Ian Roderick Gray on Why “Film Always Has to Be Personal”

Ian Roderick Gray is Dutch, Indonesian, American and British - and his filmmaking is just as versatile as him. He calls himself “ethnically confused” and a “bizarre combination of nationalities”, but knows that the multitude of cultural influences in his life helped guide his creativity into uncharted territories.

“I like to work with really diverse crews and I do seem to be drawn to stories about people that don’t necessarily belong and are looking for their place in the world,” he says. “It also means that I’ve got many influences, both culturally and creatively, and that can be amazing, but it can also be a hindrance as I have to sometimes reign in my ideas to make sure my projects aren’t at risk of losing cohesion. It’s the classic thing of ‘Is it too much?’.”

To add to the mix of cultural influences, Ian’s dad was a massive film enthusiast during his childhood, so watching the classics was non-negotiable. At around seven years of age, he saw ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ for the first time and while the actual point of the film might have been smoothed over in his head, little Ian was mesmerised by the scale and imagery. “I probably watch that film once a year now,” he adds.

Ian’s brother was also a professional bass player, so naturally, a lot of his influences and interests came by proxy. “My dad was an aspiring amateur actor, which has obviously proved to be quite beneficial to my chosen career, and I do try to give him cameos in my projects when possible!” And the women in his life also contributed to this creative mindset, “My mum and sister are both big on interior design, so I was always surrounded by art and creativity.”

Kurosawa and Kubrick were also part of the household’s diet and, as it turns out, both had a lasting impact on Ian's sensibilities as a filmmaker. “I’m obsessed with symmetry because of Kubrick and love the use of movement and composition in Kurosawa’s films. The diversity of Kubrick’s work showed me that it’s okay to dabble in different genres and various formats. It’s a principle I still adhere to.”

Following that, Italian director Sergio Leone entered the picture, albeit a bit later in Ian’s life. “I loved how uncompromising his movies were when it came to tempo and not being afraid to build tension through holding cuts and use of extreme close ups.”

And as far as impact goes, the single-take swimming pool scene in ‘Boogie Nights’ by Paul Thomas Anderson got Ian’s vision as the “perfect example” of the power of a single-shot scene, especially if done correctly. “Anytime I do a one-take project, and I’ve done quite a few now,” he says, “I always watch that scene to get reminded of why it’s so effective.”

Inspirations galore, Ian understandably asks himself “When is it too much?” Something that he has caught himself out doing is making films with sparse dialogue or in some cases, no dialogue at all. “I really do think this comes from growing up with so many languages being spoken at any given time. I guess to some extent, I now like the idea of making films that anyone can understand, regardless of the language they speak.”

Otherwise, while his dad was a film buff who made sure Ian had all the basics down, becoming a filmmaker was “just about as realistic as becoming an astronaut.” Moving from Holland to a little town in the south of the UK when he was only two years old, Ian’s family was what you’d best describe as economically “lower middle class”. 

There, he became obsessed with comic books - he reckons this obsession would be the culprit behind his beginning as a storyboard artist - and looking back to it now, realises the parallels between filmmaking and comics. “They both essentially use the composition to communicate ideas and control pace,” he explains.

“When I was 11 I got incredibly sick and had to miss over a year of school, I was barely able to leave my house,” Ian remembers. During that period, he doubled his film consumption and the vision of becoming a director started to shape. “Creativity was much more natural to me than academia and my parents recognised that very quickly. They were incredibly supportive in encouraging all of my hobbies, despite there being no obvious career path for me.”

All the encouragement, support and influence inevitably led to Ian’s first short after university called ‘Godless Nights’, which did quite well and picked up a few awards at festivals. This was also around the time when he secured some jobs as a storyboarding artist in a bid to secure his place in the industry.

Soon enough, some meetings with small (but mighty) production companies were secured. “I think the fact that I could demonstrate my ideas by literally drawing them directly onto paper gave me some advantage, which quickly resulted in job opportunities, mostly in the corporate sector,” says Ian. “Not exactly glamorous, or creatively stimulating, but it taught me discipline and gave me good client management skills.”

A year of that under his belt, and Ian managed to secure a job at Sky Creative as a freelance creative and director - a massive jump for his 24-year-old incredibly green self, who had to start adapting to the world of broadcasting and TV advertising. As a naturally introverted person, it took Ian some time to get used to the pitching process – both in written and verbal form – so he faked it until he made it. “The confidence was entirely fabricated,” he admits. “But the process really benefited me further in my career. The pitching isn’t necessarily a natural quality for most directors, but perhaps one that should be taught to some degree.”

At Sky, Ian truly started to get to know the true challenge of getting up close and personal with an idea in a short format, while trying to balance it with his own emerging visual identity. “As a commercial director, you will find yourself always straddling the line between putting enough of yourself into a project while protecting the integrity of the brand.” 

One of the best lessons Ian picked up at Sky was about ensuring any idea or visual asset was consistent with the aesthetic of the brand, which was especially tricky as the broadcaster’s brand parameters are traditionally quite narrow. “I would come up with ideas and my creative director would ask, ‘Yes, but is it Sky?’. An initially frustrating mantra to be given as a young and enthusiastic director, but in hindsight an invaluable question and one I’ve adopted ever since.”

To make the circle full, Ian recently made a few TVCs for Sky Bet and they serve as the perfect example of the above. The brand colours were incorporated throughout and respecting the brand’s style came as a breeze. “But at the same time, I do certain things well as a director and I believe I get hired because of them. And that means staying true to what I’m good at.” In came the flowing camera movements, symmetry and one-take filmmaking (all a nod to Ian’s favourite references), using VFX transitions to take the audiences seamlessly from scene to scene. Sky Bet, but consistent with who Ian is stylistically.

Somehow magically bypassing the runner route and jumping straight into directing work, Ian was stunned by the opportunity that had presented itself. “Quite honestly, even just being able to make a living as a director, in an industry that is so inaccessible and in many ways completely unrealistic for a person from my background feels like a big win.”

Reflecting on his small-town roots, Ian knows how unlikely his path is. “My mum worked as a cleaner and in a play school and my dad worked at a language school. I had no contacts in the industry, at all. So, the fact that I have managed to do this as a job for close to 16 years still amazes me, especially as I’d be doing it for free otherwise!”

That feeling hasn’t yet withered: “I just love making films. It really doesn’t matter what the format is. The idea that I get paid to tell stories using a camera is genuinely still bizarre to me and something that I will never take for granted.” Because of this, switching between mediums isn’t only easy but preferred for Ian - he gets to flex different muscle groups for various projects. And we know variety is something he’s used to ever since a little kid.

“As a filmmaker, you can’t ever get too comfortable - you have to challenge yourself. If I just worked in one sector, I would probably still have to adapt my approach to ensure I was doing justice to each project. It always comes down to what the best way to tell that story is, and the same principle applies, regardless of whether you’re making a 30-second commercial or a 90-minute feature film.”

That said, Ian admits that in a lot of ways, commercials might be the most technically challenging - telling a story and communicating ideas in 30 seconds certainly requires an acute understanding of the entire industry. “You have one second to ensure an idea, character and concept is registered and understood by an audience, whilst also ensuring you’re adhering to brand guidelines.” If this isn’t enough, as a director one would prefer to also inject some cinematic style into each spot as efficiently as possible. 

“Music videos, on the other hand, can be the most incredibly creative format and I’m probably as passionate about them as I am about feature films. One of the things I love about music videos is that they’re the almost perfect marriage between audio and picture. When done right, they’re the most incredible combination of art forms and can result in some of the most powerful and visceral pieces of filmmaking,” continues Ian.

But while the mediums change, some themes stick around. Ian admits to, whether consciously or not, revisiting what he believes might be the pillars of his creative development. “Being both an immigrant and multicultural, I’ve always identified with the character of the outsider trying to find their place. Quite a few of my projects seem to centre around this, even some documentaries.”

His feature film, ‘The Banksy Job’, is essentially about an outsider yearning to be accepted into a subculture, coupled with his quest for affirmation - “A subject that definitely resonates,” says Ian. He made the film with his friend Dylan Harvey, and the process was a surreal experience spanning across a few years and coming out to be a documentary / heist hybrid, combining interviews with the real people involved in the story as well as some heavily dramatised scenes from the protagonist’s point of view.

“I believe it’s important to make film personal,” says Ian. “If you don’t understand the themes of the work or it doesn’t speak to your core, I’m not sure it’s possible to make a compelling film and it’s certainly not possible to make an honest film. Most audiences will see right through that.”

Ian also opens up about his type 1 diabetes diagnosis, which took place around 14 years ago. “It had a monumental impact on my life,” he reflects. “When you live with an auto-immune disorder, it does affect just about every aspect of your day-to-day. You become acutely aware of your own body and vulnerabilities.” After his diagnosis, Ian found himself gravitating towards stories about mortality, isolation and sickness. “I could directly relate to them in some way! Despite how morbid that sounds, I’m genuinely an optimistic and positive person. But I could just draw from my own experiences.” 

Relating to the stories he tells isn’t the only empowering aspect Ian finds in filmmaking. “I’m quite a technical director and since I also have a background in editing, I tend to shoot with the edit very much in mind. This means that I generally know if I have enough to tell the story at any stage of the shoot, even if it may seem like there’s not adequate coverage.” He tends to approach most shoots with that in mind, which helps elevate any anxieties later down the line.

He finds peace and confidence when things are well communicated and truly believes that nobody can direct unless they’re able to communicate ideas correctly. “That extends to the client, to the crew, to your actors and ultimately to your audience. It’s something I’ve really worked hard on and my director’s treatments do tend to be very detailed and comprehensive. If the ideas aren’t working, more often than not it’s because I probably haven’t communicated the core concept effectively enough.” Naturally, good communication leads to good collaboration and ultimately - successful storytelling.

“The collaborative aspect of directing is, the most enjoyable component of the job,” Ian says. “I love being surprised by the people I work with and I genuinely enjoy bouncing ideas back and forth. I’ve never believed that a director should be a dictator, especially since film is one of the most beautifully collaborative mediums out there.” Heavily relying on and encouraging input, Ian’s creativity thrives when everybody is involved - appreciating the talented people around him.

“Whether it’s an actor making a completely unexpected choice or a DoP proposing a shot I never could have conceived, the collective exchange of ideas and the unexpected results often derive from that process,” he continues. While all of this remains true, one of the biggest challenges also comes when trying to reconcile an idea with a person who just doesn’t ‘get it’.

“It’s not even a reflection of their abilities, but sometimes it’s simply a case of that person having sensibilities or an approach that just doesn’t work for the project, and it’s incredibly difficult to bridge that.” But, when everybody is in the right place, magic happens and Ian gets to do what he loves most - watch incredibly talented people do what they’re best at. 

These days, Ian is running a commercial company alongside his long-term producer, friend and at one point his manager, Adham Hunt, called The Banquet. An exciting venture that led to an amazing roster of directors and entries into big budget TVCs almost right away. “Seeing the speed at which the company has already grown has been incredibly exciting! On a personal level, I’ve really enjoyed the responsibility of taking on the role of helping some of our directors with their projects and hopefully making some contribution towards giving them a platform to showcase their talents.”