By
A Team of Young Australian School Friends
Description & Conception of the movie through director’s perspective
At its core, ‘The Man in Red’ is a film about violence and anger. While on a base level the film seems to just be about a hitman who falls in love and loses everything in the process, what I was really interested in was rather his psyche, an idea literally exemplified in that of the character of the man in red, a physical interpretation of violence. I took heavy inspiration from films like ‘Drive’ (2011) for the neon-drenched, vibrant but sleazy aesthetic of the film, and ‘Fight Club’ (1999) to create the psychological aspect that adds stress and brutality to the film. Every element of the movie hides a deeper layer that covertly illustrates the maximum impact of violence and anger on a person, hence why the main character is a hitman who goes out of his way to enact rage on his victims not through simply a gun, but rather a gratuitous usage of his body.
According to director he wanted to create a character that embodied this theme of being pulled apart by two vastly different worlds, drawn to a life of violence by the man in red, allured to love by the Girls character, and Targets character being the quasi-wild card, seemingly good but ultimately what pushed Killer over the edge. Even the semi-romantic scenes between the Girl and Killer have an aura of creepiness to them, for example when Target asks Killer if he cares for anyone and he thinks of the Girl, he showcases an ominous grin, a portrayal of his ineptitude to be even a normal human being.
Director chose none of the characters in the movie to have names because due to the fact that the movie is from the Killer’s perspective and no one else, he feels no attachment to anyone, not even himself and rather sees humans as bounties, money to be collected and violence to be wreaked upon. The cruel irony of the film is that despite his job being one of the most violent and brutal things possible, he is still at heart a child with emotional issues and treats the job as such, the mere idea of possibly having to pay for the consequences for all the evil he has caused sending him to literally murder the representation of goodness in his life.
The movie is a ‘fall arc’ taken to the extreme, where a fall arc in a film would follow a good person losing everything and transforming in the process, the man in red is about a bad person who kills everyone he cares for and then going out of his way to protect his fractured mindset in the form of ‘The Man in Red’, then killing himself by literally following the orders of the man in red and swimming with the sharks.
To simply conclude director says this is what I wrote. This is the movie I had in mind before I turned on the camera and got the actors ready. And I am glad to say it worked out incredibly well and the final product exemplifies the ideas I had and goes to show the unpredictable nature of filmmaking can come in advantage and to an extent, a films quality is contingent on everyone’s willingness to adapt. I am proud to state that the 2022 short film ‘The Man in Red’ is what I believe to be the best film I have made so far.
To understand minds of these young entrepreneurs H2O Magazine creativity & innovation director Ms Gisella Ali asked few basic questions for better understanding of the entire project and to share learning experiences for our readers as under:
Q – What is the idea behind the movie?
The Man in Red was an idea conceived by young movie director Aditya since the beginning of the year 2022. He originally wanted to make it during the second term holidays and release it around August 2022 but it was changed due to a scheduling conflict. The movie was originally about two hitmen, one being very bizarre and the other being very serious, it almost played out like a buddy cop comedy. The twist was similar to fight club where the two hitmen were the same person all along. But upon reading the storyline, it felt like a very formulaic action adventure short film that wasn’t really saying anything.
Q – What kick started the movie theme?
According to the youngest director after a couple of months of ignoring the film, I decided to re-watch ‘Drive’ (2011). This film gave me a lot of inspiration for the hitman film and I based a lot of the movie around it. From the neon aesthetics to the silence of the main character, I had an interesting premise and film idea that allowed me to get started on the actual production process.
Q- What lessons were learnt from experience of making the film?
Unlike previous films, team went quite in depth with pre-production. Director with consultation of other team mates created a storyboard, various ideas, a paragraph synopsis, three paragraph summary, a storyline, a story circle, and of course the script. This time entire team planned out every shot meticulously, including the lens, angle, and framing.
Q- Tell us something on casting process?
Casting was a bit difficult most prominently for the role of Killer. I struggled to find an actor suitable for the calm demean but then made a decision that I am still not quite sure why I made. Director gave the role to a classmate namely, Avinda Wickramaratne. As per director he was the furthest I could have ever put down for the role. He is quite talkative, not at all menacing, and had little to no acting experience. I ultimately thought that this would be a directorial challenge and chose him. He ended up working out well.
Q- Share with us what happened on the first day of filming?
The first filming day was a disaster. It was all the car scenes, however, because Avinda was 16, his mother had to be in the car and thus causing issues framing-wise. Further, the car broke down while it was raining, and then the camera equipment got locked in the back. We ended up only using 7-10 seconds of the footage recorded that day and the rest was put on a green screen.
Q- What was the toughest day of filming?
One of the twitchiest days for filming was the restaurant day when Avindas father’s restaurant was chosen as a filming location. However, we were often behind schedule and were not able to film many scenes. As directing the cast and managing the setting began difficult, I was very glad to have my assistant director and director of photography (DOP) Rayaan Sejwal and Atul Ansu respectively, on set to help assist me with matters. After a very off-schedule day, Rayaan and I revised the schedule and created a more suitable and understandable plan.
Q- What lessons you learnt and did you made any changes during filming?
With this new strengthened plan, we went into the next filming day and felt confident about the process of shooting the scenes. However, rain prevented us from shooting any exterior shots which were sadly all of them for that day. The rest of the filming days were managed well and despite some issues here and there, the final product turned out well.
Q- Any final words?
A rush in the editing room and a lot of cutting helped improve this. I am also incredibly thankful for the extra equipment I contracted from h2obluelife such as cameras, microphones, and the lights. This movie would not have been as good as it was without them or my crew including Adyn Duong with lighting, Atul Ansu as the DOP, and Rayaan Sejwal as the assistant director, and everyone else who came in when they could. I am grateful to my entire crew for cheerful help and support.
Q- Lessons to be taken home from this project?
We learned a few things everyone should know if they want to make a movie:
It won’t go smoothly; you will put meticulous work into planning. And no matter what you do, something will go wrong so be ready to deal with it anyway.
You’ll figure it out anyway; okay, so you can’t shoot the scene you were planning on. Don’t fuss! You may have to hold an emergency production meeting and hustle across town to do another scene somewhere else. Or maybe you’ll change something to make it work.
With current technology, you can achieve high quality; film editing software’s are widely available so make use of them effectively and learn everyday something new.
It doesn’t have to cost a lot…The real stickler is the equipment. You will have to find someone who owns the key pieces, pay for them yourself, or borrow.
Collaboration is a joy and a pain; maybe you’ve worked with people before? Then you know it can be tough sometimes. Filmmaking can intensify the challenges of collaboration and cooperation. But remember team work always pay off.
Good light and sound people are key; especially these days, you can learn most anything online, and you can fake your way around a lot. But having competent light and sound people on set is crucial. A scene that you can’t really see or hear isn’t something you can fix in post-production. So it’s best to get light and sound right from the beginning!
Editing is the key; there is a school of thought that post-production is where the film REALLY gets made. Not to disparage writers, directors, or cinematographers but I think this is true. The best written, best directed, best shot film can fall apart in editing. You need just as strong a vision in this stage as you had when shooting.
There is no feeling like watching your finished film; in the end, you’ll be exhausted. You may need to take few days off. Or a year. But there really is no substitute, be it in a darkened theatre or a friend’s living room, for the feeling of watching a film you worked on screen for the first time. Whether your role was big or small, you’ll say “I did that!” with a mixture of pride and wonder. And it will all have been worth it.
Q- Lastly share names of director, assistant director and actors for our readers?
Director | Aditya Krishna Moorthy |
Assistant Director | Rayaan Sejwal |
DOP | Atul Ansu |
Lighting | Adyn Duong |
Killer | Avinda Wickramaratne |
Enemy | Shamika Eriyawala / Bradley Lopez |
Man in the Red | Henry McCracken Matthews |
Hiree/ Reverend (Voice) | Aditya Krishna Moorthy |
Killers Brother | Jake D’Rozario |
Killers Dog | Rex |
Girl | Bianca Rogers |
Mugger | Jaden Roy Devaney |
Target | Vedh Vipin |
Person | Huey Ng |
Grey Suit | Didier Savrimoutou |
