FLESH WISH, 4min., UK
Directed by Timothy Benjamin Slessor
An experimental horror inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, David Cronenberg and Clive Barker, this music video / short details in an abstract way the summoning of demons through a ritual performed behind the locked doors of a 1970s terraced house. Images are a combination of 8mm cinefilm, analog stills and materal initially generated with the use of a variety of AI platforms before they were brought into After Effects were they were everything was heavily manipulated, with many layers of texture, noise and grain added, lighting added or altered, images distorted and blended together and so on. The actual editing was arduous, often frame-by-frame (everything was done by hand) with images further distorted and manipulated with a variety of blending modes. It was a one-man job and that one man was very, very tired by the end of it! (please note that the encode on the FilmFreeway screener is not very good, a sharper version can be seen on the Vimeo link used as the project website below)

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Several factors! Firstly, I wanted to make something visual to accompany the release of my album. Secondly, I wanted to experiment with a lot of different ideas and techniques, but importantly have a finished piece of work to show for it, not just a bunch of tests. Thirdly I wanted to see how I could kind of corrupt and pervert generative ai platforms and work them into my editing and animation / vfx practise and finally I wanted to make something that would surprise and confound my friends and colleagues!

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

It was about three to four months of laborious work, mostly in after effects and premiere. I had to create all of the images and heavily distort and rework them and the editing was done frame-by-frame. About 6 months after it was finished I considered going back and tweaking some things but one look at the edit sequence was enough to convince me to leave well alone!

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Quite fleshy.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The hardest thing was just getting it finished! It was so hard to create enough interesting images and scenes, especially given the extremely fast cut-rate. I kept trimming the track down (ultimately from around 5 mins to about 3'45 I think) just so I could get it done (I had to keep pushing the release of the album back too as a result).

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Just joy! Joy to hear strangers commenting, joy that they'd engaged with the piece and had interesting things to say about it and joy that they liked it!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I think when I gave up on becoming an astronaut, around the age of 6.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Robocop. If I put it on now I can recite every line along with the film.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I'm not sure, some sort of networking element? I exist and work in a bubble so it would be nice to engage with others.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Not bad, although the endless spam requests and dubious discounts becomes a bit wearying.

10. What is your favorite meal?

My wife is Japanese and I'm going to go with her okonomiyaki.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

I'm not sure, I started working on another experimental piece called Spores but I couldn't get it to work the way I hoped. I have a couple of short narrative scripts I've written too but I desperately need an energetic and ambitious producer! Any takers please get in touch...