LEO DOULTON

Role: Director

Performances: Available for free online since 2016.

Collaborators: Patricia Auchterlonie, Benson Wilson, Betty Makharinsky, Christian Valle, Karen Schriesheim, Mairi Grewar, Joanne Tan, Crystal Tunnicliffe

 

After a few ‘live storyboards’, where I laboriously drew ways I might film opera arias, I went to Guildhall. And some of the singers I met seemed genuinely interested in this project. So, at last, I was able to start answering a question I’d had since about 2014: why can’t I film opera like a movie musical?

 

I learnt a lot. 

 

The value of planning, as we consistently needed more time to film, and I never quite had all the shots I’d wanted to shoot.

 

The difficulty of lipsynching without decent speakers on-set.

 

The eternal challenge of working out why these characters are singing (or if they’re singing at all).

 

I developed some sort of style, mostly cutting with the musical phrases, and trying to frame every shot so it told a story. Some of them were well-received, and they’re mostly the ones I myself am most proud of.

 

Of course, there was more work to do.