Great news, my latest film ‘Living with Someone’ was featured in the paper again. This time in the Lynn News, the article can be viewed on the following link as well as the news paper.
Filmmaker pushes boundaries of imagination with budget-free film in King’s Lynn
A former student of Lynn’s College of West Anglia has finally achieved his goal of filming his latest project on a non-existent budget across Lynn and South Lincolnshire.
Mark Kuczewski, 28, who now works as a freelance camera operator and filmmaker, has now released his latest film and documentary, Living With Someone.
He said: “I have wanted to shoot a film locally for a long time now and this felt like the prefect opportunity. I also used a very talented selection of actors, all local.”
It tells the story of a girl, Alice, who has an imaginary boyfriend. Growing up with her grandparents, Alice dreams of being a singer while working as a projectionist in her local cinema. Unlike most girls her age, Alice has an imaginary boyfriend – but how far can her imagination stretch?
The film was shot using no money other than fuel to get to each location, which included Lynn town centre and the Majestic Cinema as well as areas in Long Sutton, Spalding and Bourne Woods in South Lincolnshire.
Natalie Pailing, who has just returned from Oxford School of Drama, plays the lead. Mark said: “Natalie Pailing is actually trained in musical theatre and has a stunning voice.” While Charlotte Gernert, part-owner of the Act II theatre group, plays the psychiatrist, alongside John Pailing who also features.
Mark said: “Film making for a lot of people is difficult because you rarely have everything you wish you had available to you. In an ideal world I would have a huge budget and many people to help, but in reality I didn’t. So I wanted to see what I could achieve without a budget and without lots of people.
“There is no lighting equipment used throughout the film and it was all lit with light from within the location. I used mirrors on occasion to bounce natural light. This was not ideal and trust me this was not done out of laziness.
“I think every film I make I should try to learn something new. I learned a great deal – how far I could push my camera in natural light and I learned that you can use lights to make a scene look good without having to break the bank. You just need to think logically and be willing to experiment.”
Mark left the college in 2007 with a BTEC in Media Production to go on to study at Staffordshire University where he achieved a First Class Honours in Film Production.
After living in London for a year to gain contacts and experience in the industry, he decided to move back to the area.
He said: “I graduated in 2010 and since then I have been actively working in many different areas of the media industry in a variety of roles.
“I managed to get some time assisting camera in the studio shoot for the feature film Dreams of a Life. This was incredibly beneficial for me as I got to work closely and assist the cinematographer, Lynda Hall.
“Whilst working I have also produced my own short films which have gone on to have success in the festival circuit but also online. My short film, Playground, can be seen on the BBC film network and has reached over 24,000 views.
Mark added: “I am incredibly pleased with this latest film, my last short cost me around £600 and premiered on the online platform, film annex, a few months back. It’s called Falling and there was a crew of around 11 people on that. After you have watched this, go and give it a watch even just for comparison.
“I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did making it.”
