In June 2014 we were lucky enough to be interviewed by Nuno Teixeira for his awesome blog 23Zillion which explores creativity and shares the experiences of the people doing the creating.
We received a great message from Nuno via our Vimeo account and hooked up to piece something together for 23Z about ghost stories, the Twilight Zone, creating small budget films, and our 16mm Short Film The Mysterious Disappearance of M.M. Bayliss
You can read the full interview via 23Z but here’s a short snippet about our inspiration for the Short Film :
Nuno: I’m going to open this interview up with two topics that are the inspirational backbones of your short film: Victorian ghost stories, and the Twilight Zone’s weird tales! I’m a sucker for Victorian ghost stories and openly admit to regularly emptying out local thrift store collections back in my past. I’ve slowed down, but thanks to e-books, my phone is now jam packed with creepy goodness. What is it about the Victorian ghost tale that you guys find fascinating?
Elliot: I’m literally the last person who should be reading ghost stories; I’m so easily scared it’s comical. Zander will tell you, I jump at everything. He can walk into the room and say “hi” and I’ll leap out of my chair. I just can’t watch horror films, they won’t leave me alone so I avoid them at all costs. I’m a true scaredy-cat, but weirdly I find it fun to try make other people jump! It’s a kind of a childish payback – “I’m scared of this… and so should you be!”. So I hate ghost stories… and that’s why they’re so great.
Zander: The Victorians were particularly good at telling ghost stories, with all their creepy science and fascination in the supernatural. So when you’re trying to develop a cool little story for a short film, the Victorian ghost story is a great place to start. The genre doesn’t need you to be outright scary; people are afraid of what they don’t understand so you just have to present an eerie or unnerving situation and you’re going to hook people in.
Zand & Ell
We just want to thank Nuno and 23Z again for contacting us and taking such an interest in our work. It was brilliant working with you and we look forward to following the growing success of your unique website.
E & Z