Benjamin Dickinson on Regaining Creative Control

Ghost Robot director Benjamin Dickinson is best known for his work on short films, music videos and ads. Since venturing into feature film in 2012 with First Winter, Dickinson fell in love with the challenge of creating longer form content. This weekend, he unveiled his second feature film, Creative Control, which was screened exactly a year ago at 2015 SXSW Film Festival, winning the special jury prize.

As this year's SXSW festival is now in full swing and Dickinson's film is scheduled for nationwide release this Friday, shots thought it was about time to catch up with the director and discuss his transition into longer form, his approach to the project and why he decided to star in it.

Creative Control couldn't come at a better time as it centers on an ad exec (played by Dickinson) who's exploring the possibilities of virtual reality through AR glasses with worrying but beautifully-shot effects. Click here to find out more about the film or read on for the full interview.

How did the opportunity to create your first full length feature film, First Winter, come about? Did it lead on to Creative Control?

First Winter came in the form of a snowstorm. That winter of 2010/2011 was Snowpacalypse. I had been trying to get a feature film off the ground for years, I was nearing 30 and I decided I just had to make a film. I took inventory of what was available to me - a farmhouse, some actors and a lot of snow - and I wrote a scenario in a week, raised the money in a month, and we shot the film.

I couldn't have made Creative Control without having made First Winter, if for no other reason than I needed to have a relatively well-reviewed feature under my belt to raise the budget for Creative Control. It gave us credibility.  

You’ve worked on short films, music videos and ads before. How have you had to change your approach for feature-length projects?

I think the biggest difference in feature films is duration. How do you move an audience over a period of 90-120 minutes? You have to approach the design differently - the pace from scene to scene, the order in which you reveal information - if you want the audience to be ahead of the characters, or struggling to keep up. It's not just about drama, it's about pace and tone.

What was the stimulus behind Creative Control?

The feeling that technology was taking over my life, almost like an addiction, and I saw how that addiction was being reified through very clever advertising. Plus, I was working in advertising at the same time. My life was feeling empty. Creative Control was a manner in which to grapple with all of that, make fun of it, deconstruct it and exorcise it.

Do you feel liberated or lost working without a brief?

I find it much more difficult to direct something that I didn't write.

Why did you decide to star in the film too?

It was practical. I asked Aziz Ansari (L)  to star in it. I asked Ben Whishaw. They both said no.

What were the biggest challenges that you experienced on the project?

Honestly, it’s acting and directing at the same time!  

And the most satisfying parts of the process?

Spending quality time with my dear friends. And getting to be creative with them.

Would you like to continue directing feature films, compared with shorts/ads? What else have you got in the pipeline?

I got into filmmaking to make feature films. That's what I've wanted to do since I was 13. So, I will keep doing them as long as I can. Shorts and ads are great though, because you get to experiment with new techniques, push yourself at the technical level, concentrate on form etc., and the team at Ghost Robot is highly collaborative and inclusive so it makes creating commercial work and things like branded content, shorts, exciting. I hope to keep doing both!