Charles De Meyer

Amon Tobin: Esther’s
Joint 2nd Prize European Music Video
Representation: tallstories.tv

When did you first pick up a camera?

When I was about ten. I regularly nicked my dad’s Hi8 so my friends and I could shoot – mostly chase sequences – throughout the house and in the woods.

What does winning at the YDA mean to you?

It was completely unexpected and frankly overwhelming. This whole community of peers basically going:”Keep up the good work!”. It really gave me wings.

What was the most challenging aspect of making your video?

Trying to put the audience at the edge of their seats for a full four minutes, for no apparent reason, without blowing it in the end. Also, trying to use computer graphics more as a means to an end, i.e. primarily to tell a story. That was pretty tough, especially when one of the protagonists is a transforming robot.

Who or what is your biggest inspiration?

Alfred Hitchcock. He was much more than the master of suspense. He’d be at ease with action, drama, romance and comedy, even coming up with some of the most groundbreaking special and visual effects still used today. Sometimes he’d juggle with all of those at once, creating some of the most acclaimed cult scenes and movies ever. That is hard to top.

What do you think is the future of advertising?

Honesty. I think there’s a whole generation that’s tired of people trying to sugarcoat things. It’s always refreshing to see how different some ads can be, striking and true, if not completely hilarious.

What commercial do you wish you had made and why?

The Old Spice commercials with Isaiah Mustafa. I’ve wept laughing at the monologues, and shooting with all those practical effects must have been delirious in all possible senses.

Where do you hope to be this time next year?

Directing a lot more!

If I wasn’t directing I’d be…

Really sad. There’s nothing quite like being on a set and having tens of people working on the same couple of seconds of footage.