There’s something of the wild rumpus about Colonel Blimp’s up-and-coming music video director Tim Brown. Like a child who’s been let out to play on the first day of spring after being cooped up all winter, there’s a real energy about his work. And yes, as you can probably tell, we’ve just seen our first snowdrops and bluebells of the year and we’re feeling all refreshed and breezy. So yay for Spring and yay for Tim Brown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVKBUV5S12A What drew you to filmmaking? And how did you start?I remember being intrigued by cameras when I was younger, It was never thrust on me but my dad used to own a horrendously old school video camera and SLR that he was happy for me use. I got the taste for making films again when I was at university but it’s only the last year or so that I’ve been working at it full time.
I’m really curious about how you come up with your ideas and where you draw influence from?
I think it’s hard to really pin down your influences these days, I find some times even the most obscure things seem to surface in my thought process. But I suppose a lot of my inspiration comes from the way I used to experience things as a kid. That innocence of observation really excites me and I think it’s a skill that is very easily lost. That being said I do enjoy setting myself a brief, often the simplest of words can spark an idea and I find it useful having a starting point to work from.
And how do you develop these ideas? Do you come up with fresh ideas every project or do you keep loads of sketch books etc which you draw from?
I usually make sure the idea is result the stimulus I’m given. I’m pitching on quite a few music videos at the moment so I think it’s important to react to the song (even if it is a bit of a crap track). I find reworking old ideas can result in forcing a direction that might not work. However I do have a few ideas kicking around that Id like to explore when the right project comes up. https://vimeo.com/vimeo 4354939
I love the sense of playfulness and childhood games in Spheres of Fury and If I… I was wondering where that comes from?
I think generally I like to keep my work quite light hearted and fun. As I mentioned earlier I do really enjoy the way you observe things when your younger. Making props is also quite a large part of my work.
What’s your earliest memory?
My earliest memory is of my granddad leaping over a garden wall. I was really into climbing trees when I was a lad and some times it didn’t always work out the way I planned. After falling out of this tree, I remember coming to and seeing him mid flight. He was really quite old at the time and I can still really envisage him coming to my rescue.
Of your projects to date, which are you most proud of and why?
I think it would have to be “Spheres of Fury”, apart from that fact that it was stupidly fun to make, a lot of things seemed to come together that day. Looking back at it I’m sure this had lot to do with the preparation involved. There are a lot of references from action/war films in there, some more obvious than others.
How would you characterise your work and your approach?
I’d say my approach is quite playful and graphic, I never studied film but I did spend four years on a very ideas based graphic design course. And I think that schooling has definitely affected the way I think about film.
Outside of filmmaking, do you have any other creative pursuits? What excites and interests you?
Travelling is a big one for me, but it seems the busier I get, the less time I have to wander off. I keep saying after the next big project il head off to some where new, but so far I keep getting sucked into new work. I’m hoping some one will offer me the chance to travel for work.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
Probably climbing Mount Chirripo, it’s the highest mountain I Central America and from the top you can see both the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans.
To find out more about Tim, head to the Colonel Blimp website.
