A Day In The Life Of An Artist | Experimental Short Film | London, Hackney

A Day In The Life Of An Artist is a short experimental film that plays on the preconceptions that many have about the creative lifestyle, whilst also paying tribute to the commitment and courage that being an artist (of any description) entails.

I left a comfortable career as a medical doctor a few years ago to become a film director, fine artist and musician. This film is a self-portrait that I feel any creative person can relate to; it’s about passion, struggle and inner vision. I wanted to make something otherworldly yet gritty and rooted in the every day, which speaks of the creative process itself. It takes great skill and concentration to make something physical and real from the abstract mind. The music is one of my productions and the initial idea came from listening to the track one day in a Hackney cafe and re-imagining my environment as the stage for a hyper-real narrative about the creative spirit, something East London has long been associated with. Stylistically this film was influenced by Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo The Iron Man), Chris Cunningham and David Lynch. Tsukamoto in particular writes, directs and acts in his own films, which resonates with me. I had a loose idea of the film and we improvised on the streets and in my studio.

We filmed this out in the freezing cold of Hackney in winter. I was in nothing but my suit for 8 hours. Our hands were numb and we were exhausted by the end of it. I selected the 3 extras from my friends and they had no idea what they were in for, and they did an incredible job of playing along and getting into the atmosphere of working with what we had on the streets. Apart from the extras and an assistant for the first 2 hours the whole thing was done with just me and my cameraman Luke Tomlinson. The last shot features me getting back into bed and we had to debate whether we had the energy even to turn the camera on and film it. We were glad we did.

I filmed it last year and only turned my attention to the edit over the last month. Rarely do I leave a project sitting around unfinished and I wasn’t sure whether it was hesitancy or a hunch to delay finishing it. It proved to be a hunch- I can now see that my editing technique one year on is far superior and has given the footage the skill it deserves. It’s my most complete work so far and the piece I’m proudest of. The film is currently on an unlisted link until tomorrow.

Many thanks for your time and keep up the good work.

Chairman Kato. 

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