Michael Pearce on the New Barnardo's Campaign

BBH London's work for children's charity Barnardo's has, over the years, delivered some extremelly powerful and affecting stories including Ringan Ledwidge's Life Story and Jeff Labbe's Break the Cycle.

Now, Pulse Films director Michael Pearce has helmed a new campaign for the chairty, called Ellie, which highlights the inner turmoil faced by victims of abuse and shows how with the right support children can face up to their experiences.

Below, Pearce reveals his part in the project; how he came on board, the process of pulling the project together and

PITCHING: October 2013

I’d just joined Pulse when the brief came in, great timing but it wasn’t an easy one to win, some pretty high-profile commercial directors made the previous Barnardo’s ads [see above] and my background is in directing drama. My shorts are predominantly character-focussed films, intimate stories with big emotional themes. I feel confident directing strong, nuanced performances but as I don’t have much of a commercial reel I was the underdog.

My central reference was Magnolia. It has raw and affecting performances at its centre and the multiple stories are interwoven in a bold and cinematic fashion. This seemed to chime with how the creative team envisioned the film and so I met [BBH ECD] Nick Gill and after several meetings he decided to give me a shot.

PRE-PRODUCTION: November & December 2013

I have dinner with my producer, Shirley O’Connor, and I get a text from [director of photography] Edu Grau, saying he’s in London for a few days. Shirley sees the text; “you’re friends with Edu Grau? Let’s just get him to shoot this!”.

Edu is in Europe to shoot a feature but is free during our dates and is up for it. Amazing. We’ve wanted to work together for years and now, thanks to my producer nosily reading my texts, we are.

The success of the film hinges on the performances. I want the emotions to feel irrevocably real and immediate. We approached Des Hamilton as casting director, he’s someone I’ve wanted to work with for a long time. He’s worked with Shane Meadows, Lynne Ramsay and Lars von Trier and is great at finding new talent.

We meet and discuss how vital it is to find young actors that don’t feel stagey or inauthentic and he suggests we also cast outside of London and call out to regional acting schools. We see masses of people and travel across the country.  Many are very good but none are quite able to capture the full complex range of emotions.

Late on the last day in Glasgow, Morgan Campbell walks in, a shy and nervous fourteen-year-old. We do a take and she floors us; it’s the most powerful casting session I think I’ve ever witnessed, we’re relieved and immensely excited – we’ve found our lead for Ellie.

THE SHOOT: January 2014

The first day is a big day - the big dramatic scene. I never enjoy the first few hours of a shoot; the pressure, the new faces, the trucks of equipment, the anticipation. It’s not exciting, it’s terrifying. Never believe a director who says they’re excited on the first day, they’re shitting it.

I’m also aware that the BAFTA nominations are being announced. I’ve been long-listed for a short [Keeping Up With the Joneses] but if I find out we’re not nominated it’ll affect my mojo so I don’t check. Just before we turnover I get a text ‘congrats on the nom’. Boomtown! My nerves recede and I’m genuinely excited, this is a first.

In the afternoon we shoot Morgan's scene. At lunch she’s terribly nervous, she’s never acted professionally before. I can tell her nerves are a great tool; they help ground you and keep you alert. After Morgan’s first take the set goes silent for 30 seconds, there’s a collective feeling that we’re witnessing the birth of an incredible screen actress.

She seems totally unaware of how good she is whereas everyone in video village needs tissues. We do many takes, it’s exhausting for her but she remains focused. In her last take she falls to pieces, it's the rawest, most committed and emotionally charged moment I've filmed.

THE EDIT: January & February 2014

We edited with Andy McGraw at Stitch, one thing I learned quickly is that it’s hard for him to get used to not eating lobster everyday on a charity’s budget. Coming from the short film world, this wasn’t as much of a stretch for me.  Andy was an amazing pair of new eyes on the project we’d lived with for so long, and pieces of sync we’d previously thought were crucial quickly ended up on the cutting room floor, making way for the space we needed to give the performances time to breathe.

It took a while to strike the right balance, telling the story and getting the right emotional impact in the 60 seconds we have. We get to cut 99 and just when you feel like you’ve exhausted every possible sequence, take and cut point; it miraculously comes together after a few tweaks and a change in music. It ends up being pretty close to the script and boards but sometimes you have to go a long way to come back a short distance.