight out of the gate from graduating with a high first in film. For about six months I was running for a Soho based production company whilst moonlighting as a news cameraman. After someone at the production company dropped the ball with a promo, I was asked to try producing a new piece due to the funds having run out. I did so in my own time and it ended up winning a Promax for best Film Promo. After this the production company gave me a full-time promo producer role where I won best newcomer to the industry. I worked in this field for a couple of years, producing a short film of my own once or twice a year depending on how much capital I could save, winning several awards in the process. I then left to go freelance and focus on producing and directing and have been working solidly ever since. While my film output has got a little slower, it’s also got a little richer. I hope.