Q&A with Charlie Budden
Who is Charlie Budden?
Charlie Budden is a Tanglin Trust International School alumni who graduated year 13 in 2016 and went on to study foundation Film Production at the University of Bournemouth, Uk. He graduated from there in 2021 and created his student film 'Oh Little Spark!', based off a Polish lullaby. He came back to Tanglin on 26th August 2022 to give a presentation to some Film Studies students and me about his short film and the challenges and successes in making your own film. He showed us 'Oh Little Spark!' then gave a Q&A on what it was like to study Film Production at University along with some advice about A level Film Studies.
Here is the trailer for Charlie Budden's short student film, 'Oh Little Spark!'
Crowdfunding
Charlie obtained his following and funding for his short film through crowdfunding, which is a way of raising money for something through small contributions from people on the internet. Charlie used the website 'Crowdfunder' to do this. He managed to gain 117 supporters on 12th December 2019 in 28 days, raising 9,160 pounds overall. This was a success as he managed to gain the right amount of following for his film, which meant that the cost required to create the film was obtained.
Another success Charlie had from making 'Oh Little Spark!' was casting British actress Rula Lenska as 'Janina', the main character Gabriel's grandmother. Rula Lenska, born 30th September 1947 has appeared in British stage and television productions, and is well known for her part in the classic British ITV soap opera 'Coronation Street' as Claudia Colby. Charlie managing to cast such a well known and professional actress was a big success for his film, as it meant it could possibly gain more followers on the Crowdfunder as well as other social medias such as Instagram and Youtube if people saw a famous actress playing a central character. This would mean that they would be more inclined to support the film so they could watch Lenska in it.
What I found interesting about Charlie's presentation
Charlie's presentation was very inspiring to me, as the leadership skills he had when directing his film and leading his team are something I look up to and hope to attempt this year, especially with my music video project, which is with a partner and therefore working in a team.
Something else that I found interesting from Charlie's presentation was how much production went into the film, down to the smallest details. On his Crowdfunder, there were drawings and sketches of the characters from the film, with the inspirations for them both being presented through photos from other media he was inspired by. This was something I focused on last year with my film opening and will focus on this year for my music video even more, as the video will need to include enough references and media contexts to be successful. Therefore, seeing Charlie's process of production is interesting for me as I can see exactly how much work went into the story and how much I will need to think about when I am making my music video this year.
Finally, another thing about the presentation I found interesting was how Charlie created the characters in the film's traumas and stories using show don't tell. This is something I want to bring into my music video without directly telling the audience. This is also something rather difficult to convey in a music video as the characters usually don't have much dialogue or time to tell a story, as the video is only about 3 minutes long.
Charlie's Youtube channel
Oh, Little Spark! (independentshortsawards.com)
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