If someone had told me at the start of 2018 that I would direct a feature-length film, I wouldn’t have believed them. For those that don't know, as well as being a sound recordist in my day-to-day working life, I also make films (when I can) too! At that time, I had two professional short films and a few music videos under my belt as a filmmaker/director. Little did I know that by 2021, I would have released a feature film online and undertaken the biggest project of my career.
In this 4-part series of blog posts, I’ll discuss my journey directing Bringing Back Golden Eye, a feature film released online on 25th August 2021 and available to watch now for free. Here’s a brief synopsis of the film:
"Bringing Back Golden Eye is the sequel to the first-ever video game mockumentary, 'Going for Golden Eye', released in 2017. After watching 'Going for Golden Eye', video game enthusiast and GoldenEye 007 fanboy Glenn (Gabe Cagan) embarks on a mission to uncover more about the infamous GoldenEye World Championships and its notorious 19-time champion, Ethan Bellénd (Dan Bruce). However, the championships have ended, and Ethan has vanished. Glenn must now go on an epic, unnerving journey to bring back GoldenEye."
In this first part, I’ll primarily discuss the pre-production process and my experience with it. So, let’s rewind to the beginning!
Coming on Board the Project (2018)
In the latter half of 2018, I was contacted by local Yorkshire filmmaker Jim Miskell for my sound recordist services for a new film he was making, initially titled Return of the Golden Eye. It was a sequel to his first film, Going for Golden Eye (2017), which tells the story of Ethan Bellénd, the GoldenEye World Champion, attempting to become a 20-time champion of the Nintendo 64 video game GoldenEye. The comedy mockumentary featured larger-than-life characters and a documentary crew engrossed in the unfolding story. Released in 2017, the film was available for purchase and rental on streaming platforms, as well as on limited edition Blu-Ray and DVD sets.
The sequel, then titled Return of the Golden Eye, continued the story a few months after Ethan Bellénd lost his title as World Champion. This sequel maintained the mockumentary format but shifted the perspective to a new character, Glenn, a GoldenEye and Nintendo fanboy fascinated by the first film’s antics. Glenn aims to revive the now-cancelled championships.
In October 2018, I joined Jim Miskell’s production as Sound Recordist, and we began shooting a few scenes in Todmorden, Yorkshire. Jim and I quickly bonded over our shared passions for GoldenEye, video games, and even wrestling. However, it became evident that the production scale was small for Jim’s ambitions. With Jim being relatively new to the industry, I felt he might need help in some areas. After our initial filming days, I kept in touch with Jim, wanting to assist in building a bigger crew to match his script’s ambitions. We met up, and I provided him with a solid list of crew recommendations based on my experience shooting short films and working as a sound recordist on other projects.
Becoming Director (2018)
Before the end of the year, Jim informed me that he needed to step away from the director role for personal reasons and asked if I knew anyone who could take over. Naturally, I offered myself for the role, and Jim thankfully accepted. The next stage of the project began!
As Director, my first task was to collaborate with Jim on the script. While Jim had created brilliantly funny and wacky characters and written fantastic scenes, the script needed structural work to form a concise narrative. I also pitched a new name for the film and proposed Bringing Back Golden Eye, emphasizing our main character Glenn’s mission to revive the championships and characters.
Working with an Already-Assembled Cast and Location (2019)
The next step was understanding what aspects of the film production had already been arranged. Since this was a sequel, many characters from the first film were returning, and Jim had already cast several new characters before I became Director. It was unconventional for a director to join a project with most of the cast already in place, but Jim had selected a great group of artists, and I was pleased to work with them.
Meeting the cast for the first set of rehearsals was daunting, as Jim and most of the cast were familiar with each other, while I was the ‘new guy’. However, they were welcoming and fantastic to work with. I was able to suggest character adjustments, provide stage directions, and offer dialogue delivery notes. Equally, I welcomed their suggestions and incorporated them when they resonated with me.
In terms of shooting locations, there was only one location locked down due to prior financial commitments before I became director. This location served as the host building for the new GoldenEye World Championships. While it was a good location, it sometimes posed challenges due to limited space, requiring creative solutions for blocking scenes and positioning cameras and cast.
Golden Eye Film Crew, Assemble! (2019)
Early on, I familiarized Jim with the various departments and major roles we needed to fill to make the film. Going for Golden Eye had a stripped-down crew, which suited its scale. However, Bringing Back Golden Eye was a much larger project with numerous characters, props, costumes, and locations, necessitating more personnel to achieve our professional aspirations.
Using the crew list I had prepared months earlier, we began recruiting. One key addition was Line Producer Rob Speranza, who helped us crew the film, budget accordingly, and track spending for each department. We assembled a fantastic team of film crew members, and I could write a whole separate series of blogs to thank each one of them!
Let's Go! (2019)
With everything falling into place, I focused on my director prep, which included script breakdowns, shot lists, floor plans, and more. As we approached our first days of filming, I had no idea they would become the biggest and toughest shoot days of my career...
To Be Continued…!
Join me in reading part 2 here, where I will discuss the entire production process, including working with the different departments, what it was like shooting the biggest scenes of my career, challenges involved and much more!
Also, check out the Bringing Back Golden Eye YouTube channel for more content including GoldenEye Let’s Plays, music videos and trailer.
Dan Guest
Director
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