DIRECTING

Case Study: Filmmaking is a Trip

Lewis creates concepts from scratch and works with clients to direct bespoke film projects, encapsulating story narratives and detailed visuals.

DRINK was a project where every single aspect of the producing and directing process was procured by Lewis. From sourcing all props, picture cars, animals, cast, to embellishing and embroidering costumes, everything was idealised and delivered by Wonderfilm Pictures. Lewis began by creating the concept art and treatment, scouted bleak locations, and itemised the production schedule on call sheets. Wonderfilm Pictures took this film from idea to post production delivery. 

When Weezy (management for Manchester artist Jake Molloy), approached Lewis to direct and produce a music video, Lewis was presented with four tracks to choose from. The song DRINK really stood out to Lewis and he set out to create a video which felt like a dream where each scene morphs into the next. Lewis wanted the idea to be based on a restless drunken nightmare with no beginning, middle or end.

Lewis had recently been watching Blade Runner (1982) and Netflix’s Stranger Things; he loved the 80’s nostalgia and colour spectrums. The neon bright colours popped, and he wanted to bring attention to an upcoming artist. To recreate this, Lewis used RGB LED Tubes and directional lights with atmos to make the film’s lighting and colour grading more dynamic.

Lewis’s DRINK video idea occurred in bed, as he was feeling restless with so many thoughts. He often takes on dark narratives, as you can see in his Morbid Tales short films shot in his hometown of Hertford. Darker themes such as the back rooms, liminal spaces, and abandoned areas intrigue him. Mixing and producing his own sounds into film projects really bring Lewis’s visual ideas to life.

DRINK was about Jake’s real-life struggle with alcohol abuse and flitted relationships. Lewis thought a dark psychedelic style video with bold colours would be interesting and different from the videos typically produced for the UK rap scene.

Lewis used RED EPIC DRAGON camera with a hand-held style to show Jake’s POV in his dream. He also shot some scenes on a DJI Ronin gimbal from a segway. As the camera operator, Lewis wanted to integrate beautiful visuals to contrast with the song’s dark undertones. He found a vintage e-type Jaguar and planned an aerial drone sequence from a lit-up Albert Bridge in Chelsea London. Jake was filmed in a welding mask carrying a burning guitar walking through a glowing red forest.

Jake’s literal battle with himself was portrayed within a Street Fighter-style fight within the video, using a green screen. The whole concept was to encapsulate Jake trapped and battling against his own mind within a dream.

Every aspect of the film was a fun experience for Lewis to produce. For production design, he hired a rat for a trippy bed scene which was filmed in a makeshift bedroom he created in an outside cupboard. Lewis embroidered patches on different pieces of clothing he hand-picked – from an ambulance driver outfit to a cool Thriller-inspired red leather jacket. Lewis distressed the jacket and embellished it with a Manchester bee patch. Jake Molloy wore 3D glasses, reminiscent of David Tennant as Dr. Who.

Lewis incorporated his own supernatural sound design in post production, which added an eerie atmosphere to the edit. The post production process involved compositing flawed and disjointed VFX shots, producing tailored sound design, and editing film. Lewis incorporated AI-generated video that morphed the main on-screen visuals into disfigured animals and insects. Lewis supplied graphic design elements such as album art, social media artwork, and promotional material for the video release on GRM Daily.

Working with clients on these bespoke film projects gives Lewis a creative space to explore and tune his artistic methods whilst making a client’s concept a visual success.  Lewis loves to bring out the best of an artist in his music videos.

Wonderfilm Pictures offers a range of professional filmmaking equipment such as RED Digital Cinema cameras, cine lenses, VFX ball, a VFX array for these projects.