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THESUMMERHOUSE
DAISY GILI, WHOSE DAY JOB IS JOINT PRINCIPAL OF THE LONDON FILM ACADEMY, REPORTS ON HER DIRECTING DEBUT, THE SUMMER HOUSE, CO-STARRING ROBERT PATTINSON AND TALULAH RILEY
SHORT IN FOCUS
ur short film is set around the Otime of the moon landing in
1969. It is produced by Anna MacDonald, and is our second collaboration. Our first was
establishing the London Film Academy together in 2002. We had set out to work on Fujifilm because it not only has a luscious, slightly magical feel but it also suited the romantic, lyrical script.
The film is about love, a subject that has always captivated me, and when I read Ian Beck’s script I could see the film in my head and knew I had to make it. I was inspired by Pawel Pawlikowski My Summer of Love, a film that matched my desire to show the unspoken communication between two people in the heady madness of the summer months.
I knew I needed a DOP who was able to make the film beautiful but not sickly sweet, much like Peter Suschitzky’s work on The Empire Strikes Back. A great deal of Alex Ryle’s previous work had been in horror films but I could see in them
and the way he talked about the script that his skills could transfer easily to this different genre. As a Di- rector, it’s good to be imaginative in your choice of cast and crew as you may attract experienced people by offering them a type of work they may not normally get.
Having found a script I wanted to work with, I then needed a cast and crew who would bring it alive. Even though this was a short film I felt it was important to work with a Casting Director and, indeed, Louise Cross recommended all the actors we ended up casting except Robert (Twilight) Pattinson, who was suggested by our Script Supervisor/Stills Photographer.
My worry had been to find young actors who had enough
experience to deliver performances that would drive the film. I couldn’t have asked more from lead actress Talulah Riley. She has a natural
raw talent that responds well to direction and an enthusiastic disposition and work ethic, which contributed to the fun we had on set.
Robert needed to do little to hold an audience’s attention and made the perfect foil to Talulah’s character. One of my favourite scenes in the film is their encounter in the summer house, a scene that was particularly difficult to capture because of the low light and the shallow depth of field. Alex’s decision to keep the majority of the warm light behind them, so that their faces were mostly in shade, made the moment appropriately intimate and hidden.
We had great fun working on this film. Everyone mucked in: actors Anna Calder Marshall and David Burke travelled over to France with us buried under bags and bags of period clothes and Robert shared his room with our Boom Operator. The joy of collaboration on a film is when the work is so much more than one individual can imagine.
The Summer House was originated on 16mm Fujicolor ETERNA 500T 8673
THE DP VIEW
ALEX RYLE
I’ve always found that simplicity is the best approach regardless of budgetary or time
“constraints. I was keen to make the most of the beautiful natural light in our chateau location, so opted for the ETERNA 500T to cover my back and was delighted with the results. I could drive it right into the dark (and the light, for that matter) and what was on the ground glass, I got on the film.
As it turned out that was just as well. Many of the days were flat and dull and I ended up working at wide apertures out of necessity, sometimes even ditching the 85, but the film held up brilliantly with vibrant colours and good contrast. In the TK, I thought it looked damn near as good as 35mm.
I like Fujifilm stocks because I like film to look like film. With their range I can work at low lighting levels, as well as late into my favourite dusk light, without looking like a real berk who
can’t find the light switch.
Photos above l-r: Anna Calder Marshall and David Burke; Director Daisy Gili; Talulah Riley and Robert Pattinson on poster image; (set photos courtesy Campbell Mitchell)
FUJIFILM MOTION PICTURE • THE MAGAZINE • EXPOSURE • 27 ”