Ascent - Directorial Debut
Ascent follows three intertwining stories; an artist, struggling to gain inspiration and formulate her ideas onto the page; a young man, feeling the pressures of his work; and a young woman, battling alcoholism and undergoing counselling. The story is grounded by one painting, representing navigation and the marks we leave on each other’s lives; Ascent explores the desire to access something higher and out of reach.
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The film features several award-winning venues such as the Condé Nast Johansens 2019 and 2020 "Best UK Wedding Venue" The Deer Park Country House, and the Thelma Hulbert Art Gallery.
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The film surpassed its initial £1000 crowdfunding goal within 48 hours, currently sitting at 258%.
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Ascent also features an entirely original score with a live orchestral recording.
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The film has finished production and will have a private premiere on 25th September, 2021.
Skills
Creative Direction​
Production
Cinematography
Editing
Color
Strategy
Brands
Deer Park Country House
Thelma Hulbert Art Gallery
Team:
Director / Producer / Editor: Daiki Shinomiya
Director / Writer / Editor: Leoni Fretwell
Director of Photography: Alex Giles
Assistant Director: Charlotte Weston
Assistant Director: Isabel Harrison
Audio: Adam Clark
First AC: Deniz Akbayir
Original Score: Robin Wright & Alexei Peters
Musical Director: Chris Sampson
Soundtrack Mastering Engineer: Johnny Hurst
Soundtrack Mixing Engineer: Daiki Shinomiya
Sound Design: Leoni Fretwell & Daiki Shinomiya
Cast: Angus Thomson, Julia Vredenberg, Anna Goodmaker, Lauren Ewer, Sian Ostler
Casting Directors: Roisin McCay-Hines & Ray Koh
Colourists: Leoni Fretwell & Daiki Shinomiya
Therapy Consultant: Nik Sutherland
Artists: Laura Garratt and Laura Moody
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Deer Park Contact: Mark Godfrey
Thelma Hulbert Staff: Ruth Gooding & Anna Aroussi
THE CHALLENGE
To provide students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the film industry
Not your ordinary "student film"
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The ultimate aim of this project is to connect young creatives and produce a meaningful piece of cinema that lasts long in memory. This also aimed to enable students at our non-arts university to pursue a career in film.
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The majority of the cast and crew came from diverse backgrounds seemingly unrelated to film – from me pursuing a degree in Psychology to the composers pursuing engineering and biochemistry. This film was produced and filmed completely independently from any university or course.
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In the end, we managed to produce a film that enabled students at our non-creative university to land previously unattainable roles in the film industry, from working at a post-production house to helping out the production on a Netflix series.
BRANDING & SOCIAL MEDIA
Crowdfunding 100% of the goal in under 48 hours
I designed the brand identify of the film to reflect the elegance and subtlety of the story.
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This served as the backbone of the social media and crowdfunding campaign, elevating its production value.
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Elegant and eye-catching graphics paired with a high-quality video greatly contributed to the success of the campaign.
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The brand design added to the professionalism of the film, separating it further from a typical "student film".
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Social Assets
