'Popman' - An Unusual Idol
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Yeah, so I suppose I am 'film maker.' I direct, write, produce, edit, and act, and it's very hard work. I've made three, hour long or so movies that have been incredibly cheap and easy to make just for the fact they've hardly been funded, that funding coming from myself, out of my own choice of course, because I enjoy it! Now I'm no Martin Scorsese, these films are far from perfect. They're just amateur films I've made because I enjoy doing so, they're not great at all but I am proud of them. Over the next few weeks I'll take you through each one, starting with 'Popman' my first and most personal film.
I wrote the idea for Popman when I was in secondary school, about a troubled boy who struggles with multiple personality disorder, which he doesn't realise he has, in which he has an alter-ego: Popman.
So in 2014 I actually put this together. I wrote the script up and decided to make the film, a bit of fun and a way for me to push myself further into the world I so much enjoyed. Cameron Sharpe, the protagonist, was a shut-in, who, after an event in which he was bullied, he became afraid to go outside. His sister Mavis looked after him as best she could, with psychiatric help doing nothing for him, more of a just a game to him. Nothing will make him go outside, absolutely nothing, other than possibly Popman, his idol. A costumed man who lives in his city who helps others in any way he can, whom Cameron see's as a hero - but he doesn't see that he actually is his hero, unknowingly because of his multiple personality disorder, which can turn him into a completely different person.
So that's the backdrop to the film, based on a topic that has been looked at quite recently in a different way with M.Night Shyamalan's 'Split' (2017). Multiple personality disorder is a disorder which is most definitely an interesting one to look at and an interesting one to put on film, especially with the superhero genre, which I quite love. I had a friend from my childhood who had this order, which of course I didn't understand at the time but looking back it really helped me put this world and character together. The mystery of his identity, which the audience knows but Cameron doesn't, is something I really wanted to hit home.
Casting was pretty easy, as I asked my friends. My friend Anthony was to play Cameron, my friend Kiera as his sister Mavis, Ellie as Rosa, Cameron's closest friend, Chloe as Polly, Cameron's ex-girlfriend and Kristian who would star in my later films as James Boone, Polly's now boyfriend. They all had experience in acting so this was a bonus! On the first day of shooting Anthony did not turn up at all. This put me under a lot of stress there and then, and ultimately we all came to the decision we needed to carry on, so I stood in and replaced Anthony as Cameron. It was challenging having to direct and act, but it taught me a whole lot of skills and gave me some good ideas. I quite enjoyed it too, and I felt the character I had wrote was me anyway, and there was nobody better to play him - a big kid. Which admittedly, I am.
As well as being a play on the superhero genre, (a more realistic tone) I took inspiration from many other films such as 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2014) for its different take on the genre, and the 70's soundtrack inspired me to give the film my own soundtrack: 80's pop. It very much worked, and I loved it. As said by Cameron in the film, there is no other sound like it. From ToTo to David Bowie, from Cyndi Lauper to Tears for Fears, I crossed every popular song from the 80's I could put in, but of course I couldn't put everything in. It was a significant soundtrack because it connoted the ideas of youth and fun, and if it weren't my favourite type of music anyway, I would have still included it in.
It took a few days within a few months to film the entire film, which we started in November 2014, and completed in February 2015. The film was about an hour long, and due to my excitement for getting it out, we didn't do many reshoots at all, something I really need to make sure I do in the future, as my next two films had the same problem. Once edited and finished, I showed my film to friends and family at a community club in York. An event in which everyone appreciated my work and gave me a lot of feedback for the future, mostly positive, and of course constrictive feedback which was very valued.
Now I could go through exactly what happens in the film, but I won't spoil anything. Having said that I don't have a good version to watch online. I uploaded the film finally to YouTube last year but doesn't work due to copyright on the music. I'm thinking about doing some editing around with it so it's viewable, or just finding a new site I can have it shown on. The trailers are up on my channel though, so do have a look at them if you're enticed.
So, for my first film, I'm proud. An original idea with plenty of improv dance numbers (there are a lot) from myself and an 80's soundtrack to go with it. Not bad for my first film. And while I may get teased to death about it from friends and family, it'll always have a special place in my heart. I'm also writing a sequel... Popman 2. I've got some fun and interesting ideas for that one! If you want to see some of the trailers, the links are below, and as always, thanks for reading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XmPm2On8Lo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wG1rpFDy48
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6lPW0KtIc
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