DIRECTED and PRODUCED by PAUL ASHTON
WRITTEN by Joe Johnsey
Deep in a forest, Barry and Larry indulge in conversation that is by turns light-hearted and extremely topical, revealing surprising revelations, both good and bad, along the way.
ABOUT THE FILM
Shallow was an Official Selection at our 2022 festival. It also won the Audience Award at the Short Focus Film Festival and won Best Comedy at the New York Short Film Festival. The screenplay was nominated for Best Screenplay at the English Riviera Film Festival where both actors (Michael Shon & Joe Johnsey) were also nominated for Best Actor. Other notable festival selections include: Nottingham International Film Festival, Earl’s Court International Film Festival, Liverpool Film Festival and Byron Bay Film Festival. Shallow was also a Semi-Finalist at the Academy Award qualifying Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival.
ABOUT THE FILMmaker
Paul Ashton is a Writer/Director originally from Hertfordshire but now living in London. Shallow is his second short film as director. He’s currently prepping his third short while also developing a feature script.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH Paul
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your filmmaking background?
I have a Degree in Film and initially worked on a series of films and TV projects such as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers before focusing on directing and scriptwriting. I've directed Music videos and documentary shorts and used to work at a camera hire company before writing and directing my first short film POV in 2018. POV was selected for a series of film festivals worldwide such as Australia, Germany, the USA and England.
What position did you have on Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers?
On Saving Private Ryan I was a Location Assistant while on Band of Brothers I started as a Location Assistant before then advancing to Crowd Runner and then Floor Runner.
What were some of your main takeaways from working on a large set that you absorbed into your own filmmaking?
The importance of the following:
Organisation
Whether you have a huge crew on a massive production or a small crew on a low-budget short film – you're all trying to capture the best footage you can within a tight schedule so everyone has to be extremely organised and prepared to help things runs as smoothly as possible. No one wants to be the weak link when so much is at stake.
Adaptability
I found that regardless of the size of the production and the prep involved, delays happen or some things just don't go to plan on the day - so the ability to think quickly and come up with a solution is vital, to think outside the box. Perhaps a big set piece needs to be reset which takes some time or an actor isn't free when you need them, can something else be shot in the meantime rather than waste that vital time.
Communication
Hugely vital on a large set where so many departments are involved who need to know what's required from them and when but also for individuals to be given the opportunity to showcase their thoughts and expertise. On my shorts I want everyone to be in the loop and always know what we're trying to achieve and why. To also create an environment where people are able to contribute their opinions freely and be part of the decision making process so that we're all collaborating as a team to make the best project possible.
Tell us about the genesis of Shallow and how the project came about?
Shallow grew from a conversation that took place between our two leads Joe Johnsey and Michael Shon who at the time were housemates – a version of which appears in the final film. I was looking for a short to make while I finished off another script and chose this one to develop from the ideas Joe sent me. Joe then wrote the script which we all fine-tuned in rehearsals. It's very dialogue heavy where the timing is vital so the rehearsals were extremely valuable as they allowed us to discover what did and didn't work before reworking it until we were all happy. It also allowed us to rehearse the script again and again so that it was second nature on shoot day, saving as valuable time as we only had one day.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making of Shallow and how did you overcome them?
Shortly before we were due to shoot, our initial forest location was damaged by storms and we began to look again – but then Covid hit. Once restrictions eased we began to visit locations once again and came across the perfect spot in Black Park. Lockdown actually worked in our favour as Black Park was completely booked up before lockdown as it's such a popular filming location but as restrictions eased, shoots were slow to start up again. So thankfully they allowed us to shoot there for one day – straight after Jurassic World who delayed our shoot a few weeks as they were filming right next to us.
On the day of the shoot we had to contend with the changing weather. Shallow takes place in real time over 10 minutes so overcast conditions would have been ideal - but instead the weather alternated between sunny and overcast with a few showers. We also needed to lock off the surrounding area as it's a pubic park so members of the pubic were roaming around, usually walking their dogs.
I believe we had 27 shots to shoot that day, some of which were long steadicam takes but thankfully we managed it. And then post was all done remotely which wasn't ideal but perhaps did allow me to fine tune certain aspects.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
So we spent a lot of time researching festivals and trying to figure out where it had a chance of being selected and eliminating those where we thought we didn't stand a chance. We tried to target British film festivals more than anywhere else as we weren't sure how the northern accents and humour would travel.
But then surprisingly we won Best Comedy at the New York Short Film Festival, were Semi-Finalist's in the BAFTA and Academy Award qualifying Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival, as well as being selected for a few other American festivals and the Byron Bay International Film Festival and a number of festivals in England. Some festivals we thought we had a great chance of getting into rejected us while some selections came as a complete surprise – you just don't know.
A lot of festivals were still being shown remotely so sadly we missed out on attending some fantastic festivals and being able to see it with an audience – though we did take part in some great Zoom Q&A's and managed to meet some very talented filmmakers. Furthermore, some festivals were delayed by up to a year which did draw out the Festival process. Luckily, the Kino London Short Film Festival (previously known as the People's Film Festival in 2022) was a live event and this is where Shallow had it's best screening to date in a packed out venue. Kino is such a well run festival with a great atmosphere and it's a place where I have met a number of very good friends.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
Find a team of people that you work well who are also reliable. The process might be hard at times but it should also be enjoyable, otherwise why do it? And don't just make do, try and make the best short you can within your financial confines otherwise you're regret not fixing those little issues that then become magnified on the big screen – something I'm very happy I did with Shallow.
What do you think is the biggest challenge short filmmakers face trying to break into the industry?
Getting something made and then getting it seen. You're fighting to get something made, usually on a small budget that you probably financed yourself and which needs to stand out from the thousands of shorts out there.
Then once you've made something you have to fork out a lot of money for the festivals, and be rejected by many as there's just too many shorts out there. Whether you're selected or not is ultimately based on personal opinion and perhaps their desire to group certain shorts together based on themes or subject matter. Which sadly means that a lot of good films get rejected.
Plus the added hurdle of competing against much higher budgeted shorts – which is why the Kino London Short Film Festival works so well as the films are divided into groups based on budget.
Shorts are typically seen as a stepping stone to bigger things, which is a pity as they’re such an interesting art form in their own right and really allow you to experiment and find your voice. Sadly there's no financial gain (unlike features) – if there was it would be a lot easier to obtain funding which would thereby help to support your career progression.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
Some of my favourite shorts are Signs by Patrick Hughes, The Answers by Michael Goode,
Stutterer by Benjamin Cleary, Salt by Rob Savage and the shorts of David F. Sandberg who also includes making of videos for each of them.