A visual biography of my projects so far, with notes on what I learnt.
Alex Hill – Director, Screenwriter and Producer
In 2021, I finished The Suicide Booth, the culmination of four years developing my skills in filmmaking. Here is a short clip.
This is the latest instalment in my story through film, now I’d like to take you back to the beginning.
About me:
I grew up creative, drawing comics, writing stories, learning instruments and attending drama school for 7 years. I found myself drawn to creativity as an outlet in a time when I felt lost and under-stimulated in school. My diagnosis with ADHD in 2020 would partly explain why I felt more comfortable being creative, and once I learnt how to channel my energy into my work, I found myself happier than I’d been before.
First Steps: Super Sam (2017)
In early 2017 my friend Joe asked me to act in his media project. I didn’t think much of it, sounded like a bit of a laugh, so why not? I played the protagonist, Super Sam. Take a look at a short clip below.
I didn’t really know what I was doing but I committed myself to the cause, wandering around Bristol in an extra-small blue T shirt with a fake superhero mask on. It was great, I loved it. I soon applied for a local film foundation degree, coming from theatre I became fascinated with film and the process of making one. I wanted to make my own.
Watch the full project here. (4 minutes)
Learning The Basics: Potato (2017)
Starting my degree at City of Bristol college campus (A Plymouth University course) I dived in, finding myself enjoying education for the first time. My first film was Potato, this time my friend Joe from Super Sam was in front the camera with another of my childhood friends. Sat in my kitchen, improvising lines and directing my pals was a great experience, I knew I was hooked from this point.
It is a simple set up and a pretty amateurish first attempt of a short film but you can still see me not afraid to express myself, singing Bump n’ Grind’s famous line myself. I’ve never been scared to show my individuality and personality in my work. I enjoyed experimenting with my actors line deliveries and made the transition from acting to directing fairly fluidly by copying my drama teachers exercises. I loved making this. Seeing my friends laugh watching it felt so good.
Watch the full project here. (4 mins)
Paws For Thought (2018)
In my spring term I made a documentary about a local animal shelter. This got several thousand views online and made me really proud. Seeing old ladies nice comments I felt a bit like Louis Theroux.
Seeking out a charity, making phone calls, organising with an outside client and shooting at their facility with Joe filming was a great experience. While I knew my passion lied with drama and written action, it gave me an insight into professional producing and taught me the elements of a good story are universal.
Full film here. (9 mins)
Getting Serious: Pulse (2019)
As I began my second and final year of my foundation degree, we enter the period where I work on projects with a higher level of quality. First, I produced a short drama film called Pulse. This is the first film I made that I’m really proud of and also at professional quality.
I was the producer on this project, working with a more experienced director and following his example. I learned a lot on this production and organised the whole shoot with schedules, pre-production meetings and location booking all sorted by me. I also took on the responsibility of the casting director, personally assessing and auditioning candidates for the first time. This film was a step up in quality for me with drones and 4k cameras and the final product turned out well, achieving festival accreditation. This project won film of the year on my degree.
Full Film Here. (9 mins)
Mad 1 (2019)
Mad 1 is not as professionally shot as Pulse, but the story and characters in a totally different genre got it nominated alongside the former for film of the year. This project consumed me totally for two months, I was loving it to be honest, I learned so much. I wrote and directed a fun short drama. It’s an easy watch, people like it without getting their socks blown off. Personally, it’s my favourite, I’d love to make something like this again with a bigger budget and with what I know now.
Shot with a skeleton crew of me, a Director of Photography / cameraman and a boom operator this was a big project for a small crew. I wrote the screenplay and directed the shoot while producing the whole project at the same time. I managed to convince friends and people who didn’t get cast to come back as extras, it was chaotic and just brilliant. I was so happy while making this, a great time in my life.
Full film here. (11 mins)
The film follows four characters through a party as protagonist Joe tries to talk to Diana, while her creepy ex closely guards her. The film tells a high energy story with good vibes.
I cast real aspiring actors (including my friend Thompson) and played a pivotal role in every phase of production. It is a solid film with fun characters, strong dynamics and a fluid yet chaotic story. The main issue with this film is I didn’t treat the setting as a character within itself, at times the house party doesn’t feel genuine. Maybe it was just the limitation of having no budget, but I think I could’ve done more.
With the experience I now have I’d have paid better attention to post-sound production as that is where an amateur film becomes cinema. You can see me make this move with The Suicide Booth, two years later.
Professional Standard: Manchester Film School
Instead of doing a top-up year in Plymouth I chose a more ambitious route and joined Manchester Film School, convincing Jim Grainger to let me start in second year. This was a difficult transition, and opportunities to shoot fresh projects were dashed in my Spring Term as Covid-19 hit. I still made two films here though and tried my best to learn as much as I could even if it wasn’t ideal. The first one however is pretty terrible and I’ll tell you why,
Strangers (2020)
Strangers is my least favourite film, mainly because I find the writing awkward and slightly embarrassing in hindsight. I’d gone through a break up, OK? We’re all a bit dramatic sometimes (I dunno why I made it a film though). The attention to detail isn’t great, it feels more like a scene from a cheap TV show than a short film.
I wanted to make a film about two exes that met by chance, it is a really deep subject matter and the opening monologue is fine, but as the film progresses, I can’t lie, it makes me cringe. A lesson here is when writing about personal issues, wrap it up in a metaphor. Much easier and less embarrassing. If I was to write this again, it’d be a short comedy about someone who needed to use the bathroom all day and then upon getting home gets emotional on the toilet. Same message, not horrible to watch.
Moving to a big crew with pre-production meetings and a dedicated producer and DOP with a camera crew left me stunned. I needed to just make something in the new refined role of director I found myself in. Instead of doing everything, now I had to stay in my lane and help other people deliver my vision. I learnt the importance of clear communication and keeping things simple. Gareth Hall, head of production at MFS told me a simple lesson I now swear why “When in doubt, keep it simple.” This is a key lesson for me. That being said, this film is alright, but the next project is the one that’d define me,
Watch the full film here. (4 minutes)
The Suicide Booth (2021)
The Suicide Booth tells the story a man living a dystopian future who uses a Suicide Booth to end his life, but is surprised when the booth tries to talk him out of it. This is by far and away my best film on every level. I’m proud of myself for being so ambitious with it. It is also the total opposite of Mad 1.
Writing
This is a film with a sensitive subject matter, I interviewed close friends on their experiences and researched extensively into issues with mental health before writing. I didn’t want to make something harmful.
Once I’d written the first draft I tinkered with this script relentlessly, in the future, I’d stick by my guns. I found myself under pressure shooting this, it was a big project funded by the university on a very sensitive subject. Next time I’ll be firmer in my ideas and trust myself a bit more.
I wanted this film to help convince someone struggling with these thoughts to keep on going. The ending is left open, you don’t know what happens, the audience want the protagonist to live, you’re desperate for him to get up and leave. I thought if a viewer felt disappointed as we cut to black, they can think “If I want him to live, why don’t I want myself to live as well?”. Of course most people watching this aren’t suicidal, so the effect it had on them is slight annoyance, I suppose.
What I do know for sure is in this film I managed to wrap an audience up in this story, they buy in and are keen to see what happens, that is enough for me. It shows I’ve learnt how to write a compelling narrative and with that, I’m thrilled.
Funding
I prepared a pitch for funding, I was only one of two candidates in the film school to get funding and I’m confident now in being able to convince executives to put faith in me and my stories. Showing my passion, wearing my heart on my sleeve and being open and honest got me a long way.
Finally, I won funding because my pitch document was more in-depth, covered every aspect and I had clearly worked harder than the other 15 or so candidates. I won because no one else had prepared as much as me. If you work twice as hard as your competitors, that counts for far more than just talent or skills. I work hard, first and foremost.
Pre-production
Pre production was an intense process, I personally oversaw all art department meetings, convinced a crew of overworked students to add more to their plates with this project. Me and my chosen head of department designed five sets in total with extensive props, costumes and decorations. I personally was heavily involved with my props master, designing the props on paper alongside him. I also personally oversaw the whole casting process, acting as my own casting director.
The shoot
I knew the scene culminating in our protagonist finding the booth was critical for worldbuilding and tone, as a lot of the film takes place in the booth I wanted to maximise the potential of the world around it to set the scene as well as we could. First came a storyboard, originally done before we won funding, then upgraded with a student storyboard artist.
Once we had the walls up we did a practice run on my iPhone with Beth Rockey, an assistant producer.
The next step was practicing with our ARRI equipment, we measured the space of the studio and recreated the dimensions with sticky tape markers in a separate room. In this video you can see me recreating the blocking to show my camera crew.
Now we had the movement down with our camera crew and grips familiar with the movement we were prepared for the shoot. We had a rehearsal day (livestreamed by the Film School to attract new students) and shot the trickiest shot on the first day. You always want to get the hard stuff done first.
Now see it on the day. combined with the set lighting, see the streetlights and shimmery light illusion (using smashed up CD’s reflecting of a pool of water) we built an atmospheric mood on set. We also built a steam machine, because why not?
Not all of this was my idea, but as a director it is so important to listen and build on the ideas your crew have. This not just makes your film better, but also makes your crew feel valued and integral. I see the role of director as spearheading the creative ideas of your whole crew, not just your own. Film is collaborative, not an individual art form. We all contribute, we’re a team. Directors should listen more than they talk.
I also worked with local musician Luc McParland on an original score, taking inspiration from scores from Ramin Djawadi. We made several drafts of this, I believe it came out well. Using the piano by itself as he walks gives an extra sense of the character’s desolation.
This shoot went smoothly, no major problems, a full crew working in tandem. I found myself comfortable in a defined role, really clicking with the role of a director on a large shoot. It was a long way from Potato, sitting in my kitchen with Joe and Thompson, but still felt the same. Now, a year later, I’m desperate to get this feeling back. I’ve done some small stuff and written a TV script, but not another studio shoot. I’m desperate to get back into it, I miss this feeling.
John Tueart played Thito. Working with him was a joy. I’ve never paid an actor before and the quality in his performance was fantastic. When working with actors, I tell them the emotions the character feels, give them more insight into the character than in the script, (in this project I wrote a biography for Thito and a biography of the world the film is based, including a map) then let them run through the scene without notes, taking in their performance and instinct first.
After that, I guide them to what I need without directly telling them, I know from my time acting on stage it is better to work out the character yourself, rather than be told exactly how to play it. You need to give actors breathing room. On the shoot, we have a quick chat, I give them a line on the context, for example “At this moment, you’re feeling like you’re close to giving up” and let them go for it.
Most importantly, I remind my actor I trust them intrinsically and to go out there with no fear. I prepped with John a lot, by the time he got on set, he knew what he needed to do. I’m so proud of his performance.
Post-production
In the clips above you’ll see, or more aptly, hear a lot going on. I hadn’t done post-sound before and this turned The Suicide Booth from a video to a film. The sound effects, from dripping water, his footsteps, the steam rising and the many sounds of the booth, it gives it a cinematic feel to the atmosphere and builds the world for the viewer.
With the edit, I cut a lot of the film out, during writing I believe I got over-indulgent with my writing, the film is very slow. The walk scene above is long for just turning on the booth, but I wanted it like that. I wouldn’t do it for most things but I wanted the audience to see our character work out the booth and decide to step inside. Without truly knowing what this box is, (of course the title is a clue) I wanted the audience to feel a sense of trepidation as he approaches. You can see the emotion as he steps inside and the music helps add this, too.
Overall, the film works. The edit was fairly simple. I then got a voice actress in to voice the AI, working with John’s already shot section. Getting her pacing of words and tone was essential, then after a voice filter was put on, her voice is what I imagined in my head when writing.
The full film is not available due to festivals, I have however been nominated for the prestigious Learning On Screen award and won the Jury Award for best short drama at the Europe Film Festival. Now I need to build on this momentum, and need help doing so, which is where you come in.
Now Do It Again: The Next Chapter
Going forward I want to work my way into the industry, hopefully leading up to writing and directing feature films. I will start with commercials, music videos and short films with public funding and work my way up from there as I build a larger professional portfolio. I’m quite naive and need a guiding hand through this process, I’ll work any hours and dedicate myself to this life I’ve chosen. I’m ready to give everything to this, just show me how. I have a lot to learn.
If you’re interested in knowing more, follow me on Instagram @thealexhill, or drop me an email at awahill1998@gmail.com
Thank you for reading.
Alex Hill Filmmaker 