The Directors: Charlie Dennis
Charlie Dennis, hailing from the West Midlands has established himself globally across both commercials and narrative work. He looks to push the boundaries of cinematic techniques whilst blending humour, high-octane moments and giving an honest punch to all that he creates.
He always strives to represent unheard voices on screen, especially within disability. He aims to improve accessibility in film, and his Deaf-led BBC short film ‘Silent World’ was subsequently picked up as a TV series after winning The National Lottery Arts Project of the Year, alongside BAFTA, Academy Award and BIFA qualifying festival nominations. Whilst already long and shortlisted for prestigious commercial accolades such as Cannes Lions and 1.4 awards, this is only the beginning for Charlie Dennis.
Name: Charlie Dennis
Location: London, originally West Midlands
Repped by/in: Lowkey Films, UK
Awards: Best Soundtrack at BUFF, Audience Award at BFI Widescreen Weekend,
Official Selections at Slamdance, Cannes Lion, 1.4 Awards, Shiny Awards, London Short Film Festival, LIFF, Deafest, Colin d’Oeil, EFN, Rhode Island Comic Con
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Charlie> I love scripts that deliver with intent and take risks. The creative part is what that intent might be! If it’s comedy, will it make people laugh? If it’s world building, how defined is this world? If it’s character driven, how real are these people? The scripts need to believe in themselves, be full of confidence, and that becomes the fuel that drives the rest of the creative engine! If it’s too wishy washy it becomes easy to misinterpret the end goal.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Charlie> I throw ideas down in my notes app immediately after reading the brief - just pure unadulterated ideas, thoughts, feelings, maybe a reference that’s popped into my head. Sometimes they take structure, sometimes it’s character notes or a camera technique. When the right idea has merged with the script, I’ll start writing and stick it on a keynote. I like to zone in and focus at this stage and find that creative flow.
Then it’s visuals time! This takes me a hot minute, as I’ll deep dive into a hundred references, films, imagery, art work - I’ll swim through Vimeo, shotdeck, Pinterest and find things that help visualise what I’m trying to achieve. But it’s a process I really enjoy! Until I don’t win the pitch. And I’ve spent a week researching everything there is to know about a new mop.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Charlie> Oh one hundred percent. Does the brand have a funky little subculture that exists somewhere that we can shine a light on? I wanna find those dudes. I’d actually written a full pitch for a film that the brand had pretty much already made about six years ago. If I didn’t deep dive into their existing work, I’d have never seen it, been hung out to dry for mimicking someone else’s work. Maybe it was buried in my subconscious.
Figuring out the brand's voice, using that to influence the creative or finding ways to tear it apart in a very self aware way is an exciting part of the process!
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Charlie> Are you nice to be around? Do you treat people fairly on set? Are you pushing for all the right things? If so - you are the most important relationship in making an ad! Good creative relationships come and go, some talented people fly past you, but we adapt, we build new relationships across every department and we share our creativity with each other. It makes such a difference to everyone's health when people are rooting for each other in all the best ways.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Charlie> I want to find ways to comment on real, social issues but in a unique way. Grounded sci-fi, fantasy, action, big bright bold visuals - find ways to address real issues, but then flip them on their head. I find I engage much more with a topic if I’m able to enjoy what I’m watching in some respect.
I’ve begun to look at how I make my work more accessible and I’m finding there’s a lot of creative ground to cover here. Working with the Deaf community on a few recent films has led me to look for ways to bridge that gap and ensure it’s accessible for all.
I’d also love to see characters from my life up on screen a bit more. Where’s my West Mids leads?? Where’s my small town British sci-fi adverts? Moving forward, I want to use stories from my hometown to influence the work I create.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Charlie> Luckily, all the problems I create for myself tend to get ironed out during prep! I think half my job is just creating problems (re: ideas) and figuring out how to solve them.
Or power cuts. I’ve had a weird amount of power cuts on set.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Charlie> I guess this depends which way the ideas come from. Sometimes I’ll pitch the ideas, and ultimately the agency is looking to fit the project within their larger campaign. Swimming upstream here is unhelpful. I find it’s better to figure out what the end goal is, try and understand where their heads are at and aim to collaborate in getting to the same place whilst maintaining the initial vision.
I’ve found myself in a few scenarios where there’s unfortunately very little wiggle room. It then becomes important to set my sights on the other creative elements. The performances, the lighting design, the movement, blocking, art direction - there’s plenty of ways to bring work to life.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Charlie> YES. Are you joking? YES. Talent aside, accessibility on set needs addressing in a big way. Opening up mentoring and diverse pathways where there’s a two-way learning process is so important. I’ve learnt a bunch from working with BSL creative consultants, particularly on performance. We had a BSL fluent crew when working with Deaf talent, and that made the environment far more enjoyable for everyone.
I knew absolutely no one in the creative industries growing up, and I still struggle with that a little bit, and I know that I would have loved the opportunity for on-set apprenticeships. London can feel very cliquey. I think that my world in the West Midlands gets overlooked massively, and I’d love to find a way to help with this.
LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time?
Charlie> It’s made me simultaneously scared, grounded and driven. Scared of how quickly everything can disappear. Staying grounded is important as there is a reality out there that can be forgotten about when the pressure we place upon ourselves gets heavy.
And driven because the pandemic brought to light a tonne of incredible filmmakers out there who were making some truly wonderful work with almost nothing. It lit a fire underneath me and just made me want to find ways to push boundaries, create work with impact and figure out new ways to tell stories.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Charlie> Specifically regarding commercials and online content, I’ve flung my widescreen principles into the wind. I still hold onto it with a nice rope and watch it float around, but I now actively think about how the film will work for a variety of mediums. I will go and watch a film in IMAX for three hours, and then spend the same amount of time watching videos on my phone.
We’ve gotta have respect for social formats, as it’s such an easy way to consume media! And if we do it - let’s do it properly. I like to re-frame for social formats, flip the camera vertically, maybe change up the movements and the edits, re-dress and bring in the lights a little (if we have time) and make sure that those frames are looking just as good as their 16x9 brothers.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?
Charlie> Oh I am DYING to shoot some LED volume work. I think there’s a happy marriage of all these new technologies that can create far more intricate and spectacular work that helps people suspend their disbelief. I think with all new technology there has to be a sensitivity with it. A.I however…. it’s a powerful tool, but I think there’s a fine line to tread before the work becomes soul-less and uncreative.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Charlie> Silent World. Deaf-rapper Signkid wrote a rap about his experience during covid as Deaf person. I developed this into a short film and shifted it into the dystopian space. Signkid went through so many issues that just felt like something you’d see in a dystopian film, so I leant into this. I made it into a heightened version of events. The goal was to tell this story without people realising it was based on true events. Finding a new way to tell an important story.
Champion - What Moves You.
Another collaboration with Signkid! Again, this felt like a way to flip something on its head. I knew I wanted to showcase Signkid as one of Champion’s ‘Creators With Purpose’, but a typical documentary felt a little bit stunted somehow. The route I took it felt like more of a celebration of his work whilst creating a pretty special brand collaboration in the process! We came up with a brand new sign for the word ‘Champion’, which the agency loved, leading to a commission for it to feature on a capsule collection of clothing. You could even scan this through your phone via AR tech and watch the film! They even painted a mural from a screen grab in New York! Pretty cool.
So this is a slightly older spot of mine, but I’ve got such a special space for it in my heart. It’s everything I love about filmmaking. We shot this on an absolutely minuscule budget, but everyone came through to create something unique and entertaining. It’s somewhere I’d like to get back to with my work - sprinkling a bit of genre into a relatively commonplace product to create a film that cuts through the noise.
Doritos Ketchup. Right. It’s five minutes long. There are four parts to it. It’s longer than your usual ads. I get it. It’s not 15 seconds of flashy visuals. It IS, however, pure ridiculous comedy with the product at the heart of the story. Doritos and BBDO gave us full creative reign here, and we created this for a Netflix style platform they made specifically for Doritos Ketchup. The result? A sports crime drama mockumentary where the piece to the most scandalous puzzle is triangle shaped and red… or is it??
I love this for its confidence and distinction from typical advertising. It does a terrible job in advertising the product quickly, but an incredible one at remembering it for all the right reasons.
