LBB Film Club: Unclaimed Roll
This isn’t the first time LBB bares witness to Freddie Waters’ comedic genius, but this time around we will talk a bit more about his short film skills, beyond his iconic work with Paddy Power and the unforgettable ‘Give me Football’ one liner for Sports Direct.
Dabbling in a concept that he still finds fascinating today, Freddie decided to pursue the idea of a ‘found footage’ film in the face of ‘Unclaimed Roll’, a film about a music video ending in the director’s total meltdown.
Giving audiences a bit of an insight on how this kind of shoot often goes, Freddie shot the entire film on a 16mm camera and told us the story of a rising pop star giving her best to satisfy the director’s demands for a good music video.
The project, while outside of his comfort zone of working in commercials often with celebrity talent, reveals another side of Freddie’s directing style and entertains an idea that tickles anybody’s curiosity. Is it real? Did he actually find the footage? Was it scripted? What happened when the film cut off?
LBB’s Zoe Antonov asks all these questions and more, below.
LBB> Tell me about the ideation process behind ‘Unclaimed Roll’ and why was it a project you wanted to pursue?
Freddie> I just really liked the idea of a found footage film where the camera kept rolling without anyone realising. We get to see behind the scenes of a director having a meltdown.
LBB> What was the casting process like and what were you looking for for each of the main characters?
Freddie> I had seen Rory [in the role of the director] a few years ago from a clip on Instagram about meeting a guy in South London in a smoking area. It’s hilarious. When I had the idea for this I instantly thought of him to play the director and so I just slid into his DMs.
LBB> Tell me more about why it was under the name 'Unclaimed Roll' - why did you decide to go with this narrative?
Freddie> The ultimate joke is that the film shoot went so badly that no one ever collected the film from the processors.
LBB> Tell me about the locations and how you decided they're the perfect ones to go for?
Freddie> We needed an interesting music video shoot location. I actually live on a barge on the marina you see, and it felt perfect. The boats and the city behind. It’s a great London location that most people would never have seen.
LBB> What did you shoot on and why did you choose that equipment?
Freddie> We shot on an old 16mm camera. We were imitating a music video shoot of this kind so it made sense. It also meant that we could have a nine-minute-long film of one roll of found footage and the tape roll runs out at the end.
LBB> What was the most challenging part of the project? And equally, what was the most fun?
Freddie> It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever shot by a long way. Because there’s no edit. It’s all just the camera rolling for the whole take. Constructing the scenes and reasons for where the camera keeps rolling was really tricky. Then building out all the sound in the edit was a huge job. Sam and No. 8 really helped us out with this.
LBB> The film had such a natural look to it - it really looked like you left the camera rolling. Was much of it scripted or did you allow the actors to riff off each other?
Freddie> We scripted the format and the beats and then let the actors improvise. We had so little time on the day that we had to just roll with it. Maximum two takes.
LBB> Tell me more about the breakdown scene with the director, which ultimately culminated in him falling into the water.
Freddie> I really wanted him to fall backwards into the water at the end but it was an 8ft fall into cold November water and we just couldn’t do it safely with our time and budget limitations. So, in the end I realised I could do it all in sound. I think it works nicely as an out.
LBB> Any final thoughts?
Freddie> I love the concept and would love to keep playing with it further. Perhaps using this as an experiment and shooting a 35mm version with more time and money. Perhaps as a singular one off TV episode. Like an Inside No. 9 ep. Watch this space.
