Filmmaker Focus - Sheffield Inspires
- Jordan Carroll
- May 27
- 3 min read
There’s something really wholesome about making films for the place you call home. So when Marketing Sheffield asked me to come on board for their latest campagn, Sheffield Inspires, I didn’t have to think twice .
It was a real privilege to be part of a piece that celebrates what 's great about the place!
At the heart of the film is a powerful poem by the brilliant Sile Sibanda, whose words capture the pride and creativity that run through Sheffield. From Health Tech, Modern Manufacturing, Craft Beer, The Home of Football, Underground Music, and not forgetting the Peak Distrcit National Park.
Mark Mobbs at Marketing Sheffield led with a clear creative vision from the off, and it was a joy to help bring it to life through cinematography, editing, and direction. Always a pleasure working with someone who’s as passionate about this city as I am.
We had a bout 4 weeks to make this film from pre-production to post and it was a bit of a mad dash. But everything came together as the council helped open doors to locations in the city that would have otherwise been closed.
Our poet came on board only abut a week and a half before shooting with the dates already pencilled (we had a window that fell perfectly for post before the video launch). Thankfully she found cover from her usual job and it all lined up. Sile managed to get us a first draft of the poem less than a week later, with us still finalising it up till the shooting days. We even re-hashed it on the the fly, based off performance and pacing.
Making a film in such a tight time frame definitely demands a high stress threshold. And hoping everything fell into place in prep was pushing that limit. However with all our hurdles we kept our cool and just marched ahead like it would all be fine.
When it came to shooting, the weather really lucked out for us as we had beautiful sunshine for both days, which was a blessing and a curse. Obviously you want your locations to pop, but we also had to double ND the camera to help expose our image, and some locations were just too bright with extreme shadows too. So we had to angle shots in our favour and keep an eye on the sun's path with regards to the schedule.
We shot at 8 locations across 2 days, 4 each day, which was a bit of a blessing. Having also planned the schedule meant I had given myself plenty of leeway to shoot too. Something that is the lacking on a lot of productions I'm on as a DoP.
Each location had 2 hours where we only needed to capture roughly 20 seconds of performance in a one-take style shot. With some additional b-roll and drone shots to book end it.
This shooting style helped alleviate some stress as our shot list was very small, but it also meant we needed to get it right. I wanted the camera work to be perfect, but also the sound and performance had to be perfect too. It all needed to line up... So with background noises, forgotten lines and anything else you can imagine getting in the way, it meant we filled our alloted time easily with many, many takes!
In the end we got to stand on the roof on the city's most icon building block over looking the city, accessed other amazing spaces, like factories and rave spaces, with a lot of freedom. Film really does open doors!
Overall I'm really happy with the results of the final film and I think it's a very unique way to showcase a city.
Let me know if you'd like to know more about the process.
///
For the camera geeks, I shot on the Sony Fx6 w/ DZO Vespid lenses on a Ronin gimbal in a Tilta ring, with Easy Rig mini max to support. This meant that focus had to be pulled remotely by the talented Ben McFarlane.
Jordan Carroll is a freelance Filmmaker & Videograaf / Videographer working across Amsterdam & Sheffield. Filmmaker Focus - Sheffield Inspires
Comments