We’re back with another profile of one of our creatives. At the end of last week a somewhat strange, peculiar video started getting the attention of Vimeo users. It was a video for a Wooshii project done by member Chris Lee (and non-member Paul Storrie). So we thought of profiling Chris this week (http://wooshii.com/wwwthisischrisleecouk) and get some insight from the whole process from him. Chris is based on London, UK, and has graduated in 2009 at Central Saint Martins with BA Hons in Graphic Design: Moving Image. 

How did you get started with creative things? With passion.

What’s the video you created that you’re most proud of? Maybe the 30 second Barnardo’s ad. It started off as an entry for Kodak student commercial awards 2009, I was working with two talented guys-Tim Keeling & Minsu Song. We did alot of research and exploration into the problem that we were dealing with and I think that by the end of the project, the final concept that we developed was truly heart felt. I think the execution could be improved to really reinforce the concept. If I could shoot it again, I wouldn’t shoot on 16mm film. I found it quite restrictive. Not whilst digital is indefinitely catching up.

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What video you wish you had made? I would quite like to make something really unique and really engaging so I guess there is nothing out there quite like it…yet. 

What’s your creative process? erm i think i wrote a whooole lot on this in the wooshii forum but to sum it all up… Live your idea but stay analytical/critical. stay aware. 

What is your dream project? At the moment, perhaps to create a music video for a song that really inspires me. 

What’s your favourite software for your work? Computer software is quite simply tools, thats like saying whats your favourite spanner. However, the camera has always been a good tool. Photography is important to me.

Which software/hardware doesn’t exist, but you wish it would? A camera in my eye that takes photos when I blink. 

Tips for making good pitches (and winning them)? Research. Know your target audience and show it. Good/clear illustration. Clarify your direction. Have a vision. 

Tips for getting views? Plan exactly what you do and who exactly for. 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Dead. Live for the moment!

So that’s the set of questions we have been giving to out, but we all this interest in the Wooshii video, it would be cool to know some additional stuff about the project, so we gave him even more questions!

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How did you come up with the concept? Firstly, I decided to team up with a Mr. Paul Storrie. (I had worked with him before on a low budget short called ‘the meeting’) We always shared a similar sense of humour and interest in bringing ideas to life. We met a number of times and really developed what we wanted to explore and why. Some crazy ideas we were close to going with. Too many infact but we kept going until we felt we had found the best idea. The concept of fishing came about as a joke at first but it was strangely appealing. The idea was aesthetic, simple and not like anything I had seen before. Nearer the end of the project, we had the idea for a whole campaign based around different techniques of catching a meeting. Our starting point was obviously our brief but it really evolved around a rather intriguing love/hate work relationship between creatives and businesses we had always been interested in. One which we had seen in many instances online. I think this blog sums it up from the creatives point of view- http://clientsfromhell.tumblr.com Also, I think that our current unemployed status was definite subconscious inspiration! 

Did it change much from concept to execution? The idea didnt change at all. The narrative structure was storyboarded which remained the basic skeleton for the film. (attached to email is original storyboard) Some minor things changed. We got rid of alot of stuff. 

What were the most difficulties you had shooting it? Location and actors. The production was difficult on such a small budget but this is all part of the creativity. We spent alot of time searching for the right locations. All the actors are creatives- illustrators, designers, artists etc, some recent graduates currently looking for work. This definitely brings a haunting realism to the film. 

How much time did it take to shoot? The weather was a big problem. It snowed a number of times on organised shoots (There is even remains of snow and ice on the roof in the film) We would sometimes go out and get a shot we thought was missing even after starting the edit. All in all, too much time. 

What was it like having this much interest on Vimeo on a work of yours? Quite exciting indeed. Alright, great stuff! We’re trying to embed here the storyboard (which is awesome) and will have it here as soon as possible.

Thank you very much to Chris for taking the time to answer all these questions for making a great video for Wooshii.