Movie: VIPERS NEST
Directors: Howard Gardner and Molly Brown
Writers: Howard Gardner and Molly Brown
Actors: (in order of appearance) Georgie Lee-Robinson, Pablo Raybould, Molly Brown, Cy Henty, Howard Gardner, Ben Manning, David Fisher, Michaela Hunt
Synopsis: As this week’s group of aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to the Vipers, one or two things go wrong. Will any of them get an offer? Or even survive?
With The Southend-on-Sea Film Festival he will once again return from thursday 8he June to Sunday 11he In June, I had the chance to ask co-writer/director Howard Gardner a few questions about the film ‘Vipers Nest’, which has been selected to screen at the festival on Saturday the 10th.he June at 4:00 p.m.
Q. What can we expect from the movie VIPERS’ NEST?
R. Nonsense, sure. Maybe some slightly obscure nonsense. I used to do a lot of comedy movies and hadn’t done it in a long time, so I really enjoyed the chance to collaborate with Molly on this and do something I could have a good laugh about!
Q. How did the idea for the film come about?
A. It’s hard for me to remember! I remember Molly and I were working at an industry conference when we first came up with the concept for the film, but I don’t know which of us first suggested a parody of the Dragon’s Den television format. Not that it matters I guess, it’s just one of those ideas that seemed to click instantly with both of them. We could immediately see a lot of comedic potential in that.
Q. What were some of the influences for the look and style of the film?
A. I think the writing was split 50/50 between the two of us, although visually I think the film is more in Molly’s style than mine. I’m a visual effects artist and normally when I’m working with a client my goal is to make things as photorealistic as possible. However, we were obviously not going for realism here, as that wouldn’t make sense with the theme!
Q. Are there elements of the original script that were adapted during filming?
A. Not much, as I recall. Molly has a distinctive animation style and from the beginning I envisioned all the scenes in my mind with that kind of aesthetic. There were a few technical hurdles to overcome as we worked on the scenes, but nothing was too troublesome to abandon.
what What were some of your favorite moments while making the movie?
A. As with most animation work, I guess my favorite moments came quite late, when the hours of hard work finally started to pay off. Seeing the first draft of Molly with all the character voices for the first time was truly magical!
Q. Did you have any problems while making the film?
A. As I mentioned, most of my work over the last decade has been aimed at a realistic CGI style rather than cartoon. Molly has a very particular methodology to the way she animates and it took a bit of experimentation on my part before I found a way to fit all of our elements together and make everything consistent and easy on the eye.
Q. What do you hope people take away from the film?
A. I just hope it makes you laugh!
Q. Do you have any other project you are working on?
A. Several, but unfortunately I have NDAs that prevent me from talking about most of them. I recently completed work on the visual effects for Coyote, which is the first feature from Kino London’s own Dustin Curtis Murphy. Watch out for that in the near future!
I’m also making my own short horror film titled Oraclewhich is currently stuck in post-production.
what If someone is looking to direct their first film, what advice would you give them?
A. Go out and give it a try, it’s never been easier! Even if it’s with a smartphone or whatever, the longest journey has to start with a first step. Technical refinements may come later.
You can get more information on the websites and social networks.
https://www.howardgardnercg.com
https://www.artstation.com/howard7000
https://www.instagram.com/howardgardnercg/
The Southend Film Festival will take place from Thursday 8he June to Sunday 11he June
You can find out more about the films and buy Southend Film Festival tickets here.
Posted on various websites, Philip is a critic best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; movies, books, theater and live events. Always looking for something different to cover!
