Raya Films’ James Smith
Under the banner of Raya Films, Writer/Director James Smith and Writer/Producer Caroline Spence have been collaborating on film projects since 2004 and have written, directed and produced 5 feature films in the last 5 years.
They’ve just launched a crowdfunding campaign for the pre-production stage of their upcoming 6th independent feature film, Best Geezer. I spoke to Director James Smith about Best Geezer and their previous adventures in indie filmmaking.
Philip Pugh: You’re currently in pre-production for your 6th feature film, Best Geezer - what it’s all about.
James Smith: Best Geezer is our first full comedy feature film about a group of entrepreneurs who make promo videos for small businesses in Essex. Their enterprise isn’t doing well, they all have day jobs, and they struggle to make ends meet. Despite this, they have a dream: to one day make a ‘geezer movie’ - what they see as the pinnacle of the movie world.
PP: Sounds great! Where did the inspiration come from?
JS: I grew up on Canvey Island in Essex and mixed with the local ‘island’ people who were tight-knit and pleasant and generous for the most part. On Canvey and the surrounding areas of Southend, I also met all manner of eccentric characters with their odd quirks, sometimes dubious business activities, and ‘Estuary humour’. They had an earthy but positive outlook on life. Later, this gave me the inspiration to write the treatment for Best Geezer.
PP: Tell us about the cast you’ve got attached.
JS: We’ve gathered a wonderful cast who are mostly from the Southend area, or nearby London. I wanted them to know the quirks of the accent and local humour, and also to have a belief in this kind of ‘anything’s possible’ rags-to-riches story. Some of the cast members have a great deal of experience, others not so. I think the performances will surprise many, since the film is primarily based around fluid, comedic dialogue exchanges.
PP: Sounds like a fantastic film, and one that supporters of indie film can involved with. What can folk expect from the crowdfunding campaign?
JS: The campaign is going superbly at present, and in fact has reached its goal well within the time limit of 25 days. Nevertheless, it will continue because extra cash for expenses, costumes, props and locations will really make that extra difference. There are many ways to get involved and perks available to suit all pockets. For example, you can receive social media promotion and a film credit at just £25, and then go right up to Elite Executive Producer with a cameo role and red carpet appearance for £1000!
PP: Fantastic, congratulations on meeting your initial goal. Best Geezer is your 6th feature film in 5 years, which would be a pretty incredible feat at the best of times, but you’ve managed to accomplish that during the coronavirus pandemic. How have you managed to achieve that, and aside from the obvious hurdles caused by covid, what have been the biggest obstacles to overcome?
JS: It is remarkable to look back and work out how we actually delivered five feature films in this period, but I guess this is what you do when you want to take the lead and be in control creatively. Of course we’ve tried to get finance from the usual avenues in the past, but this is often fraught with difficulties and delays (especially if you don’t have an established track record). Also, the more parties involved in a production, the more ‘cooks’ to spoil the broth - stories often become diluted or muddied with too many people trying to meddle with good original material. So, we are I guess truly independent filmmakers in that sense. We’ll also push a project through to completion even if it entails Caroline doing most of the pre-production/production work and me both camera operating and directing. The main reason we have been able to achieve all of this, despite some devastating personal setbacks over the years, is that we have confidence and belief in what we are doing, and also have in-house skills in our armoury if we need to use them. For example, if the cinematographer walks out, I can operate the gear (it happened, I did); if the sound recordist doesn't turn up, Caroline is now trained in this field and can take over (it happened, she did). Furthermore, all writing is carried out in-house and we do not work on our internal projects with other writers - this again streamlines the process and mitigates the risk of a project running into trouble.
PP: You’ve been working on film projects together since 2004 as writers, director and producer. How did your collaboration come about and how have you seen the indie film world change in that time?
JS: Caroline was developing as a freelance writer, with increasing success, and I was working on various projects as a stills photographer. We started to combine these skills over the years until 2004. At this point, Caroline landed an assignment as a property presenter on an episode of an ITV property programme in Tenerife - it was a strange assignment and we thought we could do a better job than the crew! To cut a long story short, we took advantage of the new technology in video camcorders and started making our own documentaries, which then led on to developing screenplays for film and shooting them independently. Over the years, we’ve seen the technology develop rapidly, and this has indeed enabled Raya Films and many other outfits to have a go at producing film, but it does bring a smile to my face when some filmmakers become tech obsessed - the fundamental artistic elements need to be in place before fancy equipment can be used to its best potential.
PP: You released your first feature Do Something, Jake in 2018, what were the major differences going from making documentaries and short films to a feature?
JS: Prior to Do Something, Jake we actually tried to shoot a full-length feature in Spain and London, however, this was eventually shelved due to inconsistencies with the footage we shot and what was actually written in the screenplay. It was a big blow, but hard lessons were learned. In this sense, we didn’t anticipate the problems that come from a much larger scale operation above and beyond what we’d achieved with our first short film Keep Up If You Can. Making a feature film such as Do Something, Jake is a much longer, more intense experience than a short. In feature film production you’re juggling a multitude of activities within the entire operation - fortunes can change and depend on many varying factors. It’s amazing that features are ever made at all - like our first, many fail or are buried. In fact, many competent directors and producers are caught in a kind of ‘short film syndrome’, whereby their profiles are full of many - often very fancy-looking - short films, but they cannot go up to the next level. Often they make their first feature film, and then fail to make another. That’s an indication of the sheer commitment required.
PP: You followed up Do Something, Jake with Cyberlante - was that the “difficult second album”, or was it an easier ride (not that filmmaking is ever easy) from your experiences making Do Something, Jake?
JS: Cyberlante was the second film we released (even though Agent Kelly was shot before). The film, a cyber-crime thriller, was born of an aborted shoot on the original screenplay. The camera department exited in the early stages, taking the gear that came with the package (they’ll have their side of the story, but let’s just say that I was glad to see them go) and so we rapidly regrouped and decided to shoot on a smartphone. At the time, shooting on phone was a fairly new technique (certainly in Britain where there seems to be more stigma about ‘camera formats’ amongst other things!). The story of what we did with Cyberlante is pretty well documented on various blogs and posts, but despite its bizarre improvised screenplay and performances, I like it a lot. The film has been well received in the USA, and that’s gratifying indeed.
PP: You mentioned Agent Kelly, Written & Directed by yourself and not only produced by, but this time also starring Caroline. What prompted the move for Caroline to be in front of the camera and how did that change the dynamics of your collaboration?
JS: Agent Kelly was produced during an arduous post-production phase for Do Something, Jake. With all of the issues faced in the sound design and music, there were many delays, and so rather than sitting on our hands, we decided to shoot another feature. This time, with Caroline in the lead role and just a few other actors in a kind of ‘road trip/female assassin’ story’, all shot guerrilla style with just me as the camera department and crew. Agent Kelly really was a crazy idea and took us to some limits of endurance as we travelled from the Midlands, to London, and then on to Spain to shoot the scenes - mostly in hotels, out in the streets, and open country areas. The zero-budget nature of this outrageous endeavour forced us to use every resource at our disposal, and this included Caroline, who appears as the lead actor throughout various voiceover dialogue scenes and some action. There are so many stories we could share about this project, too many to include here, but it was one hell of a ride and now it seems to be very popular on streaming platforms, once again particularly in the USA.
PP: Your fourth feature, Surveilled was once again shot entirely on a smartphone, and premiered this year at the International Mobile Film Festival in San Diego. Why did you decide to shoot this film on a smartphone, and what were the major advantages and disadvantages of filming on a phone?
JS: We decided to have another go with the smartphone format following a positive experience with Cyberlante. Furthermore, all locations within Surveilled were real - people’s houses, working pubs, gyms, and so on. Therefore, we had to work very quickly with limited gear and crew. Smartphone technology seemed to be the lightest, easiest technique and so we gave it another chance, this time with a few more options in terms of lenses. Surveilled ended up being a very large project with many cast members and locations, so the smartphone shooting philosophy enabled us to focus more on the logistics and other factors rather than just having our heads buried in tech and gear. That said, we did experience a number of technical headaches with the phone (app crashes, video noise bugs, etc.), but overall it was a solid choice for this project.
PP: You have another feature, Casting Kill, which is currently in post-production. What’s that one about?
JS: Casting Kill is a change in direction for Raya Films. The story is pretty much all set in a studio, however, it does retain some of our ‘run and gun’ techniques that enabled us to shoot quickly (six days!) in central London. The story revolves around a very dubious casting director who preys on actors who are often vulnerable and desperate to get their big break. The studio setting allowed us to not only concentrate on the creepy look of the film, but also to get fine performances from the cast. The film is currently in the final stages of post-production (sound) and near to completion. I’m delighted, since this will amount to a post-production turnaround of around eight months since the wrap. With the confidence we have in this film, we’re now looking to secure sales agent interest and mainstream distribution.
PP: Now you’re gearing up to start work on Best Geezer - what are you most looking forward to with this film?
JS: My favourite part of the filmmaking process is - wait for it - the early morning, coffee-in-hand, waiting for the cast and crew to arrive. The nature of this business throws your world upside down, often in very positive ways - you get to see different places at all times of the day and night, and work with a group of people, all of whom have been immersed into a unique one-off experience. Well, at least this is true of genuine ‘indie’ film projects that don't often conform to TV-film production norms. Best Geezer will be no different - a new group of people will gather one morning in Essex with some trepidation and much excitement, ready to take part in a full-length feature film production. They won’t know where the project will take them or what opportunities may arise as a result. And that in itself is worth all of the effort.
PP: Other than the crowdfunding campaign, how can people help you out or get in touch?
JS: People can get in touch via the contact page on the official Raya Films site and also by social media.
PP: Fantastic, thanks so much for your time, James. What an incredible filmmaking journey. Best of luck with the rest of the crowdfunding campaign and the actual shoot. I can’t wait to check out the finished film.
You can check out the Crowdfunding campaign HERE
Other Links:
Best Geezer Links:
Official Site
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
IMDb
Raya Films:
vShowcards
Official Site
Director’s Blog
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