A short film shot in Brent has gone viral on social media, boosting the public profile of a charity working to improve conditions in the television industry.
In just two weeks, a three-minute clip from the Film+TV Charity attracted over 3million views across social media platforms, increasing the charity’s Instagram following by 3,500 and prompting a surge of sign-ups to their newsletter.
At the film’s screening event, held on 20 February in Fomo House, Shoreditch, director of development Louise Benson reiterated the charity’s mission.
Benson said: “We are ensuring that the foundation of the industry, and people’s basic human rights and needs are catered for, we are making sure that people are happy and healthy, and able to pursue sustainable careers in the industry.”
Director Joseph Morel and producer Freddie Hill collaborated with actors Stephen McMillan and Daniel Ings to produce a film with the aim of conveying the anxiety industry workers have increasingly experienced on film sets in the past few years.
The director began planning the film with head of marketing Mike Hird in November, and purposefully released it following the results of the charity’s annual Looking Glass Survey of behind-the-scenes workers in the film industry.
Among other concerning results, the survey found 64% are considering leaving the industry due to concerns about mental health and 30% reported having thoughts of taking their own life in the past 12 months.
The charity exists to support individuals in times of need through various tools such as a 24-hour support line, cash grants, counsellors and advisors, and to create a new set of standards for mentally healthy production practices.
Benson said: “The power of this narrative video, the power of this story, has cut through it in ways that I could never have imagined.
“Ultimately it’s the Film+TV Charity’s mission that runs through with everyone.”
She added she was amazed by the scale of support that the project received in pre-production, including supplies from famous companies such as Final Cut, Chapman UK, and S+O Media.
Morel and co-writer Mark Woollon made the creative decision to shoot the main segment of the film in a single take in order to hold the audience’s attention and enhance the sense of reality which can be disrupted by cuts.
Picture Credit – Anita D’Alisera (Crowd PA)
The continuous take was shot at the Garden Studios in Brent, and despite the initial plans to block and rehearse it on the first day and film it on the second, the cast and crew unexpectedly found themselves with only one day at their disposal.
In spite of the pressure of the early deadline, the team managed to film a total of 11 takes without going into overtime.
Morel said: “To me it sounds a lot like common sense, you’re not rude to people on set, when you’re correcting someone you don’t need to break them publicly, you can take them aside.
“It’s subtle things that seem obvious, but there needs to be a charity that needs to promote that.”
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