My Work (Production Designer) :

I fancied having a go at directing and production design in this film. I love both jobs, so I thought I'd give them a whirl together. Gotta be honest, it wasn't the smoothest ride – bit of a struggle, to be fair. I wasn't at my best in either role because it was a lot to handle. The film leaned heavily on production design, and if I focused on directing, I'd forget things like props, causing issues with continuity. But if I leaned into production design, my directing suffered. It was a tough juggling act, but I'm chuffed that I took it on. Proved to myself that I could do it, even if it meant dealing with a fair bit of stress. Not sure I'd tackle a project like this again, especially setting up the whole set. I set up the whole place to match my idea, which gave me loads of freedom, more than any of my other projects.

I went for a 1960s/1970s vibe because my first film, "Love Yourself First 2024," had a book with 'American culture in the 1970s' in a shot that I really liked. So, I decided to make this film with a similar aesthetic. Didn't all go to plan, though. On the shoot day, there was a modern car parked outside the house, giving away the fact that it wasn't actually the 60s/70s. Not a massive issue, but it kinda spoiled the whole concept.

As a director who usually films in nature, where it's mostly green, I wanted to play with primary colours. But, I couldn't resist including green in the film for the leaves and plants around the house. Luckily, I got access to the location before the shoot, so I could set up a day early. It took a load off the stress of setting up on the day and gave us a chance to rehearse.

All in all, it was a tricky project, but I reckon it was worth it. Taught me a lot and let me flex my creative muscles, even if it meant a fair bit of faffing about.

The Cast:

Byron Donovan as Alex
Florence Caruana as Aella
Ieva Tamosiunaite as Alice

The Crew:

Writer and Director : Melfin Pereira 
Producer : Beksultan Tolomushev
Director of Photography : Marc Nickl 
Production Designer : Melfin Pereira👋
Sound Recordist : Donna Ann Cyril
Second Sound Recordist: Enrique Kisten
Sound Designer and Composer : Ned Prevezer
Editor : Marc Nickl
1st Assistant Director : Enrique Kisten
Assistant Camera : Kurush N. Dhondy
Gaffer / Grip :  Qinglong Liu
Colourist : Marc Nickl

Prop Master : Katrina Jade Roberts

Shoot Date: 

16th - 17th November 2023

Completion Date:

N/A

Release Date:

N/A

Social Media Presence :