Interview: In Bluebell Wood, Director Laura Ellen Wilson Reveals Vision

indieactivity : Give a background of your personal experience with the story, writing, production and marketing?
Laura Ellen Wilson : I am a first-time scriptwriter so the only experience I have of writing a complete script, is of In Bluebell Wood. It’s crazy to think how far it has come, just from a small idea. Regarding the production, I am an actress and have always been intrigued about the production side of filmmaking so have always watched the crew closely whenever on set. Marketing wise, I work part time as a social media manager for a company close to my home, so I have a lot of experience when it comes to networking!

indieactivity : Did you start writing with a cast in mind?
Laura Ellen Wilson : I did! The idea came about when a few child actors were wanting a showreel, so I offered to write a short script for them to learn and to use. After a few hours of writing, I had around 20 pages worth and from there, decided that I was going to keep a hold of it and see what I could do! I’d say about 80% of the cast had their roles written with them in mind.

Related Story: Eden Brennan, Holly Hajbok & Abrish Khan in Laura Ellen Wilson’s, In Bluebell Wood Adventure

indieactivity : How long did you take to complete the script? Do you have a writing process?
Laura Ellen Wilson : For the first draft, it took approximately 4 – 5 hours. Since then, the story has been condensed and has been through at least 20 drafts. We are now at 14 pages and that’s how it will stay – I’m terrible for re-reading and wanting to add little bits in here and there!!

I really don’t have a writing process. If I have an idea, I’ll write it down and revisit it the next day. If I think it could be worth drafting something up, then I’ll spend a couple of hours on it. If not, I’ll just forget about it!
I am a very visual writer, so it’s 50% novel and 50% script. I can’t imagine how much hair my producer pulled out converting it into an actual script!!

indieactivity : When did you form your production company – and what was the original motivation for its formation?
Laura Ellen Wilson : I don’t actually have a production company. I am working with Laura Saxon of Saxon Productions and they are the producing company. Laura is also co-directing with me and I have freelance crew from all over the UK. I wanted to make sure that I had the right people involved and I handpicked the crew by researching and approaching them, rather than putting a call out online. My utmost priority is the safety and happiness of our child cast – having 16 of them – and wanted to make sure I had the correct crew members for this.

indieactivity : During production, what scene do you think will be the hardest to shoot?
Laura Ellen Wilson : Without giving away any spoilers, I think the whole shoot will be a challenge. Mainly because of the amount of cast members I have but I think the hardest and most fun scene will be our montage section. The children will be filmed on a climbing wall, in an archery range and rifle shooting. All with the proper protective wear and supervised by a specific instructor. We will then have 13 child supporting artists joining us for a few hours, so in total there will be 25 minors, approximately 18 crew members and a dog. Organisation is absolutely key for the entire shoot but on this day in particular! This is why we are starting early with the prep.

indieactivity : You are directing the film, what measure of input will it take to don these hats?
Laura Ellen Wilson : I am pulling on many different experiences throughout the years here. As Director, I need to make sure everything is running smoothly and to oversee everything. Previous experience of this, is as a Kids Club Manager and Choreographer for 6 years whilst working overseas, before I started acting. The organisation and managing a team of up to 30 people was a lot of fun but had its difficulties. It will be a first for me as a director but having worked with the majority of the cast and some of the crew before, I know it will be a team effort and we will enjoy it along the way!

indieactivity : Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you struggle with?
Laura Ellen Wilson : The fact that I can’t do everything myself! I am definitely a ‘take charge’ kind of person and there are a lot of things that I would love to learn, so I can attempt it.

indieactivity : Where do you think your strengths lie as a filmmaker?
Laura Ellen Wilson : I haven’t any experience as a director yet, but I am really hoping that will be one of my strengths. I know that my current strengths most definitely lie in pre-production organisation and networking.

indieactivity : Let’s talk finance, how will you finance the film?
Laura Ellen Wilson : We will be running a Crowdfunder in a couple of months and I am hoping that the majority of our funding will come from there. We have some fantastic perks on offer including a headshot session with one of our cinematographer, signed posters and on set video shout outs. I have also taken on a second job, so I will be contributing to the Crowdfunder too.

indieactivity : How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
Laura Ellen Wilson : It has been very important for us. The fact that this is my first film and I don’t have a proven track record in that department, I need to show everyone that although we haven’t made anything yet, we know what we are doing with networking. We are working via word of mouth and so far, I believe we have made a great impression!

indieactivity : What do you hope audiences get from your film?
Laura Ellen Wilson : I have always said that In Bluebell Wood is a mix of The Goonies, Alice in Wonderland and the Narnia films. Whenever I watch them, it takes me back to my childhood, having a wild imagination where anything is possible, and I get a warm feeling in my tummy at the end of each of those films. That is exactly what I want the audience to get from this. We have a wonderful, charismatic and talented cast of children and adults and I know they will all help in bringing this story to life. Our crew are all professionals and so good at what they do, and I am so excited to see the finished result.

indieactivity : What else have you got in the works?
Laura Ellen Wilson : Laura Saxon and I have spoken about a couple of projects that we would like to work on together. These are very different to In Bluebell Wood, as they are horror comedies. With both of us having a history of being in horror movies, it would be silly not to put our combined knowledge together and work on a horror. I do have a 3-part crime-based web-series that I have 1 episode of written. I’d love to get that off the ground at some point in the future, but we would need a very healthy budget!!

In terms of projects in front of the camera, I have 2 short films in post-production and have 2 feature films and a TV Pilot in pre-production.

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