RED - production stills
Simone Smith is an up and coming film director and general theatrical idea factory from Glasgow. I've worked with her on a couple of films already and it's always nice to work with someone who is so enthusiastic, focussed and down to earth. She has recently started a production company http://lookingatyou.me and these are the production stills from her first short film made under the new company."RED is a short experimental psychological drama in which a militant soldier and captured child lure the attention of an estranged war photographer."Shot in Cambusbarron Quarry a foreboding and particularly radical lump of rock just outside of Stirling. I love Cambusbarron mainly because of all the magnificent local built mountain bike trails but the place has an amazing aesthetic especially in the main belly of the Quarry. The place is a magical amphitheater it has a distinctly evil demeanor, with a history of facist jakery clearly emblazoned on the rock by idiots from the nearby city, a sense of what has past here only adds to ones uneasiness. So all in all a perfect setting for a psychological drama.It was a long day on the shoot, the cast and crew performed really well considering the strain everyone was under, working for a sustained period in such an oppressive environment was hard on every one, apart from the kids who seemed to revel in exploring the piles of rock. The fact that the film is very confrontational, dark and uncompromising certainly didn't help lift the mood much. This is how film works sometimes, to translate emotion and tension through the screen it is true that the director must tease out a genuine sense of what you're are trying to portray, otherwise the whole thing looks fake and unconvincing.Simone is currently touting the film round the festivals and looking to move the project into the heart of the film industry. With selection in the FESTIVAL DE CANNES short film corner it would seem that Simone has got this well on the way.I'll repost a link to the film as soon as it's under general release. Until then please check out http://www.lookingatyou.me/or the films facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/RED-Short-Film/292261874158028See this post on high-8 for my ramblings on the mtb trailshttp://www.high-8.com/blog/mountain-biking/cambusbarron-epic-trails/