Q&A with Charlie Budden

Charlie Budden 

1) Who is he?

Charlie Budden is an aspiring film-maker, and alumnus from Tanglin Trust School, (Class of 2016). He's currently working as a freelancer in the industry. 

2) What did he do?

He made the successful short film, 'Oh Little Spark!', which follows a story between a grandmother and her grandson's relationship. The short film was for his university course, in Bournemouth.

3) How did he do it?

For funding of his film, he used crowdfunding, and raised around 9,000+ pounds. He also scouted out homes near to the university area, which were previously utilised as filming locations. Budden was also joined by his co-members, from his course, in this project. 

4) What success has he had?

He was able to raise around £9,160 pounds for funding of his film, through 117 supporters in 28 days. The short film was also screened at the BFI, and won 15 awards. 

5) List 3 things you found interesting and if you can explain how you can bring them into your own film-making this year.

One thing I found interesting was his editing process, as it allowed Budden to have a second chance to write his film again. This often happens in the editing process, as it allows one to re-envision their film again, and he stated, only during the editing process, he cut out an insignificant character, and this change played a massive role in making his film greater and more emotional. I do often end up cutting out many insignificant parts during the editing process...most of which, I don't pay attention to when scriptwriting. 

Another thing I found interesting was his script-writing process, as he had to write around 15 thorough scripts in order to find the right one for him. He also stated that for his writing process, he firstly thought about, “How do I commit to this personally”; and therefore his inspiration and ‘true story’ behind his short film, stemmed from his and his grandmother’s relationship. He took something that was personal to him, and created a vision out of that, hence making it easier to do script-writings. For my own film-making this year, I also wish to have personal inspiration behind my filming, as my previous film-making did stem from my own relatives. 

Another thing I found interesting was his use of filming locations, as he used houses that were previously used for other films, and therefore, he was able to scout for these houses only, hence narrowing down his hunt for houses. This is easier and much simpler than setting up a completely new set for filming. I think I would like to try and incorporate this into my film-making, as this would not only make the filming process less challenging, but it would also be beneficial knowing there's locations available to film in. 

'Oh, Little Spark!' Teaser Trailer

Poster 

Crowdfunding for the film:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ohlittlespark