Colin and Cameron Cairnes Talk Scare Campaign
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Colin and Cameron Cairnes, directors of 100 Bloody Acres, while they were on the set of their latest horror film, Scare Campaign. After they managed to lock out a couple of rambunctious cockatoos from interrupting our interview (no, I’m not kidding), we spoke about a few different topics that hopefully will shed a little light into their origins, methods of shooting, and what they’ve got coming down the pike so read on and enjoy!
DC: Can you tell us how you both got your start in the business?
Colin: We were in our teens, Cam and I – and we loved horror movies, and we’d shoot these short films – later we both ended up going to different film schools, but we studied both film and TV, and we had separate careers for a while, and I guess in our mid- to late-twenties we realized that we wanted to do the same thing. We then started to get more serious about filmmaking as a team, so we both started work on short films, then some TV, then began writing feature film scripts, most of them really poor, and then just got better and better at what we were doing, and we managed to get our first feature up three or four years ago, 100 Bloody Acres.
DC: So, where did the idea come from for Scare Campaign?
Cameron: It was probably a mixture of things – after 100 Bloody Acres we wanted to do another project with our producer, Julie Ryan, and she was keen to do another horror film, although this time we thought we’d go more straight horror instead of horror/comedy. I think the idea came from us just trolling the internet, looking for ideas and inspiration, and finding these YouTube clips about reality TV programs (prank shows) where people are put into these scary situations, and we thought, “What if the victim were to turn and got their revenge on the TV crew?” So the idea spun from that, and we started looking around for some locations to shoot. Victoria, Australia, has a number of old abandoned lunatic asylums with wonderful architecture and all sorts of nooks and crannies to shoot in. These locations come reasonably cheap, so it’s great for low-budget horror moviemaking, and we’re talking to you from one of those asylums right now.
DC: Now, if I’m not mistaken, this will be your third project with Angus Sampson – how is he to work with?
Colin: Well, he’s actually not in this one…
Cameron: Well, he might be.
Colin: Yeah, I take that back – he may have a cameo. He’s an incredible actor – we’ve known him for quite a while, and he was in our first short film, Celestial Avenue, and then in 100 Bloody Acres – he’s just a great guy. He gives everything he’s got every time he’s on set – great sense of humor, and he’s got a unique method, I’d say, with his acting style. He becomes the character you see on screen – just a passionate, talented individual, and I think he’s got a spot on the second season of “Fargo,” I believe.
DC: Now, do you each have your own specific directorial style, and are you able to complement each other’s styles when you’re working on a collaborative project?
Cameron: Well, that’s a good question, and I don’t think we ever really settled on a method, but I think it’s pretty fluid. We turn up on the set, cold, and maybe he’s a little more instrumental in the blocking, but it’s pretty open and collaborative, I’d say.
Colin: Well, we don’t really have time for lengthy conversations on set, especially when you’ve got a bunch of pages every day, so you’d have to look at it as a little shorthand: a look and a smile one day, a quick nod or a couple of words, and we decide whether we want to move on or tweak something, so it’s not as much about preparation, but it’s about arriving on set and knowing what the scene is about and what you want to get out of it, and then you have those conversations with the camera crew and being open and working with your cast. We’ll plan, but we’re also ready to ditch it and go for something exciting if it happens. I think we share that sort of philosophy, and somehow it seems to work on the day.
DC: I’m sure you both are overwhelmed with the work so far on Scare Campaign, but if you had to look into the crystal ball, what can you see coming up for you both in the future?
Colin: Well, we’ve got a couple of scripts in various states of readiness, and one is called Late Night with the Devil,” which is a first draft, and we’re really happy with it, and we’ll move on to that one if we can get the financing happening, and we’re pretty confident about that one. It’s a horror film with a twist, but right now we can’t say too much about it at this point.
Categorized:News
