Honorable Mention – “Centurion Resurrection” (UK)

Title: Centurion Resurrection
Runtime: 3 min
Country: UK
Director: Richard Bazley
Placement: Honorable Mention
Competition: June, 2015

Synopsis: A Roman Centurion soldier is resurrected in modern times at the Roman Baths, witnessed by a magnificent Golden Eagle (The Spirit of Rome). He enters the streets and main thoroughfare of Modern Bath.

DIRECTOR Q&A

OR: What was the inspiration for your film?

RB: I have a base near Bath, one of the most beautiful Cities not only in England but the World! Built from Bath stone the whole City seems to glow a Golden colour when it is sunny. It is gorgeous and everywhere you look it looks like a film set. The buildings are remarkable none more so than the Roman Baths. Many of the original Roman features still remain. I have worked in Animation and was a Lead Animator at Disney many years ago (Hercules, Pocahontas). However I have been Directing animation now for many years and have been moving towards Live Action with several films in development with Gary Kurtz (Producer of Star Wars, Dark Crystal). I had formed a Production company called GBK Hybrid which included myself, Gary and Web Entrepreneur Paul Goodenough. I needed to create a short Live Action film and the City of Bath was on my mind.

OR: When did you conceive the idea for your film and how long did it take before it was realized?

RB: Before tackling the Live Action Features I needed to “cut my teeth” on some Live Action Shorts”. Whilst walking around the City one day I saw a street performer outside of the Roman Baths and an idea came to me! I started to storyboard an idea and re-worked it many times. The boarding didn’t take long but then I had to find a way to finance the films and put it all together. The film shoot was short but because the Post wasn’t straight forward (We had to film the actor on Green Screen for the water shots) and we had to spend a few months in Post. It was worth it however as Loco Soho in London did a spectacular job. So from conception to finish it was a good six months!

OR: What was the most challenging aspect of working in a short film format?

RB: Budget! Short films are notoriously hard to fund as traditionally they don’t make money in themselves but a great vehicle for the Director and others involved, a calling card. I was able to secure some funding from Bath Tourism but that in itself would not cover the costs. I then looked into sponsorship and secured sponsorship in the form of accommodation and catering and more. All the companies you can see in the credits, too many to list here but all of whom made a massive contribution and without which we could not have made the film.

OR: What was the most challenging aspect of your production?

RB: After I had storyboarded the idea, pitched it to Bath Tourism and secured some backing we came across a huge hurdle. We found out from The Roman Baths that no one was allowed in the water as they had found a bug there years ago so for health and safety reasons people weren’t allowed in the old pool ( a newer one had been built up the road) At first it looked like it killed the whole idea as the whole idea was that a Centurion is Resurrected and comes out of the water! I looked into some options like Follies (and inter-cut it) but none had the right look. There was only one way it was possible, to film the actor on green screen. We then shot the actor Mingus Johnston (Jack the Giant Slayer) at the Cross Bath nearby.

OR: Do you have any advice for first-time filmmakers?

RB: Work with the best talent you can find. Get as many key people with experience that you can. I was lucky enough to get top DOP Gary Young on board. We also had a good mix of younger less experienced but talented crew, some from the NFTS. Get a good mentor, someone you respect who has done it all before and pick their brains as much as you can! I was lucky enough to have Gary Kurtz and can’t ask for better than that!