Profile: Chris Shaw

Why did you pick this subject for Fresh?

The idea of letting your hair down at the weekends for many young people is going out and enjoying the nightlife. For some that means pubs and clubs in towns and cities, but for others that means driving to the middle of nowhere and dancing in a barn until 10 the next morning and sleeping it off in your car.

Nowhere else in the world has such a large free-party/raving scene as Britain. It started here in the late-80s with acid house parties and boomed in the 90s with massive M25 raves with tens of thousands attending. Nowadays the scene isn’t as big as it once was but it is still going strong.

From large bank holiday teknivals to smaller parties like the one in this film, many people - young and old - still enjoy the freedom of free parties.

What motivated you to make this film?

I felt like it was an interesting subject to cover. You don’t see many of these parties covered in the media unless it’s a news story

That, and I had contacts and friends who put on these sorts of nights and the fact it was quite a small, local party, meaning I knew many of the people who were in attendance. So I didn’t really have any problems filming the night. I feel it’s best to make documentaries with people you’re comfortable with as they can be more open and frank about the subject.

What equipment did you use to shoot the film?

Panasonic DMC-G6 camera with Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8, SLR Magic 12mm t/1.6, Panasonic 45-150mm f/4-5.6 lenses. Rode VideoMic Pro, Shoulder rig with follow focus, 2 Roto RL-48’s LED lights, GoPro Hero (2014 model).

Tell us about post-production.

I edited the piece myself using my MacBook Pro. I used Final Cut Pro X 10.1.3 (I know, I’m ashamed of myself too) and used the Hy Colour Pro plugin for grading the film, the RT Colour Balance plugin for when I wanted to change the white balance of some shots and the Neat Video plugin for getting rid of ISO noise in the shots. I also sometimes used Adobe After Effects stabilization feature for a few shots.

I sent the sound to my friend James Watts to touch up for me though the awful sound is down to me unfortunately for not having a wind guard/cat tail on my microphone. Graham Bonnett, my uncle, is currently mixing the audio for the longer version of this documentary which you can find soon on my website.

Who/what inspires you?

Music often inspires me. Watching a TV show or movie I really enjoy. Thinking about future films I want to make. The fear of waking up one day and bam! I’m forty. Got a wife and three kids, an ex-wife, a mortgage, stuck in a dead end job with a boss I hate and not enough money to buy my midlife crisis Porsche. I sit at my desk, open up a word document and repeatedly type "why".

What are your plans for the future?

I have a few future projects I have planned. I am hoping to make another, more in-depth, documentary about the free party culture and some other ideas on subjects such as drugs, art and extreme sports. I also have a few comedy sketches that my friends and I have written that I would like to film in the not too distant future.

What is the most important thing you have learnt so far?

I don’t know whether this question is about the most important filmmaking or my life but I feel like it’s the same answer.

Always take the negatives with the positives. Don’t get too disheartened when things go wrong. See were you went wrong and try and build on it for next time, or at least know what you are going to expect. I made loads of mistakes filming this, and at points I got really stressed out and down but I’ve learnt.

Also, a lot of people try and strive for perfection, and while you should always try your best, sometimes the mishaps and the mistakes you make can turn into good things. It’s yin and yang really.

That and money.