We featured Mark Tintner’s first piece, a slick and sinster ad for Alessi, last year and we’re also rather impressed with his latest spot for Refuge, a charity fighting for the elimination of violence against women.
Using a performance piece is a very effective way of communicating something harrowing. How did the creative idea come about?
The idea was the result of a newspaper article I read about an extreme situation. It was a horrific set of circumstances. I wanted to understand how circumstances could escalate to such a level.
I did have the seed (of a movement piece) planted prior to writing RAGING BEAUTY. I began my career in theatre working at Sadler’s Wells, The Barbican and the like – it’s had a huge impact on me, my work and where I originally met the performer Michela Meazza. I believe physicality drives performance and I always wanted to make a film with dance, but not a dance film. RAGING BEAUTY came out of those feelings and I knew Michela was the performer to bring it to life.
Did the shoot go according to plan and what were the main challenges of the whole production?
The shoot couldn’t have gone any smoother. The main challenge for this project was effectively portraying the story of multiple characters within a solo performance whilst conveying the message efficiently and effectively. Michela’s connection to this was very powerful.
So you’re studying a Masters in 3D Stereoscopic Media at Ravensbourne in London now. Please do tell us about the tricks you’re learning and how you’d apply them to directing.
Yeh, this Master’s came as quite a shock! I had no idea 6 months ago that I’d be studying, but I am enjoying it immensely, playing with some seriously amazing toys and learning to craft stereoscopic content creation at the same time. At the moment this medium is so new there really aren’t any tricks to digital 3D stereo. I can only compare it to the introduction of sound to film back in 1927. It’s a game changer. I still work in 2D and have not turned my back on it at all, but as sound did, depth will stick around and enhance drama..I’m definitely on the 3D team!
