An independent filmmaker and a member of the Film Annex community, Ben Warner talks about how he started filmmaking and his new projects.

QUESTION: How did you start filmmaking and what role did digital technology play in your filmmaking career?

ANSWER: I started my filmmaking journey in 1997. I had always wanted to make a film so I cajoled a friend of mine in to filming a car chase which turned out to be my first short film in 1999, "Territory". It was an eye-opening experience, largely because I had no idea what I was doing and was making it up/learning as I went along. I bought an 8mm video camera with my first pay cheque and started filming! I kept my friend interested because he was a car nut so the thought of burning around in two cars for such a long time for the cameras appealed to him! It was a great experience and led me to make eight more films with updated digital cameras (six short films, three features in total). The process of making these films led me to not only have experiences in making films, but also in the marketing and publicity angles as I was interviewed in both print and television to help market the films. It also took me overseas to attend markets such as the Cannes Film Festival and the American Film Market. All of these experiences proved to be my film school.

Without digital technology, I would have either have had to go to film school or gotten funding from a traditional source (the latter is extremely difficult, especially if you haven't made any films). I really wanted to do things practically in a DYI type environment so digital technology, as it became so affordable in the late 90's, provided me with an opportunity to not only learn how to make films, but to do it in an environment that didn't have the safety net of a film school. As a result, I felt I learnt much faster because any mistakes would prove costly. I really do owe a debt to the technology because it provided an accessible platform for me to express my own ideas and visions and still produce a professional result.


QUESTION: Can you tell us a little bit about your new production company, Small Waves, and your ideas about future projects?

ANSWER: Small Wave Films (www.smallwavefilms.com) is a new venture for me, specifically designed to take advantage of the new mediums of the internet and portable devices. It's an off-shoot of my main production company Digicosm which is still primarily concerned with producing features for cinema and television.

I had experimented with internet distribution with the web site, www.thetrialoffilm.com. The site broadcasts my last two short films and behind the scenes footage and material; but it also has content from other filmmakers including short films, docos, music videos and my own video interviews with film practitioners from around the world. This web site showed me the potential for the internet as a medium for short content.

I met with Francesco from Film Annex last year and he convinced me that his web site and set up were very good. I felt there was an opportunity to make short content for this medium and I decided to set up "Small Wave Films" to produce content for the internet and portable devices. We have a number of projects in development, although the first few projects are likely to be short dramas. Later, we're looking to expand in to documentaries, music videos and short episode tv-style series. The first official production is titled, "Samaritan" and is concerned with a man dealing with the tragic consequences of trying to help out a stranger.

It's all very exciting and I can't wait to start, especially as I now have high definition equipment at my disposal! It'll be great to get in to short films again as I had stopped making them due to the lack of avenues to get them seen. Only film festivals were an option and as a lot of filmmakers know, festivals can be hit and miss. But this new medium of the internet and portable devices suddenly opens a whole realm of possibilities for short content and knowing that there is an outlet for the work has spurred me on to produce.

For Ben Warner's profile, please visit www.filmannex.com/Digicosm

Interview by Eren Gulfidan