Dominic Wade (Low-Budget Filmmakers)
What training have you received?
I did an HND in Media Production with Business Studies at Farnborough College of Technology. I think I’ve learnt how to make films by making them and listening to other filmmakers speak about their experiences. I like to flick through books like the Stanley Kubrick archives and put on the CD of an interview with him from the 1960s. I would say that more of my training has happened while working in Soho, London, as an editor. I completed an Avid course which helped me to move into the world of editing.
Does your budget limit what you can explore in your films?
I think to a degree that more money may just allow the filmmaker to make a more polished film and get to work with certain people. A great film does not have to have a high budget to work. One example of this is the Straight 8 film event. Everyone who takes part shoots on the same stock and with the same rules, so your great idea will stand out and entertain those who watch it. I think part of the appeal of something like filmmaking is that there are rules; these do not take too long to master. The hard bit is getting your film seen and understood by as many people as possible, and bending the rules to help create your own unique style that no one else can execute.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a low-budget filmmaker?
To just get out there and make the films you would like to make.
Most significant moment in your career so far?
This is a hard question to answer. I like to think that as I look back at my career and life that my first screening at Raindance will always hold a special place in my heart.
You’ll die happy when…
I think I am pretty happy with what I have done. I would just like to be able to continue making the films I would like to make. I find it a great challenge to see what an audience responds to. I think it’s all based around what we should be giving them, mixed with how we can challenge them. ■
