Vincent has such a unique and engaging story. What initially inspired you to create the film, and how did the concept develop from its early stages to the final screenplay? Were there any particular influences or experiences that shaped the narrative?
After quite a few years of making short films and learning the craft of filmmaking, I felt it was time to make my first feature, however Vincent was not really born from any lightbulb moment. I had written quite a few feature scripts and the couple of good ones amongst them were not really suitable to shoot, due to budget. So, I sat down with the intent of writing a feature script that could be shot with a very low budget, meaning minimal locations and no CGI, car chases, large production designs or sets etc. Once I got going, the ideas and concepts within began to flow quite organically, I really taped into my previous struggles with my health and also finding acceptance/identity within modern society and Vincent began to evolve.
With your background in fine arts and painting, how did those disciplines influence the way you approached the film visually and narratively? Did you find yourself approaching filmmaking differently because of your artistic background?
I learnt so many skills at art school that are precious gifts that will stay with me forever. One lesson that resonates, was to take an image and hold it under the photo copier and move it about while copying, the image that would then come out would be an extraordinary new image with its very own identity and complex series of patterns and shapes. This taught me the first image we see is just the starting point, there is so much more to be discovered, so much more living underneath the surface if that image gets disrupted or manipulated. Another learning that really stuck with me was to ‘always put myself in the work’ sounds so simple, but to actually do that I find a constant and daily challenge. Maybe as humans we have a natural tendency to run away from lies within. However, I believe when you truly do that as an artist, the work has great potential to become quite unique, much like the individual in all of us.
Can you take us through your writing process for Vincent? How did you develop the characters and themes, and were there any breakthrough moments or challenges while working on the screenplay?
The screenplay was originally written as half moving image and the other half as a series of still frames with narration over the top. So, although I was happy with the characters I had developed on the page, the big breakthroughs actually came when we were shooting the film. I decided to do a bit of improvisation starting with Bill Evans who played Gunther a couple of days into the shoot. It was just gold, there was a real sense that some magic was starting to happen, so instead of sticking to script and keeping the ratio of 50/50 moving image and still frame, I made the decision to keep these elements of improvisation included. I’m so glad I did in hindsight because, it was at that moment during the shoot, the film found its feet and these scenes make up some of the best in the film. I suppose its testament to always trusting your gut.
You wore multiple hats on Vincent—director, writer, and lead actor. How did you balance those roles, and what were some of the biggest challenges you faced while managing so much responsibility on a personal project like this?
I have been writing for over ten years now and is a medium I feel very comfortable with, your script is your map before you go on a hike in the wilderness, absolutely necessary and I felt comfortable we had a way out of the wild. The acting was extremely physical with this role, however of all the hats, this one is my second nature you could say, as I have been a professional actor for over thirty years. So that leaves the directing which was the biggest challenge, as this was my first feature film, and even though I had directed over six short fils a feature film is a different beast. This is where it comes down to the team around you especially your producer and cinematographer. I was blessed to have two extraordinary people filling those roles without whom I would have fallen flat on my face and failed! My wife Angela Ling producing the film with me, making sure all the moving pieces were always in place, so I could just focus on the creative side of directing and my cinematographer Michael Schoell who was a gun in the harsh conditions of the bush, taking care of all the visuals that I needed, so I could just focus on what was absolutely necessary.
The film’s editing stands out, especially with techniques like freeze frames and jump cuts. What was your vision behind these choices, and how did you ensure they helped maintain the pacing and emotional depth of the story?
I suppose it gets back to shaking the image on the photocopier and disrupting its reality. As mentioned earlier, the screenplay was half moving image and half still frame with narration. This was a big risk as its half a bloody feature film of just still frames! It’s not the first time this has been done however, Chris Marker’s 1962 Cannes winning French science fiction featurette La Jetée is a half hour film, about a time traveller, constructed entirely of black and white still frames and is utterly captivating. When I watched La Jetée, it gave me a such a sense of being in an altered state of reality and time. It got me thinking still frames could be a really interesting way to disrupt natural concepts of the flow of space and time within Vincent, driving the theme of the film’s ambiguity between reality and fantasy. The still frame ratio in the end was not 50/50 with Vincent as the actors did such an amazing job with the improvisation, it was paired back to more like 85/15, however I still felt there was enough stills in there to create a sense of an altered state of reality.
Colour plays a major role in creating the film’s atmosphere. How did you approach the colour grading process, and what role did colour play in supporting the mood and themes throughout Vincent?
I wanted the colour in Vincent to be almost too rich, overwhelming at times, I guess to match the character’s narrative arc. If there is one film that I could think of that is like this, it’s the original The Wizard Of Oz, I find the colour in that film really disturbing, quite horrific really, David lynch has often referenced this film and I can see why and I wanted to bring a similar palette and feel to Vincent. We were so fortunate to have one of the best colour graders in the business jump on board, Vincent Taylor, through one of the biggest production houses Harbor Picture company in North America. They colour graded our entire film for next to nothing, simply because they believed in what we were doing and the vision of the project. This coupled with Michael Schoell’s stunning cinematography made the visuals within Vincent come to life!
Filming Vincent in just 7 days must have been incredibly intense. How did you manage to pull off such an ambitious production in such a short time frame? What were the biggest challenges, and how did you overcome them?
Planning, planning and more planning. Angela (producer) and myself really did have to iron out every possible detail that we could to make it happen over a pre-production period of 5 -6 months. We were still very fortunate during the shoot, as there were rain belts all around when we shot in the country, however they seemed to avoid our little patch and Victoria was still on high Covid alert, so if a crew/cast member tested positive, that could have potentially cancelled the weeks shoot right there. We shot Dogme 95 style which is very small crew, lots of quick hand-held set ups, using the natural light were possible and using natural surroundings with minimal set/production design. It was still massively exhausting, as Angela and myself would get back to our hotel room and would need top data wrangle the precious footage from the hard drives for about 2 hours every night and so we were averaging about 4 hours sleep for the week, which sort of worked really well for me, because my character goes slowly insane, not so much for Angela. Shooting in 7 days is the sort of thing I would only ever do once, but I am extremely proud of what we achieved and when people watch the film that cannot believe we actually did it in that time.
The cast in Vincent includes both seasoned actors and first-timers, like Billy Evans, who played Gunther. How did you approach casting, and what was it like working with someone with no prior acting experience?
I really like working with a combination of seasoned professionals and first timers, there’s a unique chemistry that occurs when they come together. A good seasoned actor can play a part far removed from their personality really well and make it believable, like anything that is a product of learning the skill/trade for such a long time. Whereas with non-actors and first timers you are trying to tap into their natural personality and get them comfortable in front of the camera, so they can just be themselves. I was looking for a bushman for the character of Gunther and Bill Evans had such an amazing natural charisma and quality and looked like he had just walked out of the bush, I remember thinking, if I can just get him to be natural in front of the camera, I’ve got my Gunther! It was a risk, but Bill was absolutely amazing, and his scenes are a real highlight of the film.
Vincent has done incredibly well at film festivals, winning numerous awards worldwide. How has the recognition at these festivals shaped the film’s journey, and what does it mean to you to see it resonate with such a broad audience?
Firstly, Vincent did not instantly hit the ground running, however I always draw huge inspiration from the fact that films such as 2001 A Space Odyssey, Fight Club and Blade Runner took quite some time to find their audiences. When word of mouth started to get around and Vincent did pick up some big festival awards that’s when the momentum started to build, which of course was what you want as a filmmaker, to find an audience and a highly satisfying reward for all the efforts from the whole team behind the film. That said we still have quite a way to go to spread the word and get eyes on the film, we had an amazing four-and-a-half-star review recently for ScreenHub in Australia, and the header was “Vincent – The Australian cult classic, you’ve yet to see”.
For anyone who hasn’t had a chance to see Vincent yet, where can they watch the film? Are there any upcoming screenings or streaming platforms where people can check it out?
Yes, the film is now available to rent / buy from $2.99 on Amazon Prime worldwide.
If the alt-pop movement happens I definitely want to be aboard that ship and I’ll happily help row or steer it.
