www.unipaper.co.uk
February 2015
3
Budget film project finally sees light of day after duo’s years of hard work
Shining through the dark: A scene from Violet City PICTURES: FACEBOOK.COM/ PAGES/VIOLET-CITY-THE-MOVIE
From dream to cinema screen ELLIE CONNELL YEARS spent transforming a fantasy novel into a film on a shoestring budget have finally paid off for two lecturers. John Maxwell and Dave Jackson used worldwide locations for fantasy epic Violet City – all without leaving their back room studio at Liverpool John Moores University screen school. The pair started work on the film in 2010 and are only
now adding the finishing touches ahead of its release next month. The film started as a novel Dr Jackson wrote for his doctorate and has been a labour of love ever since. Dr Maxwell said they both ‘wanted to do something to test the boundaries of cinema’. Their film follows Flynn, a boy with violet eyes who is hunted down by the strange inhabitants of a mythical city, which the pair crafted using
images of far-flung places, from the canals of Venice to the peaks of the Himalayas. They used a handmade 100 sq ft green screen to create the fantastical scenery as well as filming scenes closer to home, including at Liverpool Cathedral – which forms part of the fictional Cathedral Mountain – and the Royal Liver Building. The pair were inspired by industrial fantasy genre Steampunk, as well as graphic
novels. ‘The film has a feeling of the Sin City films, with a contemporary technological edge,’ Dr Jackson added. It will be released by LA-based Indie Rights Inc on iTunes and gaming platforms. There will also be screenings, the first of which will be at Liverpool’s Threshold Festival next month. ‘We’re excited by the fact that it is again possible for this level of filmmaking to become a business,’ said Dr Maxwell.
Hazy: Most scenes were shot using a green screen
Monochrome: Flynn and Carson, characters in the film