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Young storytellers with award-winning vision We speak to three category winners from the first ever Stories in Motion short film competition, a co-initiative by Canon and CVP, as entry opens for this year’s contest...
O pen to those aged 18 to 25, this May saw prizes awarded in the inaugural Stories in Motion competition, an initiative by Canon and CVP aimed at finding and showcasing young talent via the medium of short film. There were three entry categories for 2023: music video, documentary and scripted short. Entrants could submit films for all three, though were allowed just one entry per category. The judges were looking for a command of cinematography, editing and colour, plus originality regarding subject matter. With a fresh call going out for 2024 entries, we spoke to the three category winners from this year, including grand prize winner Daniel Simpkins, who, as well as receiving a CVP voucher like his fellow finalists, bagged a Canon EOS C70 camera and an RF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. The cinematography and editing in Simpkins’ one-and-half-minute film, Farm Life , focusing on his farming cousin Jeff, led to him topping the documentary category as well as the competition overall. Having enlisted friends to help with the project, the young filmmaker found their encouragement invaluable,
Red or dead Winning best scripted short for his five- minute thriller Red Room , fellow filmmaker Chas Harrington is also seeking to extend himself with his next projects. Currently working in film and TV as an assistant director (AD), he was likewise able to pull in favours to help realise his creative vision for the competition. “Telling an interesting story in five to 15 minutes is a good challenge,” Harrington explains. “And, going forward, if I want to direct longer-form projects, it’s good preparation to be able to get a lot of story out in five minutes. I also love working with actors in developing their characters over such a short space of time.” With his mini-epic inspired by “the horrors of the dark web” shot over three days, the first day involved pre-lighting “as the camera needed to move all over the place without us seeing every single light stand”. The second was a full day of rehearsal – as the short was filmed to look like one unbroken shot. “And then on the third and final day, we shot the whole thing, in two takes technically, as there’s a whip-pan between exterior and interior.” Given that the majority of the film is indeed dark both in terms of subject matter
noting: “I’m quite a perfectionist – you never feel you’re ‘good enough’. But I had friends who saw my footage and said ‘You’ve got to do something with this.’ They really pushed me to finish it and make it into a short film.” With a day’s initial shoot followed by a further day spent gathering audio, Simpkins acknowledges that enlisting friends meant the end result “cost me next to nothing. But I didn’t know what to do with it when I’d finished – I’d never made a film by myself before. Then I saw news of the competition via CVP because I’m on their mailing list, and that it was free to enter. I thought if I got anywhere, it would be a way to reward my friends for helping me, as it would probably mean free drinks and a nice evening.” The confidence boost of the double win has encouraged Simpkins, who works for a camera equipment hire company by day, to make his next project grander in scale. His upcoming film focuses on a group of Cornish enthusiasts who explore mines. “It’s a unique hobby involving unique people,” he enthuses. Envisaging an end result between ten and 20 minutes in length, the hope is for the finished film to be submitted to the Sheffield DocFest.
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