Lay of the Land - The SHOPWINDOW won Best Music Video - Jury Award in the 12th Season of MP Film Award Darren Stokes Director of the Film Lay of the Land - The SHOPWINDOW agree to interview with us.
Darren Stokes: An Award-Winning Creative with 20 years of experience in video production. With a passion for editing sizzle reels, music videos, and developing ideas.
About The Film: Synopsis: Lay of the Land - The SHOPWINDOW Film Synopsis:
"Lay of the Land is about experiencing dark times in life, getting lost down the rabbit hole, meeting the wrong people and dragging yourself from the gutter for a new life. Eventually learning what it’s all about in the end, the thing that is most important, Love!” Carl Mann - Writer/Lead Singer of THE SHOPWINDOW
Lay of the Land - The SHOPWINDOW
What was your drive behind making this film?
Darren Stokes: Representing the music and the idea behind the lyrics in a cool and engaging manner.
How do you feel when you are awarded with the MP FILM AWARD Award.
Darren Stokes: It’s always great to be acknowledged because it means your vision is also seen in the way that you and the band see it. It makes that emotional connection that you translated from the music.
Can you tell us about the greatest moment during shooting this film?
Darren Stokes: While we didn’t shoot any of the footage, finding the RIGHT footage from Artgrid.io is the hardest part. But when you find that right couple of shots, that inspire the emotional connection to the music. The flow in the edit is incredible, you lose yourself in setting up the scenarios that create your story.
How rigorously did you stick to the script while shooting?
Darren Stokes: Again, we didn’t have a shooting script, but the lyrics are the guideline for the narrative. Then you create the story to reflect the lyrics.
Where there any onset problems During the filming of the film & how did you deal with it?
Darren Stokes: N/A
Do you have any advice for young filmmakers out there? Or like yourself?
Darren Stokes: When coming up with ideas for MV’s, before I thoroughly break down the song into parts, I time those parts, ie Intro 0s-25s, Verse 1 26s-36s, etc. From breaking the song down, you have an organic structure to work to, which you can stick to or use as a guide. Write down every idea, no matter what they are. And don’t be precious over your ideas. Be open to change and roll with it. Representing the song in a way the artist loves is the bottom line.
Do you think it is essential to go to a film institute in order to become a successful filmmaker?
Darren Stokes: Hell no. Most creatives obviously come from some sort of creative background. Ridley Scott was an art student, who then studied Graphic design and went into TV. And I did exactly that too…
Which film has inspired you the most?
Darren Stokes: Picking 1 film is impossible. Becuase each film has it’s own qualities that strike a chord with you. But if inspiration has to be defined, then Star Wars was the first to inspire me at the age of 4 or 5, for just the escapism.
Which particular filmmaker has influenced you the most?
Darren Stokes: Ridley Scott. Once I found out he too was a graphic design student, that changed the way I looked at my course, and my future. I wasn’t a great designer, but I learnt to frame images, look at light, angles, lines of sight, structure, positive and negative space. And Ridley is the master of all this. The frames he creates are art, you just have to look at his
storyboards to see how he sees things.
Which book would you love to make a film out of one day?
Darren Stokes: What book hasn’t been already made into a film? Having read Jurassic Park before the film came out, I’ve always wanted to see that vision. The book is very dark and very gruesome.
If you got the opportunity to go back in time & change something in any particular movie of yours, then which movie & what changes will you opt for?
Darren Stokes: I’m not going down that rabbit hole, if you think about going back and changing things to your art, it wasn’t finished in the first place. So no, no changes.
If you were to shoot the film again, what would you do differently?
Darren Stokes: Generally, I’d say no. But I think most people would always want a better budget, better budget elevates everything.
What is your greatest achievement till date?
Darren Stokes: Every project is an achievement of the usual parameters. Time and budget. And for the artist and the fans to love the work is amazing. Getting awards are a bonus.
How do you pick yourself up after a failed film?
Darren Stokes: You can’t dwell on your work not connecting with an audience. And second guessing what they think will drive you mad. Satisfying yourself is hard enough within time and budget, so completing a project is always a win for me.
Where our viewers can catch you (share your social media)?
Darren Stokes: You can access everything via S8creative.net
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