1A: A SKETCHER LEARNS TO PAINT
2011
ALEXANDER PEACOCK
RUNNING TIME: 12 MINS
As a struggling film director focuses obsessively on details his actors go out and rehearse his film, expanding it into something completely alien from its starting point.
BACKGROUND
After criticism of his previous film by his classmates on his film course, Peacock made this to close out his second year. He decided to go back to an old way of working: improvising, playfulness and by returning to shoot in Aberdeen with people he had collaborated with in the beginning. It was written to be the first in a series featuring characters overcoming specific personal issues. The number in the title was to represent the problem, each letter a different remake of the tale. Peacock decided to take a character similar to his in The Sketcher, but even more powerless, to cast light on his increasing struggle with OCD. The film was panned by tutors as self-indulgent and sloppy.
DIRECTOR NOTES
The criticisms of this film really hurt me as I felt with this one I’d managed to combine a playful structure with an unusual character study. Looking back I don’t think I went far enough in either direction and the film would have benefitted with more planning. The character of the director was dislikeable rather than someone who elicited sympathy. Musically, the film was interesting as we tried to explore different styles for each of the different films within the film. Overall I look back on this film with love as besides being quite fun, it was my farewell to the Aberdeen films and took me in a new experimental direction.
CAST
Lead Actor: Iain Anderson
Director: Alexander Peacock
Supporting Actor: Nicholas Miller
Strange Man: Iain Dodds
CREW
Director: Alexander Peacock
Music: Iain Anderson
