Conway

The Masters at the National Film and Television school was filled with chances to produce experimental films. The culmination of the first years study came in the form of a fictitious trailer called Conway. An affectionate tribute to our tutor.

The concept behind Conway was to design the special effects and compose shots around them, essentially generating a series of outlandish sequences that would forgo traditional story telling in favour of a non linear trailer structure.

During the lunch breaks of the module I quickly sketched out a series of shots we thought would be interesting and fit our practical gags we were building at Millennium FX.

Delving into special effects make up was another excellent addition to the module.

Safety is always a priority during the filmmaking process. We made several prop weapons using industry standard techniques, these props were made from a hard silicone rubber.

It’s really quite astonishing, how a simple rubber prop can give the illusion of being the real McCoy when subjected to light and shadow.

The focus of the model was practical effects but I wanted to explore the possibility of adding in a CG creature. I designed it to mimic the face-hugger from the Alien franchise, I named it Tindall after our incredibly gifted tutor.

Ultimately the CG was cut from the final edit, we made the decision to focus on the optical effects but it was an enjoyable venture none the less. Film school is about the collaborative filmmaking process and I will always look back fondly at what we created.