Film set stills photography: 

'Badmouth'

Director/Producer _ Shanti Ramakuri 

Screenplay _ Shona Pollock, Shanti Ramakuri 

Director of Photography _ Jamie Hammond

I hadn’t conceived that a project that would take me so far outside of my comfort zone, would at the same time be so rewarding.

With a production pedigree that included the chilling and critically acclaimed documentary One Day In September (1999), family-friend and Director Shanti Ramakuri didn’t need to try hard to get me on board.

Entered into competition at the Raindance Film Festival, Badmouth is a retro short set in 1988 North London. It is a tale of tragedy and loss, set against a portrait of a neighbourhood. It assembles various tableaus of an inner city housing estate with the recent event of a young local girl, Tash's, death. A group of young women, a gang of boys, old friends and neighbours; various characters interact and unfold their take on events.

Eleven minutes long, it was shot in one continuous take with a minuscule budget; on a baking hot weekend, the crew, friends, family, acquaintances and the whole neighbourhood worked together to make the shoot succeed.

At once, I was experiencing a film set and a film crew for the very first time, working alongside and with actors I hadn’t met before, and asked to produce some images far removed from my usual workload and subject matter.

I worked with the cast on how the headshots should look; harsh sunlight and in character.

I sought out vignettes of frantic production activity, boredom, neighbourhood interactions, and the dynamic tensions in the crew.

I loved every second of it.