News 16.11.07

Jenny Agutter is cast alongside Marc Warren and David Calder in the short film INTERCOM hitting international film festivals from January 2008. See the trailer on the Films page.

INTERVIEW WITH MARK GUTTERIDGE, DIRECTOR OF INTERCOM

It’s an unusual story, what was the inspiration for it?

It’s primarily a human story but there’s this other intermediary. It’s been said that any apathy to what’s seen on the TV news is due to a detachment caused by the medium. We can switch over and watch another programme or turn off. So the installation of a new video intercom in my block of flats made me wonder whether it could initiate a similar reaction to that of the TV. I was also interested that the word ‘intercom’ is made up of ‘inter’ and ‘communication’, which denotes a closeness. Intercoms are normally used to edit people.

Class seems to rear its head too. Was that deliberate?

It’s always there in the background. I read a poll recently that found most people in the UK still described themselves as either working class or middle class. Which is amazing today.

This short is also a promo for a feature. How is that developing?

The short was an idea of mine co-written with Aidan Lean. He’d been busy so I’d been writing this on my own. I wouldn’t normally bother expanding a short but felt there was another story to tell about the main characters. It’s gaining interest so we’ll see how the short does on the festival circuit.

How did you cast Intercom?

Firstly by holding casting sessions for the character of Simon, which didn’t result in the right person. I then started thinking about actors I knew would be right. I think I was lucky inasmuch as I was calling agents who passed the script on. It was only a short after all.

What did the cast end up bringing to the parts?

Themselves. That’s all I wanted. Jenny was only in for a day but she wasn’t just doing actor stuff. The same went for all the cast. Marc Warren was a different presence, a catalyst. He wasn’t playing the cheeky chappie he’s well known for in Hustle or the other extreme in BBC’s Dracula. He also kept us entertained in-between set ups with his sleight of hand tricks! David Calder on the other hand brought a glint of dark humour to his character, improvising a line that was funny. I was very lucky to have him join us. He hit the tone I was looking for and had this extra dimension I mentioned.

Dick Pope is known to be very busy and a regular collaborator with Mike Leigh, he’s also this year’s only UK Oscar nominee for Cinematography. How did he come to do Intercom?

I thought that if he took it he might also operate the camera and I knew that he was great at shooting in small interior locations. When he returned my call he told me it was, “the best short script and the only one I’ve ever wanted to be involved with”, so you could say I was pleased. He gets into a project and is passionate about it. After that it was about availability. I’d better add that this was before he got nominated for an Oscar; I wouldn’t have fancied my chances with his diary if it were now.

What did he bring to it?

Dick was to light micro expressions on faces and to help create unobtrusive camera movement that serves the story. I thought the answer was tracking and he came up with the long tracked opening shot of the flats as another character. We’re fans of Losey and the shot in ’Accident’ with the titles. So I knew we were ‘reading from the same script’. His use of reflection via any mirrors and glass that were around opened the spaces up differently in a lot of almost identically shaped flats. I’m very glad he did it. I learnt a lot from him and he was keen to interpret what I wanted.

What was left for post production on this?

A final optical grade at the lab and Dick also kindly did a pre Avid telecine grade. It was apparent in pre-production that there’d be no Digital Intermediary in the budget, which was fine. The tones I was after were largely obtained either by costume and art direction or by lens filters and lighting. So what you’re seeing in the theatre with a print is purely film. Apart from one shot, it’s not been anywhere near a computer and that meant that the ‘look’ we were getting and high resolution stays undiluted. It’s a very lucid experience for the audience.

Then we did the sound, which was an important part of the script requiring foley, effects and voiceover artists.

Why was the sound scripted?

As well as dialogue the sound generated by the characters is part of the texture of the story. For example, some of the characters are beset by a need to communicate but replace it by having the TV or radio for company. As the story unfolds, the programmes they choose are designed to give us an insight into their personalities. That involved me scripting and recording with voice artists all these various background parts, allowing the background stuff to play with the foreground a little and hinting at what’s happening next. I had some fun with that.

- It was no fun getting to the recording session for the music. I was trapped in a bomb scare on the Piccadilly Line for 3/4 hour. In that time the only announcement made was that the army were on their way to look at the suspect package on our train. We were then left to think about it… This was all just one stop from the studio. When I got there it was harp to be recorded, thankfully the most soothing music in the world!

How was directing it?

Easier than producing. It was a relief to be directing frankly. The actors knew how to use the camera so we could concentrate on what was happening in the scene and therefore the shoot ratio was kept down. Later that started making it economic to shoot a rehearsal, in case the initial freshness worked best.

Jenny was wondering about one of the ways her character might react to what she’s seeing on the intercom in a particular scene. It was a close up, a long take and her eye line was straight to camera with nothing to bounce off. I asked her to imagine her character being at the Colosseum in ancient Rome, getting a kick out of what she’s watching and then correcting herself. On the next take all she did was think it and you just see it flicker in and out of her eyes. I loved that. It had to be that small because the lens was only 6 inches away from her face, but her doing that saved a lot of time and film. I’d been used to working with mostly non-professionals, members of the public. Not being their job to worry about cameras and such, it was my job to capture it and prepare for more takes if necessary, so this was different.

- Serendipity can play a useful part too though. A supporting artist took several takes trying to hang up a phone correctly. In all fairness it was the last set up of a long day but finally, the man playing her husband in the shot grabbed it from her and hung it up himself. It happened to work well for the scene and get it done so that was the one we used.

What’s next?

There are four projects, two at an advanced stage. One combines social realism with the thriller with some great actors attached and the other is a non-romcom romantic comedy drama. We’ll see which is first.

News 12.10.07

Postproduction is commencing on INTERCOM a short co-written, produced and directed by Mark. The main cast are: Jenny Agutter, Marc Warren, David Calder and David Garry. A trailer is available to view on the film page. Completion is expected in October of this year. It will hopefully be available to view at UK festivals from the new year.

News 22.09.07

BBC journalist and writer Hugo Fay is currently collaborating with Mark on a feature in development for a romantic comedy drama set in the world of television and politics. Mark said, “I’ve been enjoying working with this gifted friend who brings an authentic voice to the subject”.