Lights, Camera, Action!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Take a look behind the scenes with director Tony Lloyd

Tony Lloyd is well respected in the Film and TV industry. Not only does he have an active part in the industry, but he also teaches and shares his experiences with his own media class. He has accomplished so much and still continues today, his passion and enthusiasm for the industry is what makes him an inspiration. 

What made you decide to become involved in the film & TV industry?From the age of about 7 onwards I was always taken to the   cinema on a regular basis this would be around 1967. You have to remember unlike today, the world of TV and Film were light years apart TV was mainly middle class, safe and in black and white. You had to get a separate aerial just to get BBC 2! Whereas sitting in the dark in the cinema in front of a 50ft screen, it wasn’t safe at all it was loud, dangerous, big and in colour. At a tender age I saw films like ‘Ben-Hur’, ‘Spartacus’, ‘Planet of the Apes’ and when I was eight, Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’. Going to the Cinema and watching films, were the only place you could go to get this experience like no other and I was totally hooked. From there, you usually progress from watching to then wondering, who makes these amazing things? To eventually I want to have a go at making one and here we are today.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?The highlight of my career so far would be winning the Grand Jury prize at the New York Film Festival, for the holocaust    Documentary ‘AREK’ (2005) for two reasons. The first and most important was that it took Arek’s story to a wider  audience secondly the jury didn’t know me and had never met me. They made their decisions by just watching the film on its own merit.

What's your favourite aspect of the film industry? My favourite part of the filming is being out with the crew, presenters or actors actually making a     programme or film. There is a unique atmosphere and camaraderie which only exists within the film making process. You get to film in interesting places and meet some great and sometimes not so great people, no two days are ever, ever the same!

Who or what inspires you?Lots of things inspire me reading, music, art, poetry and in the film world everything. I look more at the pioneers of film making now DW  Griffiths, Lon Chaney, George Mêlées, James Whale, Todd Browning to name but a few because when they were filming there was nothing before them. They were making and   discovering the rules of film making up there as they went along, which I find incredible. When ever I see something by Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick or Roman Polanski, Michael Powell or any of the old Hammer Horror films the list is for me is endless. They all make you want to go and play with a camera, to do as they have done and become film makers. Just saying this makes me want to watch a film now.

Do you have an area of expertise?I have always wanted to direct so you have got to know most key crews jobs. But for a director it is about communication, people skills, having a vision and communicating it to all who need to know. Creating the right atmosphere to help creativity on set or location, seeing the project as a whole from the beginning, middle and the end plus visualising. I attended art college before I ever went to film college.

Are you currently working on any new projects?Yes we have just completed a Teaser Trailer for a proposed six part vampire themed TV show. Also I am writing scripts one of them is a drama called Patricia Wendy and a horror film called Sweet Meat.

What made you decide to start teaching as a career?Inevitably teaching comes and finds you, I enjoy the buzz and enjoyment I see in others, when they are introduced to films or directors they have never heard of before and the nurturing of new and budding talent. To teach properly though, I feel you still have to be going out there regularly, film making in the real world. Only after doing all of that, can you honestly come back to the class room with things worthy to teach others.