We catch up with the winner of our Horror DIY Filmmaking Challenge
Published:
17 Jan 2025
We spoke with micro-short director Finn Chadwick about the making of The Scottish Play, the winner of our DIY Filmmaking Challenge: Horror x Celluloid Screams.
Last year we asked young filmmakers to create Horror micro-shorts on the theme of Retro Nightmares. 12 shortlisted films were presented at a special showcase at Celluloid Screams in Sheffield.
As the winning filmmaker, Finn will receive £1,000 of funding and production support from us to make a micro-budget short. We caught up with him to talk film inspiration, advice on filming on a shoestring budget, and what’s coming next.
Where did the idea for The Scottish Play come from? Were you inspired by any retro horror films?
The idea for The Scottish Play came from a much larger concept I had for a film, which was essentially a horror version of The Producers - what if a theatre producer wanted the insurance back from a play so much that they decided to kill their lead actor? I feel that the emotional core of that story remains in The Scottish Play. The actor’s job is to put themselves in a weak and vulnerable position, yet all the pressure and responsibility of the production falls upon them. The film explores how that weight can remain, even after a tragedy that causes the production to be cancelled. The Curse associated with Macbeth and the general sense of doom associated with the play made it the perfect choice to revolve the film around.
I’m not the biggest fan of horror films historically but have always been fascinated with how the genre’s conventions can be used as a form of expressionism to bring a character’s subconscious to reality.
When explaining my initial idea to a friend and horror expert, he referred me to the works of Dario Argento as his film Opera was also about an actress being tormented during a production of Macbeth. To my delight, Argento's films capture everything I love about horror: taking the expressionism to a whole other level, never ceasing to bombard the viewers’ eyes and ears with colour, gore and all nature of sounds and music. Naturally when I read the theme of this DIY Filmmaking Challenge, I could not resist using his maximalist aesthetic.
I would also like to mention a film by Argento's protégé, Michele Soavi, called Stage Fright which is essentially the perfect slasher film and is also set inside a theatre. It is as terrifying as it is fun and I don't know if The Scottish Play would exist at all if my friend had not put me on to watch that film.
I would also need to thank the Alien franchise which inspired the whole second half of the film - being able to see nothing but pale faces and coloured light reflecting off oozing slime. Finally, All That Jazz for its use of cinematic maximalism within the theatre space and helping me realise how to embrace the raw, unrefined 70s aesthetic.
Horror movies tend to rely on the slow build of tension and fear, but you only had 3 minutes! How did you manage to create an effective scare under time constraints?
This was one of my biggest concerns going into the project. I really wasn't sure how it was going to be done. My original plan was to use the opening monologue as a builder of tension before the action begun, but when editing I found that this wasn't very effective and was taking up too much time.
Just as in the production I ended up leaning into the maximalist aesthetic in post as well, attempting to overwhelm the viewer and create a sense of panic that fear or dread can be born out of. The sound and music adds a lot to this as well.
What advice would you give to a someone applying to a micro-short film challenge?
Take it seriously, treat it like you would any other film. Most films will probably be made with a group of friends like mine was, and it is very easy to fall into thinking of the project as a bit of fun. Obviously there is nothing wrong with having a good time on set, but stay focused on character and storytelling. For me, this starts in pre-production (2 weeks or so before shooting) - take the time to really get to know your characters and tell your actors about their backstory.
Think about the intricate elements of your narrative to make sure there isn't anything that the audience could get hung up on. If you obsess over all of this before shooting than you stay obsessed during and afterwards in editing as well. For me, it is that obsession with story and character that creates a throughline from first conception to completing the final edit, and I think it is one of the biggest problems among young filmmakers who can get too distracted executing an idea rather than a story.
Additionally, having an interesting location adds so much production value and makes the film more visually interesting. You can light a lounge as beautifully as you want, buthen is still a lounge that audiences have seen thousands of times before. Ask around and inevitably someone will allow you to film. And nature is always free, shooting in a field, a forest, or even just out on the street can make a film so much more dynamic, and if you're lucky enough the sun will light your film nicer than any LED ever could.
You participated in HOME’s BFI Film Academy Programme back in 2019 – what main learnings did you take from this experience?
As much as it taught me about the technical side of filmmaking, I think my biggest take away was learning the importance of the crew. You try out every role on set, which made me realise how important it is that everyone there is focused, on the same page creatively, understanding and passionate about the vision that everyone is trying to execute. It truly is not all about the director – everyone on set influences the final product and embracing that leads to the best results.
The opportunity to meet so many like-minded people for the first time really opened my perspective of the film world and gave me confidence and inspiration. I met people who will be friends and collaborators for life, one of which (Méabh Mcgovern) helped me make The Scottish Play and continues to do very exciting things herself.
How do you think your work as a photographer feeds into your film practice?
I find this question hard to answer because my taste in cinematic aesthetics and style changes so rapidly! Perhaps a throughline in the two practices would be that sense of searching for the image in the moment and embracing the imperfections as a quintessential part of the process that shouldn't be ignored. The process of making something is what creates the texture of all art - it is often indescribable, but the underlying feeling of a chaotic set versus a calm set can be felt in a film. It is the same in photography and embracing the process of it rather than striving for absolutely perfection often makes for much more interesting images.
What are you working on next?
I’m currently writing a sci-fi short that I plan on producing using the budget I won from the DIY Filmmaking Challenge. It comes from the lineage of films like Close Encounters, Contact, Interstellar and Arrival (some of which I have never seen but have been told it is similar to, in the same way that The Scottish Play was like Opera without me knowing).
I want to explore the idea of inner truth, separate from understandings of science and the physical world. I’m interested in the way that we all have our own personal belief systems and sometimes it is beyond trying to comprehend what is happening in someone else's head. I plan on utilising some exciting local landmarks and try something completely different to what I'm used to. It is a daunting task but that probably means that it is worth trying to do!
