Tell us about yourself. How did you become an artist?
Through nearly two decades of exposure to the world of filmmaking. There’s been parts of our lives where we’ve slowly fell more and more in love with the art. Until the age of 16 where we all met, sharing the same passions and dreams to create and innovate as artists through the many years of fascination through watching it.
What was your first job in the art field?
In recent years, we have acquired countless jobs in the field of filmmaking. We'd say our first ever major job would be as camera men for a performance at the Lowry by Britain’s Got Talent Winner John Courtenay. However since then we have had roles as runners on BFI film sets as well as camera work for even more clients such as the Hallé Orchestra and the Manchester Council and Mayor.
What makes you want to tell stories? In other words, what are the themes/issues you want to incorporate into your work?
The stories we wish to tell and the themes we wish to explore have varied since the inception of our career path. Our absolute dreams stories to tell lie at the furthest point of our dreams as filmmakers with the spectacle and grandiose they have needed so much production value of a larger studio, that is a dream at this moment. However, a lot of our current works usually connect to themes we ourselves have experienced, as we believe it’s only respectful to approach themes in which we truly understand. For our documentary ‘INSIDE: Narrative of Our Journey’ we explored themes such as growth and chance within the industry as well as people and creators as a whole.
Please tell us about your vision and your method of approaching a new project?
During a project, as a team we always attempt to find a way to generate ideas that will satisfy us all. With one of a few of us usually coming up with the initial idea, and then building upon that idea and using it as a back bone so to speak, in order to create something we can all be satisfied with and be proud of. This mindset and method lasts throughout all of our projects, from research all the way to post production, and goes as far to experiment with different ideas in different drafts during the editing stages of the film. Our vision for our work lies within that backbone we build upon, with the initial idea having a very distinct style and appearance (which is always conveyed to the entire team in the clearest way possible). The overall vision of our works have been greatly different throughout our filmography, but for INSIDE: Narrative of Our Journey a lot of the initial lied within the style and presentation of the film, with its homemade and guerilla style visuals and editing.
Who are your filmmaking influencers? What are the films that were influential for you?
We were first introduced to the spectacle of filmmaking as any young child would be, the blockbusters of our youth. Marvel, DC, Transformers and so on. As we grew older and began to explore film more widely, we saw the beauty which lied within it. Some of our favourite directors include Zack Snyder, Akira Kurosawa, Edgar Wright and so on, and through the countless catalogue of around 5000 watched movies between the 3 of us, to nail down each and every one of the filmmakers and pieces of work that have inspired us and our career path is simply impossible. Music is also a heavy influence especially while coming up with new ideas to build upon, with different genres of music usually helping us create different styles and themes of film, through the emotions and feelings we feel while listening to the different tones of music.
How do you think the industry is changing? How has COVID affected independent filmmaking/creation?
The question of how the industry has changed was the core subject matter of INSIDE: Narrative of Our Journey. And with COVID changing a lot of expectations within the industry its easy to pin down a few points. We think one core change is the sudden spike in streaming being used as a replacement for an original cinematic experience. Even though businesses such as Netflix and Prime are excellent in terms of bringing smaller projects to life on a large scale, it’s a shame to see the experience and scale of cinema being replaced for a more grounded ‘at home’ experience, some films are meant to be witnessed on the big screen and it’s a shame a lot of works miss out on this chance because of this change.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists? What are some of the things they must follow/avoid?
As people who are quite new to the industry themselves. Even this early on we think it’s easy to say that a must do when pursuing such a career is to take every opportunity that comes your way, and try every possibilities in order to seize such opportunities. Make something that stands out, catches people’s eyes, subverts expectations. The more you think outside the box the more interested people will ultimately become in what you have to offer.
Do you think films/stories can bring about a change in the world?
The Idea of films and stories being able to change the world is one fact and piece of ideology we all share, and is one of the main reasons we pursue this art to begin with. There are countless pieces of art that have changed our worlds and shaped us into who we are, touched us in ways we could never imagine. The Ability to change the lives of millions through the art of visual magic and spectacle is a wonder we'll never come to fully understand, but is one we'd happily dedicate our lives to doing. The idea of creating something that people can cherish forever, like some of the biggest film franchises on Earth, is a dream that keeps us going every day, and the soul reason we pursue it in the first place.
What do you think people like to watch these days? Has the pandemic changed people's taste?
The appeal of the escapism film brings is one we believe has become more and more wanted in the world of film in the present day, especially after COVID when the harsh reality of mundane life hit us all. And the ability to escape the mundane real world into a film full of wonder beyond our wildest imaginations is definitely a change seen more frequently in the taste of modern audiences, and one we absolutely understand.
Please tell us about your upcoming projects.
In the coming months, we will be moving to our University, where we will be working bigger and better equipment and ideas on a much bigger and broader scale. In the meantime, an extended behind the scenes feature is in the works, giving our audience a look into previously unseen projects we never released with extended directors commentary, as well as countless pieces of never before seen footage giving the audience insight into Legacy Cinema in ways they’ve never seen before.
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