When director Uisdean Murray started work on a werewolf-themed music video Wolf Cries Boy for A Band Called Quinn, a big juicy full moon was certainly on his shopping list. But the full moon in this promo is no ordinary lunar event – the moon you are about to see is a bona fide super moon, appearing bigger and brighter than any full moon in 20 years. All the better to light up this atmospheric film. We caught up with Murray to find out more.

I love horror movies so you can imagine my excitement when Louise & Bal from A Band Called Quinn approached me with doing a werewolf themed horror music video set during WWII. We are all big fans of David Lynch and horror films such as American Werewolf In London and Evil Dead. We wanted to create something that was open to interpretation and I would say films such as Mulholland Dr. and Twin Peaks have definitely influenced us. The video was shot over two days using the RED camera which is a wonderful piece of kit but really slowed things down as it involved a lot of time setting up and we couldn’t afford a big crew. This forced us to be more creative during filming and I think we came up with something very exciting. I also love the aging effects and the colour grading of Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror.

The full moon looks incredible on film – was that the super moon? How tricky was it negotiating a night time shoot/

We didn’t plan to shoot on the weekend of the super moon – it just happened to be the only weekend we could get everyone together for the shoot, so it was a very cool coincidence. We were very lucky to find a forest location to which we were able to run a 100 metre power cable. It was a long day – we shot the castle scenes at a 12th Century Scottish Castle earlier in the afternoon which was close to the forest location. It was a very cold night – you can see Louise’s breath in some of the shots.

You have even been to the amazon on a shoot – what was that for? And more importantly has that experience had any affect on your approach to film making since then?

I was hired as a cameraman to shoot an extreme fishing pilot in a remote area of the Amazon for 3 weeks in 2007. Even though it didn’t lead to any further work out there it was an amazing experience and the programme we shot is available to watch online. We were in a very remote region North of Manaus and near the Columbian and Venezuela. The variety of wildlife with included the infamous Piranhas, Crocodiles and Stingrays, was incredible and the markings on some of the fish such as the Peacock Bass were spectacular. I love being around nature so I was in my element. One of my favourite moments was when I was left on a rock in the middle of a river for a few hours to see if I could film anything interesting without the noise of the motor boats nearby. To me it was an interesting sensation knowing that there wasn’t anyone around for miles – only the sounds of the river and the jungle to keep me company. It was enthralling yet spooky at the same time.

How would you characterise your directing style?

I think I have a very intimate style of filmmaking. I care a lot about my characters so tends to keep the camera close to them. To me that helps create a bond with the audience and to see things from their perspective. The list of Directors that inspire me is endless but I would definitely include Kubrick, Lynch, Malick and Bergman in my top directors.

As well as shooting music videos, you’ve also worked on quite a few short film projects – can you tell me about them?

For me my most significant work to date is the Jemima Trilogy which is a series of short horror films about a murderess called Jemima played by Joy McAvoy. The first film , “Dating is Murder” was a black comedy which inspired a thriller prequel, “Photographic Trophy” and finally a psychological horror sequel, “Sessions of the Mind”. Each film stands alone and they have all screened at festivals worldwide.

To find out more about Uisdean Murray and his films, check out his website