On the
scene festival
On the
scene festival
Deeper Still
Deeper Still
Spotlight on...
Max Callaby
How did the idea for Deeper Still come about?
The film was inspired by my own struggles with work and fulfillment. I wanted to explore the idea of trying to fill a void in your life with things that don’t ultimately fulfill you, and I thought, what better way to show that than as a literal hole? The narrative just grew from there.
It also stemmed from my love for stop-motion. I’ve always preferred films that show rather than tell, and building a story without spoken words felt like the ultimate form of that. It was a great animation exercise as well, since the characters' emotions had to be clear without the crutch of dialogue.
(Director)
Can you tell us a little about your technical stop motion process?
The film was created on my own, entirely in my bedroom over approximately 9 weeks. Puppets were made from sponge, wire, and needle felt. The sets were made from expanding foam and cardboard. When it comes to actual animating, I tackled the process in a pretty unique way. I treated each shot as a bit of a stream of consciousness. If it felt like the right thing to do in the moment, I would add in extra actions for the characters, treating animation as more of a performance than a tightly planned-out sequence. Doing it this way almost acts like a really slow version of live-action filmmaking. This wouldn’t really fly in a large-scale animated production, but there are no rules when you're doing things solo!
After everything was finalised, my wonderful friend and collaborator Marty Gionis composed music over the animation. He absolutely smashed it!
How did you initially begin world building and designing your unique characters?
I wrote a loose first draft of the screenplay long before jumping into character design. I think it’s important to start with the script because a character's design should be informed by what you are communicating in the film's narrative. After that, it was a case of developing the design through sketching and hands-on building. The characters' designs were also heavily shaped by material and time constraints. You'll notice that both characters are essentially duplicates of the same design with different colors and hairdos. Whatever it takes to hit the deadline!
What advice would you give someone who has an idea or is naturally crafty and they want to make a short film?
Storyboards, shot trackers, and spreadsheets are your best friends. Planning everything out doesn’t mean you’re locked into those choices, but it gives you a concrete list of tasks to chip away at. It turns the daunting concept of "make a film" into a set of manageable steps.
You made this film 3/4 years ago now; how did you find the Festival run at the time? Do you have any upcoming projects we can also keep an eye out for?
The festival run was an incredible experience. Beyond being my first time screening a film at festivals, it was actually my first time ever attending them! The film performed so much better than expected, and one of the sweetest parts of making a stop-motion project was getting to bring the puppets along to their own premiere. It really opened my eyes to the scale of the UK indie film scene.
As for what's next, I’m in the early stages of creating a spiritual successor to Deeper Still. While it’s not a direct sequel, it takes those same characters into completely uncharted territory. Having worked in animation for about 4 years since finishing the original, I'm really excited to bring all the new skills I’ve acquired back to these characters. Stay tuned!
"I treated each shot as a bit of a stream of consciousness."
@max.callaby
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