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IOTA 10 minute 35mm / anamorphic short drama written, directed and photographed by Simon... RELATED ONLINE ARTCILES FILMTHREAT
INTERVIEW DISTRIBUTOR FROM
SCRIPT TO SCREEN... With
a cast of two, crew of five and a production budget of just £2000,
Simon shot Iota on location over a long weekend in Gullane, a beautifully
secluded coastal region near Edinburgh. Iota
is about Sam, a 5-year-old mute, whose twin sister April disappears
one Christmas eve and how on the anniversary of April's disappearance,
Sam starts to speak again. "I wanted to make a gentle, reflective
and quasi-supernatural story," said Simon, "its core a
global message about the loss of communication between family members". Taking
part influence from the silent era of Cinema, Father and daughter
communicate through sign language and so Simon had to depend on
visual language to drive the story. “I'd studied composition
theory at Film School and Iota was a prime chance to exercise the
use of camera position and character framing instead of dialogue
to tell a silent story of loss and rediscovery of communication”. Simon
was inspired in photographic tone through the films of the seventies
such as “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, “Don't Look
Now” and Richard Attenborough's haunting yet relatively unknown
70's drama “Magic”. Simon reflects..."Magic had
made such an impact on me as a kid it really helped me create the
specific mood and tone I was looking for. I'm also hugely influenced
by the daring and gritty old school 70’s photography of Gordon
Willis and Owen Roizman who trust their audiences and impart a sense
of truth and respect to the subject and story”.
Simon explains the format used. "Thanks to Kodak and Panavision I was able to film on 35mm and more so the deliberate decision to shoot 2.35:1/Widescreen. "I wanted a broad canvas for the intimate tale to rest upon which has no dialogue". Father and daughter communicate through sign language and so Simon had to depend on visual language to drive the story. Simon
shot Iota with a Moviecam Compact with Cooke Crystal Xpress anamorphic
primes supplied by Panavision. "Moviecam's are always reliable
workhorses and I had used the Express lenses on previous pop promo
shoots and really found their warmth and clarity perfect for Iota
". For exterior scenes he used Vision 200T stock deliberately
uncorrected for a cooler hue and harder contrast and for night interiors
used Vision 320T stock, for it's softer contrast and tight grain.
He lit some scenes using only a single source and Christmas fairy
lights to sprinkle light into the background, creating a natural
depth and contrast to the image. "I was very deliberate in
my lighting approach to reflect the simple yet ambiguous nature
of the story. It was all intentional and designed to heighten the
films over all tone". A
major challenge was training the actors to perform sign language.
Simon decided early on to research deaf culture and contacted Deaf
Connections in Glasgow whom were incredibly supportive of the project.
My budget was limited yet they were able to have the script adjusted
to how deaf communicate and tutor and train the actors. Actors Stephen
McCreadie and Natasha Watson spent many hours practising 'signing'
their lines. Simon comments that “it was a daunting challenge
yet I'm overwhelmed by their final performances, especially from
5-year old Natasha. She brought a natural quality to the film”.
5 year old Natasha Watson says she was really excited when she found
out she was going to be playing the twins and have fun learning
sign language. Not an obvious role for her age. And what were the
bigger challenges for the 5 year old? One particular aspect of the
role springs to mind - "When we were filming it was really
hard not to speak, you have to move your mouth but it was hard not
to bring the sound out". Thinking back to the first scene where
April leaves the house after seeing something outside the cottage..."I'm
not really sure what she was seeing but I think she might have...someone
saying, "Come with me" and she said "Yes" -
as if to a friend." Actor
Stephen McCreadie (father) comments on the experiences on the film
- "You arrive at any character by a mixture of discussion,
instinct and research. I had discussed with Simon previously a kind
of game plan and my job was to come up with as honest an interpretation
as I could. "My character suffers a great loss which he tries
to cope with, but he is never allowed to grieve. While he has the
joy of having the other daughter, the very fact that they are identical
means he's constantly being reminded of his missing daughter. Working
with Natasha (the daughter) changes things also as children behave
very simply and have a different energy, an innocence in many ways
that is what you try to do as an actor to keep it as natural and
fresh. A lot of the credit for the performance we have together
goes to Simon. He spent a lot of time talking to her and giving
her an idea of what to do. The location of the film is also so important,
the isolation has a certain magic to it. It's quite a spiritual
place and I think that their choice to live there is no coincidence,
it reflects the way he wants to live his life and what he believes
is good for his family". Simon
talks of the ending..."I've always wanted create an ending
where by each audience member creates their own summery and view
based on the their own personal upbringing and inner family morals
and beliefs”. Simon concludes “and what’s interesting
is that the film splits the audience. A lot of people say it has
an incredibly uplifting ending and a lot of people say it has a
sad and downbeat ending”, proving his theory and approach
to a self-concluded ending. Simon wants to also make a special mention
of Hannaywood Studios and Scottish Screen who kindly provided completion
funding and Kelpie Films who generously provided the editing facility.
Simon adds “I’m forever grateful that Hannaywood, Scottish
Screen and Kelpie (and of course the crew at the time) placed their
belief in the film and I hope in some small way, it’s message
makes a difference". Feel
free to request a copy of the film, available on VHS or DVD or email
simon. PRESS
Iota
featured strongly within Kodak’s In Camera magazine next
to major productions like Cold Mountain.
Iota features strongly in the October issue of American Cinematographer magazine as well as the next issue of the British Cinematographer Magazine. Amazing Short! Author
: Voiceof1 from United States I
loved this film. It was simply beautiful and shows what can be achieved
in the short format. I saw the film at a festival and it is bar
none the best short I have seen to date. I was at a a smaller fest
and happened upon a shorts program. I was so taken by the piece
that I would love to own it. I hope it gets some more exposure because
it really should be seen. I hope to see more work from the Director,
there is serious talent behind his camera, bravo. I would love to
see a long form piece by this director just to get a sense of his
skills with other material. Again, great work and i cannot recommend
it more highly. Visually Astounding Author
: Adam Etherington from Nottingham, England I saw this film when it was exhibited at the same festival as one of mine, and I must say I was blown away by the cinematography on this very moving and heart-warming piece. Simon Dennis expertly captures the environment around his characters and the supple warm imagery compliments the heart-warming narrative perfectly. The tale itself is very moving, portraying the intimate bond between a father and daughter united through the agony of loss. The performances, particularly by the young Natasha Watson cannot be faulted, with both actors evidently having put great effort into understanding the motives and concerns of their characters. Credit must also go to Dennis (or whoever was responsible) for achieving such an impressive level of performance from such a young actress. Overall this piece is a beautiful example of what can be achieved within a short film, both visually and through the progression of narrative. I would definitely recommend viewers experience it for themselves in order to see the elegance of this piece first hand. FILM
FESTIVAL INFORMATION
If you are running a film festival and interested in Iota below are a it's technical details that can help you decide if it's eligible... ENTRY
TECH SPEC : SYNOPSIS
: ENGLISH
/ ORIGINAL TITLE : Iota PROMOTIONAL
MATERIAL AVAILABLE : CAST
: CREW
: Production
stills photographer - Dan Tuffs Telecine
- Arion Facilities Sound
Recordist - Peter Murphy Sign
Language tutors - Deaf Connections Producers - Simon Dennis & Das Abra Completion
funders - Hannaywood Studios & Scottish
Screen Extra
special thanks to :
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