From Regency to Miami Town is transformed as part of short film
ACREW of University of Gloucestershire students have been able to transform Cheltenham into 1980s Miami, Florida, for a film project.
‘Miami Heat,’ which was shot across a number of locations including Sandford Parks Lido, tells the story of a drugsmuggling operation gone wrong, in comedic fashion.
The £200 budget for the shoot was funded through what was left of the student loan belonging to co-writers and directors Joe Murphy and George Glynn.
George said: “Turning Cheltenham into the bustling and vibrant Miami of the 1980s was no small task.
“Thankfully, the lido has a very distinct tropical vibe to it, with its fountains and greenery, so we were table to transform it into a beachside park using a soundscape and a colourful grade.
“Frustratingly, the day we shot was one of the few days in the summer where we had a grey sky, so we had to manually replace the sky with some smart use of VFX.”
The film was originally pitched by Joe and George as part of their university course, however due to the module requirements the project was not ‘greenlit.’
George said: “We came back to the project because we were totally in love with the scummy and roguish charm we felt the main character Eddie had.
“We would go for script feedback meetings and people would say that we had a problem because Eddie was unlikable and they couldn’t figure out if they were supposed to root for him or not, and Joe and I would say that’s the exactly what we’re going for.”
The small crew consisted of 12 19-year-old students who worked for free during their summer holiday, and the group managed to attract BBC and Channel 4 Bristol-based actor Danny Chase for the lead role.
George added: “Before we found Danny, we had cast someone else in the part who wasn’t quite what we were after, but our production dates were getting near and we needed to hurry up and cast our lead.
“It started to look like we might have to cancel the project, until Danny sent us an audition that completely blew us away; we couldn’t believe how he brought Eddie to life with that exact roguish charm we had imagined.
The soundtrack was composed by Patrick Barwick, who George attributes with helping to sell the 80s aesthetic, as well as Oliver Duffy who composed the theme.
He added: “We were lucky enough to have an amazing production designer in Olivia Morgan to help us sell the smaller details, such as coating Danny in fake sweat to sell the heat.”
George said the pair hope to take the film to festivals; including Cheltenham’s new film festival.
He said: “Joe and I have loads of ideas that we want to make together, and hopefully if things go well, we’ll be able to start work on our next narrative project together.” phillip.thompson@reachplc.com