Hope Scores with River Island

When Ryan Hope received a call from White Lodge executive producer Stephen Whelan proposing a job to write and direct a new piece for British clothing brand and retailer River Island, The White Lodge director simply couldn’t refuse. Featuring models in a 1920s-inspired mansion to mark the launch of the label’s Design Forum collection by William Tempest, the result is a unique fashion film (above) which takes us on a continuous tour of the large country house and the decadent partying going on inside.

The film begins with a woman pulling up outside the house and being greeted by another lady who isn’t exactly over the moon to see her. The pair engage in subtitled conversation before the visitor is signalled through to a large function room where a party is in full swing. From then on we’re taken on a journey in continuous POV around different rooms and hallways of the house before finally reaching a staircase and balcony at the end where a mysterious man is introduced.

“The continuous technique is one I love,” says Hope, referring to the style he chose to shoot in. “For me, it is proper filmmaking. You basically have to have everything happen in one cast, one event, so the planning is meticulous and a monumental challenge. It's also a commitment to a method that once you're in, you're in. There's no turning back.”

With a running time of over 11 minutes, a lot of people close to Hope thought he was mad for taking on the project. As with all his jobs, the director cast the film using familiar channels including casting directors, street casting sessions, friends and friends of friends. Once on set it wasn’t long before the chemistry started heating up.

“When you have large casts like this, I always find the sets get a bit sleazy. It's quite funny watching who’s getting their sleaze on with whom. The guy with the tambourine staring at the girl as you leave the main room was absolutely loving his role when I gave it to him. Chloe, the girl, wasn't so chuffed with me but the couple in the snooker room were totally cupid-central.”

The director says that despite the cast size and the fact the film is based around a party, nothing got broken or damaged on the day and a lot of hard work went in. “The only thing that got broken was the record for the amount of sweat on a shoot from a Steadicam operator. Seriously though, Simon Wood, remember the name here first; absolute legend and a pleasure to work with,” he says.

Hope also reveals that he’s been venturing into the world of learning to score music for the past couple of years and the River Island job was the ideal springboard to get his experience underway through his Albion banner and friend Alex Jones: “We've been chatting about doing it for a while and creatively, we're very similar people. This seemed like the right project to do it on,” says the director. “For a fashion film I think it stands in a league of its own. I’m proud of everyone and there was a real sense of achievement on the shoot.”