WAXING FILMIC WITH
RELUCTANT PRODUCTIONS
RELUCTANT PRODUCTIONS
Reluctant Productions have been making quite a name for
themselves via their chic two-tone website, and the five minute
bursts of adolescent filmic mayhem contained within. Utilising
influences as disparate as music video, video games, Company Of
Wolves-esque woodland chillers and Hong Kong action cinema,
Reluctant have created a number of short films, all of which can
be downloaded from Their Website.
Indeed, it was whilst browsing the site in question, that The
Duke got the demented idea of having a natter with these
cinematic hooligans, that he might find out what goes on in their
crazy world of digital film production. And it’s not just The
Duke that got his attention tickled either. This May, a Reluctant
Production will be playing support act to the latest Gunnar
Hansen vehicle, The Business. In the world of cult celluloid,
opening for ol’ Leatherface is on a par with opening for London
Calling-era Clash.
Naturally, when I got the chance to wax filmic with Joe Begos,
one of the core creative types in the outfit, I asked him how the
hell this went on without my knowledge.
“A guy that Me, John and Mike met a couple years ago made an
independent film, and really loved our stuff. He asked us if we
would like to make a short to play before his premier in May, so
we've been working on that. We are in the scripting process now.
I was planning on directing it, but we've all got to talk it
over. Everyone is going to have some part in the movie.”
Reluctant Productions started out as an after-school type affair
for Joe Begos and John Potter, the pair swinging their parents’
VHS camera about like there’s no tomorrow. Next thing they know,
other folks start getting all curious, and two becomes four in
the blinking of a digitally enhanced eyeball. “I got a computer
editing program”, says Joe, “enabling us to make much better
films. Mike Lemek joined in and made films with us as well, and I
made one by myself, entitled "Paranoia", which Josh Ethier really
liked, and it got him involved. We didn't actually start
Reluctant until about 6 months ago though.”
6 months ago or not, in the short space of time since the website
went live, Ain’t It Cool, Horror-Web and sundry others have poked
their noses through the door, eager to inspect the wares, and
there’s even the opportunity for the more zealous supporters of
the quintet to sport some fetching Reluctant Productions
merchandise.
themselves via their chic two-tone website, and the five minute
bursts of adolescent filmic mayhem contained within. Utilising
influences as disparate as music video, video games, Company Of
Wolves-esque woodland chillers and Hong Kong action cinema,
Reluctant have created a number of short films, all of which can
be downloaded from Their Website.
Indeed, it was whilst browsing the site in question, that The
Duke got the demented idea of having a natter with these
cinematic hooligans, that he might find out what goes on in their
crazy world of digital film production. And it’s not just The
Duke that got his attention tickled either. This May, a Reluctant
Production will be playing support act to the latest Gunnar
Hansen vehicle, The Business. In the world of cult celluloid,
opening for ol’ Leatherface is on a par with opening for London
Calling-era Clash.
Naturally, when I got the chance to wax filmic with Joe Begos,
one of the core creative types in the outfit, I asked him how the
hell this went on without my knowledge.
“A guy that Me, John and Mike met a couple years ago made an
independent film, and really loved our stuff. He asked us if we
would like to make a short to play before his premier in May, so
we've been working on that. We are in the scripting process now.
I was planning on directing it, but we've all got to talk it
over. Everyone is going to have some part in the movie.”
Reluctant Productions started out as an after-school type affair
for Joe Begos and John Potter, the pair swinging their parents’
VHS camera about like there’s no tomorrow. Next thing they know,
other folks start getting all curious, and two becomes four in
the blinking of a digitally enhanced eyeball. “I got a computer
editing program”, says Joe, “enabling us to make much better
films. Mike Lemek joined in and made films with us as well, and I
made one by myself, entitled "Paranoia", which Josh Ethier really
liked, and it got him involved. We didn't actually start
Reluctant until about 6 months ago though.”
6 months ago or not, in the short space of time since the website
went live, Ain’t It Cool, Horror-Web and sundry others have poked
their noses through the door, eager to inspect the wares, and
there’s even the opportunity for the more zealous supporters of
the quintet to sport some fetching Reluctant Productions
merchandise.
Reluctant is far from the most established short-producing
outfit on the web, but their story is surely a microcosm of how
democratised film-making has become thanks to the Internet and
Digital Technology. With scarcely a penny in the budget kitty,
these gentlemen are making films with equipment that is
technically not that far behind the kit utilised by Danny Boyle
for 28 Days Later.
The working methods at Reluctant are pleasingly anarchic also.
Discussing the Mondo Fave A Deadly Encounter, which plays like
Donavan’s Reef by way of Mortal Kombat, Joe talked about the
improvised, experimental nature of the filmmaking process.
“Every single (film on our website) was scriptless. We'd come up
with the first shot, or a very basic idea, and move from shot to
shot, completely improvised. For stuff like Deadly Encounter,
when we did get to a fight scene, we'd think of what to do, go
over it 4-5 times, and shoot it 2 or 3 times, using the best
take. So pretty much everything was thought up right at the time
we shot it. For example, we thought it'd be funny to whip out
squirt guns, as you can see by no means are any of our shorts
serious. We are working on our first scripted project right now.”
An experimental slice of test footage on The Site highlights the
group’s first attempts at claymation, two hours worth of frame-
by-frame posing resulting in 15 seconds of film. I wondered if
there were any plans for Reluctant to go the full hog and make
an entirely animated film? “Me and Josh have been planning on
making a much bigger animation project, involving stop motion
claymation. It'll probably be available on The Site before
summer.”
outfit on the web, but their story is surely a microcosm of how
democratised film-making has become thanks to the Internet and
Digital Technology. With scarcely a penny in the budget kitty,
these gentlemen are making films with equipment that is
technically not that far behind the kit utilised by Danny Boyle
for 28 Days Later.
The working methods at Reluctant are pleasingly anarchic also.
Discussing the Mondo Fave A Deadly Encounter, which plays like
Donavan’s Reef by way of Mortal Kombat, Joe talked about the
improvised, experimental nature of the filmmaking process.
“Every single (film on our website) was scriptless. We'd come up
with the first shot, or a very basic idea, and move from shot to
shot, completely improvised. For stuff like Deadly Encounter,
when we did get to a fight scene, we'd think of what to do, go
over it 4-5 times, and shoot it 2 or 3 times, using the best
take. So pretty much everything was thought up right at the time
we shot it. For example, we thought it'd be funny to whip out
squirt guns, as you can see by no means are any of our shorts
serious. We are working on our first scripted project right now.”
An experimental slice of test footage on The Site highlights the
group’s first attempts at claymation, two hours worth of frame-
by-frame posing resulting in 15 seconds of film. I wondered if
there were any plans for Reluctant to go the full hog and make
an entirely animated film? “Me and Josh have been planning on
making a much bigger animation project, involving stop motion
claymation. It'll probably be available on The Site before
summer.”
But perhaps the question on everyone’s teeth-guards is, why the
hell should we give a flying fuck in a hailstorm about this
adolescent hoopla? In the tradition of the best journalism, I
barked at Joe for a response. “We just want people to see our
films. I dunno about any of the other people in Reluctant, I
can't speak for them, but the only thing I want to do with my
life is be a filmmaker. I use these short films to practice, and
love when as many people as possible see my work.”
To this The Duke might add that Reluctant Productions are just
the latest in a long line of examples that illustrate how film-
making is no longer the sole preserve of besuited, bearded
baseball-cap wearing millionaires. In much the same way as Radio
has embraced the Internet, and has been revolutionised in the
process, so has Digital Filmmaking left the Media Studies
Corridor and landed in the lap of anyone who wants to get their
work seen by the largest audience in the world.
So y’all can be clicking like you just don’t care on The
Reluctant Productions Website, and check out these pieces for
yourself.
hell should we give a flying fuck in a hailstorm about this
adolescent hoopla? In the tradition of the best journalism, I
barked at Joe for a response. “We just want people to see our
films. I dunno about any of the other people in Reluctant, I
can't speak for them, but the only thing I want to do with my
life is be a filmmaker. I use these short films to practice, and
love when as many people as possible see my work.”
To this The Duke might add that Reluctant Productions are just
the latest in a long line of examples that illustrate how film-
making is no longer the sole preserve of besuited, bearded
baseball-cap wearing millionaires. In much the same way as Radio
has embraced the Internet, and has been revolutionised in the
process, so has Digital Filmmaking left the Media Studies
Corridor and landed in the lap of anyone who wants to get their
work seen by the largest audience in the world.
So y’all can be clicking like you just don’t care on The
Reluctant Productions Website, and check out these pieces for
yourself.
