If You Were Me: An Indie Filmmaking Case-Study

“Feeling powerful moments wash across a packed cinema, sensing the tension and response in the audience, was extremely fulfilling for a young filmmaker honing their craft.”

This summer we were proud to take part in the premiere of the If You Were Me anthology with Radiobright Pictures and Above the Mud Productions. These short films demonstrate how far we have come as visual storytellers in the narrative space.

Our Background in Indie Filmmaking:

The crowdfunded feature film projects Afraid of the Dark (2020), In Plain Sight (2023) and indie feature The Final 45 (2023) represented a massive leap forward in our workflow as creatives. Aside from the experience producing films of this scale (while still in full-time higher-education), our camera team of Tim Marsh, Callum Swan & Jonny Green had become a well-oiled machine. We had begun shooting Afraid of the Dark in 2019 on a mixture of DSLR cameras and stills lenses, with prosumer or consumer lighting kit. By the time production wrapped on The Final 45 in 2022 the team was acclimatized to making the most of 6K cinema cameras, a cohesive cine lens set, and a package of rented professional lighting fixtures. This set the new standard for how we crafted visuals in the commercial space as Lamplight Media was founded in the summer of 2022.

The ‘If You Were Me’ Anthology:

As In Plain Sight transitioned to post-production in 2022, producers Callum Swan, Dan Clark, Georgina May Haley & Elizabeth Bell turned their attention to a short film anthology project focusing on female identifying characters. The anthology would have the umbrella title of ‘If You Were Me’. The first film ‘Where Have I Gone’ was written by Elizabeth Bell and co-directed by Georgina and Elizabeth - it told the story of a woman, Charlie, experiencing PMDD/PME. Charlie struggles with her symptoms, faces a lack of understanding from her GP, but eventually finds a community to support her. The second film ‘Don’t Forget Me’ was written and directed by Dan Clark. It explores the relationship between a mother slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease - and her daughter and caregiver Isabel. Callum would work as Director of Photography, with Tim gaffing on both films so we could ensure they had a cohesive visual style.

Production:

We approached production excited to tell the stories, but anticipating indie filmmaking’s usual obstacles: lack of time, and often restrictive locations. Callum had created some efficient shot lists that found the simplest way to tell the story in each scene. This allowed more time to compose and light each shot well, rather than trying to capture lots of different angles. Consequently we could block each scene to make the best of each location, and saved time while shooting. Tim employed some lighting tricks to enhance otherwise flat locations - for example using venetian blinds as gobos to create a contrasting pattern on a plain wall behind the talent. Stylistically we were becoming more confident in our use of wide shots, and we were also very fortunate to have a slate of interesting locations to work in. These included a training hospital, the seafront at Hayling Island, and various nicely dressed pubs and houses which the bulk of the scenes took place in. Coming away from production we were very happy to have raised our game once again.

The Premiere:

Post production took place across 2023, with Dan doing an excellent job editing the films in his spare time with input from Callum and the other producers on the project. The premiere was held at the Nova Cinema in Woking in July of 2024. We screened both films to an audience of over 100 friends, family and industry contacts. We received some very charming feedback on the stories, performances, directing and visuals. We felt this anthology was the most visually and narratively cohesive piece we have created thus far - and were extremely proud to see them on the big screen. Both films contained difficult scenes tackling some complex and often dark themes. Feeling powerful moments wash across a packed cinema, sensing the tension and response in the audience, was extremely fulfilling for a young filmmaker honing their craft.

Callum Swan, Filmmaker & Creative Director