Directing a ‘Slice of Life on Wheels’ in Just 1 Shot with Lauren Midwinter
InTransport for West Midlands’ (TfWM) bold, new campaign,‘You’re Bussing It’, director Lauren Midwinter brings everyday bus journeys to life with a fresh, cinematic approach.
Created by indie agency Impero and produced by Scenester Films, the regional initiative aims to inspire more West Midlanders to swap their cars for public transport, addressing prejudices and showcasing the benefits of bus travel. At the heart of the campaign is a striking 30-second black-and-white film, shot in one seamless take, which captures the vibrant, diverse energy of bus passengers in real-time.
Known for her dynamic style, Lauren embraced the challenge of filming in a confined space with 14 cast members, and using innovative techniques to create a fluid, theatre-like experience on screen. The film’s monochromatic aesthetic, paired with authentic performances and intricate attention to detail, highlights the connections formed on buses, reinforcing the idea that public transport is “a slice of life on wheels.”
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to Lauren, who reflected on the creative process behind the campaign, from the technical complexities of the one-shot to the importance of authentic representation, and how being a Midlander herself led her vision.
LBB> To start, how did you come up with the idea for the one-shot take and why was it right for this project?
Lauren> The idea for the one-shot take came from the agency’s initial brief. Originally, the script had a straightforward dolly shot pulling back down the aisle. But for me, the heart of this campaign – the ‘soap opera on wheels’ – was in the energy of all these different people living their lives. I wanted the audience to feel caught up in the bus’ hustle and bustle, so the camera had to move flexibly through the characters’ worlds. Dynamic camera moves were definitely ambitious, but I knew they'd add a lot of atmosphere and visual interest.
Some ‘one-ers’ hide cuts with editing tricks, but I wanted a true, continuous take. I love the challenge and the special energy you get on set with that approach - which I think comes through on screen. It’s almost more like theatre than filmmaking. You only get one shot to hit your mark, and there’s no editing to cover mistakes. Everyone in front of, and behind the camera must be fully in the moment, working together.
LBB> What were the challenges of the one-shot? Did you have to come up with any technical innovations to contend with the confined space you were shooting in?
Lauren> I have done a fair few one-shots, but this was the trickiest so far; we had to capture 14 performances in a tight space with a constantly moving camera, all in 30 seconds. Then, throw in one of the tightest pre-production times, which means no time to rework things.
Sara Deane, our DP, and I had just wrapped a campaign that used a lot of dynamic camera moves, so we were already in that mindset. After going back and forth on whether to use Steadicam or gimbal, we settled on a Ronin RS 4 with a stripped-down Alexa Mini LF and a Leitz Cine M 0.8 full-frame prime. This setup gave us the variety of movement we needed while accommodating the limited space and tight schedule.
Lighting was another big challenge. With 14 cast members and our roving camera, Sara had to light almost 360 degrees around the bus, and they had to hide all the stands even though we were shooting through every window! I love working with her; we do a lot of prep, and when I walked on set, everything looked exactly as we’d planned – natural, pretty, textural, and with bold contrast.
LBB> Where did the idea for black and white cinematography come from, and how did you work it through?
Lauren> Like the one-shot, the idea for black and white was baked into the brief. For a colour-lover like me, it was a new adventure!
I didn’t want it to have that old-timey black-and-white feel, so I started looking into different styles. The look of ‘La Haine’ kept coming to mind. DoP Sara Deane and I wanted to shift away from a traditional black-and-white aesthetic to something more modern, crisp, textured and fresh. We exchanged a lot of references and ultimately decided to shoot with a full-frame sensor and compact cinema lenses and add just a subtle grain for texture.
I soon realised you must approach everything differently when working in black and white – it’s wild! I hadn’t realised how much I rely on colour to shape a scene. In monochrome, many colours turn shades of muddy grey, so things like contrast, patterns, and texture suddenly become key to guiding the audience's attention.
There was limited production design, as we were on the bus, so costumes became our primary way to add visual interest. Amy Thompson, our costume designer, worked wonders on bringing texture and variation to the fourteen characters; her styling played an essential part in creating that modern tone. All her mood boards and references were in black and white. Similarly, Sara had a custom LUT made for the shoot so that all the monitors on set were displayed in black and white, which helped us see things as they’d appear on screen.
The colour grade has always been an important part of my process, and it was no different here, even though we were working in black and white. Sara and I worked with Karol Cybulski over at Harbour on this. I love how detailed and thoughtful Karol is when grading. With a one-shot, we worked hard to make each character's moment sing. Seeing how Karol shaped the image and subtly helped guide the audience's eye was incredible. The process was just as satisfying as grading in colour.
LBB> Tell us a bit more about the crew on this production, how did you go about building the right team for the job?
Lauren> The success of a one-shot really is about building the right team. The camera and crew become part of the performance. In such a tight space, everyone’s energy influences one another. I worked with an amazing crew, many of whom I’ve collaborated with before, and without their creativity and care, it wouldn’t look this good or have gone as smoothly. I was fortunate that I had worked with Tim Marshall from Scenester, the film's producer, before and I knew what a focused producer he was. He fully supported the team's vision and maximised every aspect of the campaign. Tim and Rosie (our PM) went above and beyond; I can't even tell you the hundreds of ways they whipped this logistically challenging job into shape!
LBB> What went into casting the passengers, and what were you looking for when choosing them as characters?
Lauren> I’m not a fan of giving characters generic labels like ‘Dad’ or ‘Older Woman’, which is common in the commercial world. Instead, I name each character and create backstories. These character profiles usually start during the treatment stage but often evolve throughout the process. They’re not just for the actors, who typically have very little rehearsal time and need something to ground their performance quickly, but for all departments to help build a more specific world for the characters. These profiles add tone and detail to the film and help avoid falling into clichés.
I’m a performance-centric director, and I put a lot of time and care into casting. Unless the client has a specific request, I try not to have a fixed idea of what the characters should look like. I’m more interested in the actor’s energy. If you're blinkered by finding a particular ‘look’, you can miss out on incredible talent that offers something fresh and unexpected. For me, that’s part of the creative collaboration – it helps make the film unique.
We had a super tight pre-production schedule and had to cast right away, so my character profiles became a blueprint for the kind of energy I wanted from the actors. We brought in Ilenka Jelowicki, who Tim and I had worked with many times before. With 14 characters to cast, we needed to see a lot of people. A lot. Ilenka went through thousands of self-tapes and narrowed it down to a few hundred, which I then went through. From there, we spent two days seeing 30-40 actors each day. Given the campaign's style, I wanted actors experienced in improvisation and theatre. We ended up casting all our actors from the Midlands – there's incredible talent up there.
LBB> How important were rehearsals and planning to the success of the production?
Lauren> As I mentioned, doing a one-shot with such a big cast feels a lot like theatre and, just like in theatre, you spend most of your time in rehearsals. This can make things a bit nerve-wracking for clients, especially since they’re there all day without seeing anything until right before we start shooting.
I have a background in theatre directing – that's why I love working with actors so much – I leaned into many of those techniques for this project. I really had to put my money where my mouth was on this job. I needed to get 14 cast members to nail their performances in just 30 seconds, all in one take. Honestly, it was a challenge I was both excited and scared by! There were three rehearsals on the shoot day.
During the first rehearsal, I did one-to-one rehearsals with each actor between fittings whenever possible. These allowed me to get to know them better and provide specific character motivation.
In the second rehearsal, I asked our producer, Tim, to carve out an hour for a group rehearsal on the shoot day. I insisted it be a closed rehearsal, just me and the cast. This sounds unusual for a commercial, but the actors needed the freedom to experiment without being watched. We played a lot of theatre games during that time. There was so much laughing and shouting! The goal was to help the cast bond as a team, with me guiding them. Shooting a one-shot can get intense, especially in a confined space, so it helped them feel connected and supported by each other. I don’t think we would have gotten as many takes out of the day without building that energy first.
While I was rehearsing the cast for the third rehearsal, Sara and her team were doing tech runs, which allowed us to jump straight into full rehearsals. In a one-shot, the camera and crew are just as much a part of the performance as the actors. In such a tight space, everyone’s energy affects everyone else’s.
LBB> How did you ensure that inside the bus felt like 'a slice of life', and how did you bring that energy through in the film?
Lauren> The characters in the film are inspired by people I knew while growing up in the Midlands. I wanted the performances to feel natural and unique, which came through in the casting, rehearsals, and character profiles. Our costume designer, Amy, and I also talked about how different people dress across the UK, and we made sure everything felt lived-in and authentic, rather than looking too polished or commercial.
Taking stills from a one-shot campaign is always interesting since you never know if they’ll be as impactful without the movement and flow. But with ‘Bussing It’, it was wonderful to discover these little snippets of life – the subtle moments of connection the actors created, all beautifully captured by the crew. You might miss some of these moments on a first watch as the main narrative draws you in, but when frozen as stills, they almost feel like reportage photography.
LBB> What were the main insights that the client and agency wanted to achieve? How did you make sure they shone through in the film?
Lauren> The client and agency's main goal was to create a film that genuinely represented the Midlands, highlighting how the bus network is a vital part of the community and that everyone is welcome.
The TVC script captured what I love about using the bus. Maybe it’s my chatty, inquisitive Midlander nature, but I enjoy watching all these people come together. In the West Midlands, you can’t stand at a bus stop without someone striking up a conversation - it’s like it’s the law. I wanted to distil this microcosm of West Midlands life and run it throughout our film. The buses connect us to our community, and I wanted our audience to feel how important and lovely that is.
Coming back to the Midlands as a professional director and filming a campaign in Coventry, right near where I grew up, felt like such a full-circle moment. My younger self, who dreamed of working in film, would’ve been absolutely buzzing!
