Arts University Bournemouth has provided £1,200 of match funding
Spider
Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom
Aim: In this darkly speculative drama, a child is haunted by a monstrous spider only she can see.
When a divorced father’s ten year old child adamantly claims that she can see a giant spider lurking in their bathroom, he doesn’t know what to do. SPIDER follows the relationship between a divorced parent and his young daughter across a series of weekends. As the film continues, we ask ourselves: are we watching the depiction of a child’s wild imagination, or a self absorbed parent who refuses to acknowledge what lies in plain view? Centered around an inability to deal with a terrifying reality, the child is encouraged to ignore the spider, to be more like her father, leading to a sense of inevitable doom. Something bad is going to happen, unless they act soon.
The backdrop of the film is a heightened, fable-like world: a giant spider, and a child with a simple aim: to convince her father of its existence. However, at its core we want to create a sense of reality, capturing scenes and performances through a simple, minimalistic approach. We are interested in visual storytelling, creating bold images with limited dialogue. It stands to reason that one would expect an undertone of horror given the concept. However, to emphasise the central themes of denial and apathy, we want the filmmaking to never truly acknowledge the spider’s presence and instead, frame the film through the lens of an intimate drama.
TONE: CINEMATOGRAPHY
The tone of the cinematography consists of saturated warm colours and strong shadows. Characters that are surrounded by inviting bright spaces but reside in the shadows. The images show a sort of duality by presenting dark themes and imagery but with homely lighting. Incorporating warmer colours helps to represent the fantasy and supernatural elements in Spider, the warm colours of a child imagination adding to the mystery of the film of what is real and what is imagined.
The second moodboard shows more gloomy, stark, bleak imagery. An overwhelming mundanity which when put into contrast with the warmer tones creates and uneasy, mysterious atmosphere. The juxtaposition between the dreary and the warm represent the difference in the way the father and the daughter see the world, who is blinded to the truth and who can see the world as it really is.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
These moodboards reflect the thematics of Spider. The aim for the home's interior is to have an unfinished style that reflect the father's naivety, with the daughter's pastel innocence running throughout. The minimalist feel along with the impending spider's presence determines the overall mood and look of the film to be gothic, yet simultaneously bright and unknowing.
One of the film’s aims is to reflect back at its audience a dynamic that has always been present in society. The initial concept was born out of the writer's thought process in relation to climate change. Although we live in a country that is yet to be seriously affected, many of us are aware of the potential catastrophe coming our way, yet the majority of us continue to do nothing. There are many reasons for this: a sense of powerlessness perhaps, a lack of imagination, a lack of care. This film does not serve as a lecture, however; we believe it is important and fascinating to explore a dynamic that many of us interact with on a daily basis, that translates to a number of issues. We have the information, yet we do not react.
Every donation or share of our page means the world to us! Every penny means we are one step closer to making our script come to life in the best way possible, from hiring professional cast to creating their costumes. You can see what we've been up to on our Facebook page and Instagram @spider.short.film.
We are so grateful for all your support, no matter how big or small!
If you are wondering where exactly your money is going, we have created this pie chart so you can see what we will be spending it on, from production design to transport for our cast, crew and equipment.
Meet the Spider team!
DIRECTOR - SAMULI REUNANEN
'As a director I’m excited to helm a project written by someone other than myself. This gives me an opportunity to get to know myself more as a director and really dive into the essence of the script with an open mind. I was drawn to Spider from the moment I first read it. I felt the script had intrigue, tension and meaning all tied into a well-rounded package. I look forward to exploring the important contemporary themes of the film in relation to the quite universally relatable overarching storytelling of the father and daughter’s relationship.'
WRITER - LUTHER FORD
'My name is Luther Ford, the writer of Spider. The film's fragmented nature and warped sense of a heightened reality lies in debt to the early work of Lynne Ramsey and Julia Ducournau. I’ve always enjoyed stories that examine the dynamic between generations within a family: parents that see their children not as individuals, but as direct extensions of themselves. I find the habits and rituals shared by families fascinating, those things that feel normal within your home, but strange when you tell a friend. As a filmmaker, I wanted to use the relationship between a father and daughter, to look at how we 'process' and ignore all kinds of problems and issues. Not taking the time to imagine the inevitable, until it is directly affecting us. I'm looking forward to approaching this film as a writer and can't wait to see how the crew and director interpret the concept and bring this fable to life.'
PRODUCER - MILLY MAY PHILLIPS
'During my time at Bournemouth Film School I have produced several projects, but this one is set to be the biggest and most exciting to work on - the concept initially captivated me with its metaphorical relevance to the climate change crisis, and our collective passive ignorance as a society. I am excited to work with such a wonderful crew to bring this story to life, and this project will help develop the skills needed for a career in film producing.'
CO-PRODUCER - TOM WRIGHT
'Hello, my name is Tom Wright, and I am co-producer for Spider! This project drew me in from the pitch as an exciting psychological drama, a film unlike any that I have had a chance to work on before. In the interest of attaining an authentic, unsettling film, I plan to utilise all of my combined experience to help motivate and assist the crew in any way that I can.'
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - THOMAS GAMMON
'I’m very excited to be the Director of Photography for Spider. I’ve served as DOP before on short films with underlying supernatural elements, and blending reality with the fantastical really interests me. Spider is an incredibly creative film serving as an important and powerful metaphor for today’s society, while also being a fascinating family story. Getting to present these themes and elements is very compelling to me and I’m thrilled to help bring this story to the screen.'
GAFFER - ANA-MARIA DUMITRESCU
'What attracted me to the film Spider was the simplicity of the story, and how this contributes to the increasingly intense impact it has on the audience. The film focuses on withholding information in order to raise tension, creating the permanent impression that something is terribly wrong without divulging what that might be. Lighting will play a very important role in subtly designing that eerie, anxiety-provoking atmosphere while keeping the characters’ home looking seemingly normal. As the film progresses, the lines between what might be real and what might be the result of the characters’ imagination will get more and more blurry. I am very excited to work with such a talented group of people to bring this story to the screen.'
CAMERA OPERATOR - SOLAR BUCKLER
'I was drawn to Spider because of the strong visual metaphor of the arachnid throughout. As camera operator I intend to use a range of movement, influenced from Beast Of The Southern Wild, Us and The Night Of The Hunter to create an eerie, surreal feeling of the main character being tracked by the spider.
After directing in both first and second year I feel ready to let someone else take the reins and help them succeed in making an emotive and creative piece. Altogether I have worked on a mix of fifteen short films in and out of industry, ranging from £0 to £55k in the cinematography department. Right now my favourite film is Gallivant 1997 by Andrew Kotting - give it a watch!'
PRODUCTION DESIGNER - CHLOE LIEBENBERG
'As production designer, the somber and dark thematics of Spider is a revelation in artistry. I aim to design the look of the film to capture the spider’s presence throughout the interior of the home. This will involve harsh textures and contrasting colour palettes, in conjunction with childish innocence: pastels and soft textures. While researching spiders themselves, the movement, beauty, and the unknowing within these creatures can truly inspire unique production design.'
PRODUCTION DESIGNER - NADIA POND
'I’m Nadia, production designer for Spider. The spider itself is what caught my interest in this project; we will be creating a six foot model of it to show the spider through practical effects. My main interest within production design is in modelmaking and creating creatures, so this film is a perfect opportunity to develop my skills in this area. I am excited to bring this creature and its web to life!'
SOUND DESIGNER - HODDI CLAUSEN
'Hi, I'm Hoddi, sound designer. Spider excites me for a number of reasons, but most of all as an exploration of the refusal to see malicious things that are right in front of us, even as they pose a threat to us and our loved ones. Sound in film for me is a way to explore the human subconscious, as it is rarely noticed but holds immense power over our perception of things. I think Spider is the perfect film for me to experiment these things further and I'm excited for audiences to see what we have in store.'
EDITOR - ARUNVEER KAHLON
'Hi there, my name’s Arun and I’m the film's editor: since being at AUB, I’ve developed an enthusiasm for the discipline of editing, and the influence that an editor has on a project. It’s the film’s final draft, and where the film truly develops its own distinctive identity. Luther pitched the initial idea for Spider several years ago, and it’s stuck in my head ever since: what I appreciate most about it is the fact that it provides a metaphor that can be interpreted in so many different ways. There are things in all our lives that we know may hurt us in the future, but we continue regardless and allow naivety to get the better of us. I’m extremely excited to work closely with Samuli and the rest of the crew to ensure that all the elements of the film come together to form something cohesive and potent.'
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - HENRY SAIT
'For me personally, Spider is a bare-boned relationship drama that highlights a generational divide that plagues modern society. Spider’s themes of neglect are what originally drew me to this project - I thought that the genius of representing the failure of today’s older generations as an arachnid monster was an inspired way of portraying the passive attitudes many people have today towards issues such as war, climate change and the refugee crisis in this country. Despite its important underlying themes, Spider is set to be an engaging film that tells an emotive story and simply happens to have a giant spider – which will be a great experience working as 1st AD.
I have personally worked on numerous projects during my time at Bournemouth Film School, in both the role of 1st Assistant Director and Producer. After I finish university, I hope to engage more in the pre-production element of filmmaking and pursue a career in location management. Overall, I cannot wait to share this filming experience with a crew of talented filmmakers that I am sure I will learn a lot from.'
COSTUME DESIGNER - OLIVIA HODGKINSON
'Hi I’m Olivia, or Liv! I am working as the costume designer for Spider. I am so excited to see this film come together; I think it’s such a great story which has really inspired my designing and creativity. I am currently working on several projects including the dance show McQueen, the Maker and the Muse (2022), showing at the Pavilion Theatre in Bournemouth. My dream job would be to work for a big company like Netflix or Disney. Hopefully someday!'
MAKEUP DESIGNER - NANCY DAVIS
'Hi, I’m Nancy, the head makeup artist for Spider! I am in my third year of studying Makeup for Media and Performance at AUB and I absolutely love it. I have experience in stage makeup and film, and I currently work on a makeup counter outside of uni which is amazing. In the future I want to work in makeup for TV and film which is why I’m so excited to be a part of Spider!'
A huge thank you from the Spider team for considering supporting us! Any donations or shares on social media mean the world to us and will help us make our film the best it can be. Follow us on Instagram @spider.short.film for all the latest updates on what we're up to leading up to our shoot!