Interview with Luke Collins, New Creative

"I think with really short films you need to give yourself some narrative toys to play with, so you can quickly change things for the audience without a loads of exposition."

Interview with Luke Collins, New Creative

Please introduce yourself and the film

Hi! My name is Luke Collins, and I am a filmmaker based in Birmingham. I was Writer, Director and Cinematographer for Swiped, which is a short comedy about modern online dating. 

What was the creative process behind Swiped? 

Swiped is an idea I've been playing with for a few years, I wanted to make something around online dating but thought it needed a way to visualise the experience without asking audiences to read a load of texts on screen. I started to think about what it could look like if these online dating exchanges took place in real life, and placing Swiped in a kind of virtual reality gave me license to do that. I think with really short films you need to give yourself some narrative toys to play with, so you can quickly change things for the audience without a loads of exposition. The virtual reality setting gave us just that, it seems like a normal date but we have a few surprises up our sleeve for the audience! Once I had the concept I had to decide what the overall message was going to be, and what I wanted to say about online dating. This is where the idea for the closing sequence to the film came from.  

Do you think virtual reality is the next place for dating to go?

I think as VR tech becomes more readily available it won't be long before big dating app developers explore it to try and create new and exciting experiences for users, I think it will likely take time for audiences to adapt though. In the next decade as we see generations who grow up with VR and alternative forms of media, then we’ll see more use of the tech. I think current generations have been brought up on screens and may take some convincing to make the switch.

How has online dating changed the dating landscape?

I think as the internet has become part of daily life people are more connected than ever before, and dating has changed as an extension of that. One of the issues Swiped explores is online dating now gives us, or at least the illusion of, unlimited choice. The thought that maybe there’s someone better a few swipes away.  

Do you think online dating creates its problems or just makes them easier?

I think online dating apps, as well as most apps, are just vying for our attention. If everyone who logged onto a dating app found love straight away they would have no users and therefore no money! Apps are trying to be as addictive as possible, so we sink our time and attention into them. So yes they create problems for the user, but they also pretend to have the answers. Having said that, I don’t think I’m particularly against online dating! I know many happy couples who met online. I just think the way some people use them is quite interesting, and hopefully audiences find Swiped to be a darkly funny look at that behaviour.

Where can people find you online?

I’m on Instagram @lukecollins_DP and Twitter @Luke_C. Website is also www.ljcollins.co.uk.


Read our review of Swiped here

New Creatives is a talent development scheme supported by Arts Council England and BBC Arts, delivered in the Midlands by Rural Media. Check out our New Creatives coverage in the New Creatives Voicebox.

Header Image Credit: Provided

Author

Oluwatayo Adewole

Oluwatayo Adewole Contributor

Hey there! I'm a wordy-type who's into all kinds of stuff, but especially: film, comics, theatre and trying to make the world a better place

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