FEATURE
Sightseers shot at more than 40 locations over a four-week period
with people who are not steeped in the story. Alice and Steve understand it totally so they can make stuff up without it being totally off-beat.” Oram agrees: “It all comes from that looseness
and often we’ll improv loads of stuff that wouldn’t get used. It’s just background, just chatting and some of it is a bit boring, but [sometimes] there are little nuggets and gems living in it that we put into the script.” It is not just the improvisational approach that
makes Wheatley such a strong match with the pair; Lowe believes his naturalistic style is crucial as well: “That is what’s really good about Ben. He’s not interested in a massive RADA performance, he just wants something that’s real.” Oram adds: “Comedy doesn’t work unless
there’s a truth to it and there has to be truth to these characters.”
Despite the loose, improvisational nature of the
‘As a tribute to Werner Herzog, we did drag a caravan up a mountain. We
literally did’ Andy Starke, Rook Films
scenes, the shoot saw the cast and crew visit more than 40 locations in just four weeks of shooting. The stress of a constantly moving production was worth it. Lowe says: “You can’t dwell on anything, you just do it and it’s brilliant.” By working in naturalistic light, Wheatley could
shoot numerous angles and takes within a rela- tively short time — footage averaged around four to five minutes a day. He also edited as the shoot progressed. “There are very rough cuts, like assemblies, but
they’re not really edits until I’ve had a look at them. Traditionally you’d have people saying, ‘Oh, take five is the preferred take,’ but it doesn’t happen with this because there’s so much footage, so the editor is working blind at the moment until I get in there, [then] I’ll know what’s going on a bit more.”
From a production standpoint, Jones believes
the shorthand that has developed from working with the same crew, including Kill List and Down Terrace cinematographer Laurie Rose, helped the hectic schedule to succeed. “We are really lucky that we have such a tight
unit. Ben made the decision very early on that we’d shoot no matter what the weather was. Almost like being on a normal holiday in England, you don’t know what you’re going to get.” The challenging locations were akin to a Lake
District Fitzcarraldo. Starke says: “As a tribute to Werner Herzog, we did drag a caravan up a moun- tain. We literally did.” n
s
BEN WHEATLEY FACTFILE
n Wheatley co-founded Mr & Mrs Wheatley, which works in cinema, television and advertising, with his wife Amy Jump. Wheatley has won multiple awards for his commercial and viral work including Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
n He has directed several television shows including the BBC’s Ideal and the Bafta-nominated The Wrong Door.
n Directed debut feature Down Terrace in 2009, which won awards including Next Wave best film prize at Austin’s Fantastic Fest and the Raindance Award at the Raindance Film Festival.
n Wheatley’s second feature, Kill List, was released last year to strong critical acclaim, receiving six nominations at the British Independent Film Awards, and landed a US deal with IFC.
n He reteamed with Kill List stars Michael Smiley and Neil Maskell on his segment of upcoming horror anthology The ABCs Of Death.
n Wheatley’s next feature will be sci-fi I, Macrobane, starring Nick Frost, which could start filming later this year.
Down Terrace n 52 Screen International at Cannes May 16, 2012
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