How to make a modern classic — in an instant
thrEE actors — Kieran o’Brien, Joseph Mydell and Elliot gleave (aka the singer Example) — are hurtling down a street close to t he canal i n hackney, East London.
the director, anthony Wilcox, runs in front of them with a camera and asks them to do the scene again, but this time, faster.
‘ Walk and t al k f ast!’ Wilcox instructs.
i’m slowly getting the hang of what shield5 is all about. it’s a series of 28, 15-second (seriously!) episodes, about a security man, played by Christian Cooke, who may or may not be involved in a diamond raid.
and the big difference is that this series i s being made to be shown on the picture- sharing social networking service instagram.
the first of the 15-second pieces will run on February 1; the remainder will screen on instagram one day at a time.
Wilcox, who has worked as an assistant director on big-screen movies made by gurinder Chadha, Michael Winterbottom and Madonna, believes that social media (or #socialcinema as he calls it) should be a place to develop well-made drama.
he worked with producers Julian Bird, Mark hopkins, Declan reddington to put shield5 together.
‘there’s nothing fancy,’ he told me. ‘the make-up is being put on in the street; and we’re using a producer’s car as a changing room.’
i’ve seen some footage and it’s groundbreaking stuff. i’ll certainly be following shield5 on instagram @shieldfive.