Synthetica by Alex Falconer: The Skinny Short Film Competition 2015

Shortlisted in The Skinny Short Film Competition 2015, director Alex Falconer explains the inspirations and processes behind his film, Synthetica

Video | 05 Aug 2015

Filmmaker's Statement:

A story set 30 years into the future, where people have long deserted their previous homes to continue life in a city vehemently run on communal efficiency and productivity by a mysterious corporation.

Technical Director Jonny Dane and myself conceived the idea for the film; it was created to convey our views of the world and fears of simply fitting into it.

With this being my last film before graduating from university I wanted to show what really troubles me – a society becoming less democratic, more individualistic and increasingly controlled by corporate power. With this in mind, the film asks you the audience to think about what kind of world you want to live in and leave behind.


Q&A:

What do you do and why do you do it?
I just graduated in Film from Falmouth with a First Class degree, and now I'm in the midst of setting up a production company with the technical director of Synthetica, Jonny Dane. I make film because it is the perfect vessel to express all of my thoughts and opinions to a wide audience, critique the world around me and start conversations.

Where did the initial idea come from?
I was struggling to come up with a concrete idea for my graduate film when I read up on TTIP – this is a trade deal which will essentially give corporations the power to sue governments. From this I began to construct the idea of a city ran by a corporation and how people would interact if we got to that point.

Describe your film in five words
Freedom is the eternal struggle.

What excites you most about filmmaking?
There are two things: just before shooting the first shot of your film and when someone you don't know watches the final cut.

What advice would you give other filmmakers?
Don't skip on the pre-production; it can be the most tedious part of the filmmaking process, but the more time you put into it the more you will get out of your film.


Credits:

Production:
Director - Alex Falconer
Writer - Alex Falconer and Jonny Dane
Producer - Harry Boardman
Assisstant Producer - Ella Turner
1st Assistant Director - Claire Stevens
Assistant Director - Luke Koch de Gooreynd, Luca Parasiliti
Director of Photography - Jonny Dane
Sound Supervisor - James Chatwin
Sound Recording - James Gadd
Sound Design & Soundtrack - Liam Pollard
Production Design & Set Building - Talia Holden, Alex Falconer, Jonny Dane
Make up - Julz Bement, Jade Roach
Editor - Alex Falconer, Jonny Dane
VFX - Jonny Dane
Colourist - Jonny Dane
Illustrator - Lucy Tomlinson
Animation - Sammy-Jo Tawn

Cast:
Ren - Tim Seyfert
The Mistake - Emma Graveling
Coffee Guy - Dominic Philpot
Rebel - Marzia Sellitti
Office Elder - John Frankland
Office Replacement - Simon Oliver Voice of LarnovaCorp - Mark Douglas
Citizens of LarnovaCorp - Ashley Whiteman, Alex Marshall, Barry Milligan, Katie Bowden, Su Joan Farmer, Megan Tremethick, Florentina Bowden, Raun Carswell, Natalia Ramli-Davies, Lovise Kvalsund


Learn more about The Skinny Short Film Competition and watch more short films at our Short Film Competition portal, and check out the full shortlist for The Skinny Short Film Competition.