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production
Dark Nature
Screenwriter and parttime
journalist Eddie
Harrison writes about his
first feature, Dark Nature.
“If you want to write for cinema, that’s
fine. But get a day job you can do in the
meantime, it’s not easy…”
After my first film was made under the Tartan
Shorts scheme, this advice was given to me
by Sir Richard Attenborough, and proved
to be soundly practical. Working in cinema
journalism for the last decade provided an
ideal vantage point from where to observe
how films are made and marketed, and to
make connections with filmmakers. It helped
me gain practical experience about the highs
and lows of the film industry, from writing
drama episodes for BBC One to doing
development work and rewrites on four
features, all of which have gone in front of
the cameras. But like many writers, the first
feature proper was still proving elusive.
So when Glasgow’s Mandragora
Productions offered to make my feature
script, Dark Nature, I jumped at the chance.
Rather than the marriage of convenience,
which so often seems to collapse under
the stress of a low budget production, the
production would be directed by Marc de
Launay, who, like me, had come up through
Scottish Screen-funded shorts like Winning
Streak and Contorted Hazel. I’d previously
worked with Marc on an award-winning
short called A Small Piece of Paradise, and
through him we were able to assemble a
production team including Ted Mitchell (First
AD on Paddy Considine’s BAFTA winning
short Dog Altogether).
A straight-forward thriller based around
traditional narrative hooks and suspense,
Dark Nature’s story revolves around a
family holiday gone wrong, as a mother and
daughter’s trip to an isolated community
turns into a nightmare. An eco-thriller,
Dark Nature’s plotting took inspiration
from the zeitgeist of 1970’s productions
like Deliverance, Long Weekend and Island
of the Damned, (the latter two had both
announced remakes as we completed our
production).
Always with one eye on sales, Dark Nature
aims to connect with both commercial
and art-house audiences, and the use of
Scottish locations helped us find the look,
which would give the film a unique visual
selling point. Working with cinematographer
Andrew Begg, Marc and Ted intended to
exploit the natural beauty of remote costal
locations, filmed at the turn of autumn to
winter, and contrasting the visual splendour
with the grim toughness of the survival
story. And spending an extra £300 on an
insect wrangler helped us capture exactly
the right kind of wildlife to depict our central
theme of atavism.
With a tested production team on board,
Mandragora was able to raise finance on a
private finance model similar to that used
for London To Brighton by filmmaker, Paul
Andrew Williams. In the case of Dark Nature,
that meant a limited number of investors
creating our initial capital, combining with a
selling script to secure the key aspect of DVD
distribution: the investors’ best chance at
getting their money back. Mark Geddes from
South West Screen was on hand to help us
get the best possible value for our spend on
our Dumfries and Galloway locations, and
our shoot finally took place in September
and October 2008.
One danger of a low-budget is that there’s
no room for overspends, so Dark Nature
was conceived to make the best of minimal
finance. Although a location shoot inevitably
cost more in terms of accommodation
and catering, shooting for a month in and
around Dumfries and Galloway’s The House
on the Shore meant that the crew could
enjoy the same kind of uninterrupted focus
that a big budget closed set would provide.
The ‘who-dunnit’ nature of the story was
ideal for the shoot, allowing us to work with
different members of a large cast over short
periods of time, and also to offer deferrals
to our actors and crew with the knowledge
that the small budget and guaranteed
distribution at least made it a possibility for
them to get properly paid for their efforts.
Now in the editing stage, Dark Nature
would only have been possible with the
generosity of spirit and camaraderie offered
by everyone associated with the film’s
making, enabling us to harness the skills and
enthusiasm of many people who were keen
to make the jump to features. In the current
economic climate, making films is still a
risky business. But the ability to make good,
low-budget features is a more highly prized
skill than ever, and getting your first film in
front of the cameras is worth sacrificing a
day job for.
Dark Nature is set for release in 2009.
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