Filmmaker Focus / Tim Davies
Tim Davies is an award-winning British filmmaker. He produced the highly successful series ‘Strange Beautiful Life’ following British Pro surfer Alan Stokes – a surfer / filmmaker collaboration that inspired a raft of up and coming talents. His emotive short, ‘Sea Fever’, inspired by the poetry of John Masefield won The Shorties in 2013 so we wanted to catch up with Tim to talk about the creative process and the idea behind project:
1. What was the big idea behind your award winning short ‘Sea Fever’?
The idea behind the film was to create something which has the atmosphere and emotion that comes with being a core surfer in the depths of an Atlantic winter, dealing with the harsh conditions but also reaping the rewards.
2. How long did it take to bring to fruition?
The idea had being lulling around in my head for some time but it was the LS/FF which motivated me to make something a little different which would look good on the big screen.
Usually I have a clear idea of how I want a film to look before I start filming it, so the whole time shooting your thinking of what you need from your key shots, to your b-roll so by the end of the trip you’re just shooting backups. For this film however I had most of the footage shot before I even thought of making the film so it was a case of trying to create the mood through inspirational words, soundtrack and captivating footage. Also as this was just a hobby project I would only spend time on it when I wasn’t working on financed work so I think it took almost 2 years from my initial idea to screening.
3. You won the London Surf /Film Festival Shorties in 2013, what did winning the award mean to you and what have you been up to since then?
Winning the award meant the world to me, because for years I had been making surf films and all up till then were sponsored films (all of which I was proud of) but to make an independent film for fun and to win an award at London felt great!
Since then things have changed quite a bit, I’m no longer a lone ranger I run a production company called Rediscover Media which specialises in everything video, we range from online surf shorts to tv adverts. Its great to have a team of talented individuals to really push video production and the futures looking really exciting with some wicked projects being shot.
4. What do you think is the secret to making a good short film?
I think being artistic is the key and that applies to not just short films, be really critical and make sure every shot used is a great shot that your proud of. You have under 5 minutes to entertain so don’t just rush things and put any filler shot in to finish it, wait for the conditions to line up again and finish it properly.
5. If you had a piece of advice for an up and coming filmmaker, what would it be?
Get out there and shoot as much as you can, the only way to improve and to cut your teeth into filmmaking is to be making films, so whatever your into get your creative cap on and try and make something original and entertaining.
To see more of Tim’s work work: