Cut Culture Vol. 36
Cut Culture is back for 2025… and it’s had a glow up. Speaking of things that are the ‘same, but different’, we’re taking you behind the scenes of our recent campaign for schuh (plus an exclusive convo with the director/photographer who brought it to life). All that, plus a long look at a short film and an exploration of sport’s new streaming frontier. Yee-hah.
EDITOR’S PICK
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO…
The Golden Globes took place at the start of the month to celebrate the very finest work and talent the American film and TV industry had to offer in 2024 – but the main talking point seemed to be whether Zendaya may or may not be engaged to Spiderman. Sigh. With these sorts of glitzy events, the allure of celebrity tends to suck all the oxygen out of the room, with headlines inevitably revolving around the household names and big budget blockbusters. As a result, some of the brightest talent may slip under the radar. But not around here…
Oscar nominees have now been announced. Naturally, you’ve got your Wickeds, your Brutalists, your Chalamets and so on - but we figured enough people are talking about them. So, we’re turning the spotlight on an oft-overlooked treasure trove of rising talent: the short film category.
Standouts in this year’s selection include a black and white Venetian prison drama, a moving picture about child labour in India, and an unlikely pairing of the unhoused and the unsighted. However, the nominee that really caught our eye was ‘I’m not a Robot’, a lo-fi sci-fi masterpiece.
Following multiple failed Captcha tests, music producer Lara starts to wonder… could she be a robot? The subject matter is inherently timely, but the film explores timeless themes around humanity, identity, life and death. This juxtaposition is also expressed aesthetically, having been shot on 35mm (a first for writer and director Victoria Warmerdam). This creates a colour palette overflowing with sumptuous, warm browns and reds that fly in the face of the typical sci-fi genre tropes. Warmerdam explains this choice, “Regarding the cinematography, my DP Martijn van Broekhuizen and I drew inspiration from the eerie atmosphere of the psychological thriller series Homecoming). While I’m not a robot is a dark comedy, I wanted the cinematography to serve the drama instead of the comedy.”
Technically simple, conceptually complex, this is the embodiment of what a great short film should be: a great idea, executed really f*cking well. While shorts may not garner the same mass attention of some of the better-known films, stars and directors, that doesn’t mean the industry isn’t taking notice. The three pictures we mentioned earlier all have big names attached in Zoe Saldana, Mindy Kaling and Colin Farrel respectively. More importantly, ‘I’m Not a Robot’ has already been picked up by Loki EP Eric Martin for a feature-length adaptation – but still with Warmerdam at the helm to bring her vision to life on a bigger stage. Let this serve as a reminder that amidst the sea of sterile sequels and superhero sameness, there’s still no substitute for good, old-fashioned, raw storytelling talent. Well, at least not until the robots catch up.
PRODUCTION NOTES
SAME GAME, NEW RULES: SPORT’S STREAMING ERA
With an estimated 108 million live viewers globally, Jake Paul Vs. Mike Tyson was the most-streamed sporting event ever - and all to watch an ex-Disney Channel influencer beat up a soon-to-be sexagenarian. Why? Availability.
The event represented Netflix’s first foray into live sports. To quote the great philosopher Kevin Costner, “Build it, and they will come”. Netflix already built it. The event was right there on every subscriber’s homepage. Nobody was really interested, the quality was poor, yet everyone still watched - it’s like the sporting equivalent of the Gavin and Stacey Christmas finale.
Just imagine if this model and the marketing military-industrial complex behind it were applied to genuine elite athletic contests. Actually, you don’t have to imagine. On Christmas Day Netflix broadcasted two NFL games (plus a Beyoncé performance, for good measure) to millions of fans. They’ve also now secured the rights to the WWE and the next two Women’s World Cups.
It isn’t just Netflix; Prime, Disney and Apple are also making a play for live sports. We happen to have some inside intel about a certain unnamed streaming platform acquiring the rights to a sport which shall also remain nameless – that feels just about vague enough to avoid us getting in trouble. Let’s just say it’s going to be a real touchdown… or homerun… or slam-dunk. Plus, with Dana White now on the board of Meta, what are the chances we might see a UFC event live streamed on Facebook in the near future?
This shift is already shaking up the production world. With new platforms, comes greater investment. And with greater investment, comes higher standards. To differentiate themselves from the old guard, streaming services are already starting to utilise nascent technology like 4K, augmented/virtual reality, and 360-degree cameras to create a more immersive experience. And they’re not just purchasing broadcasting rights; they’re also funding the creation of supporting content, from BTS footage to interactive features to documentaries. Think ‘Drive to Survive’, ‘All or Nothing’, ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ et al – the last of which actually saw our mate Joby get nominated for an Emmy. Add to this a greater focus on digital-first formats, and the result is a wealth of new opportunities for innovation amongst creators, agencies, brand partners and production studios alike. Welcome to the new frontier.
IN CONVERSATION: RICKY GIBB
Meet Ricky, the director behind our schuh campaign. And while you’re here… meet Ricky, the photographer behind our schuh campaign (yes, those are both the same person).
HSF: What do you do?
Ricky: I’m a writer and director… and photographer.
HSF: How did you break into the industry?
Ricky: I began working in live music as a photographer and a videographer capturing DJs and artists way back when in my hometown of Aberdeen. Then when I moved to London I started working with a company booking some of the biggest artists in the world; Drake, Young Thug, Post Malone, Chance the Rapper etc. I’d be drafted in to capture the event and make these live, energetic documentaries of these sold-out, sweaty hip-hop gigs. It offered me a chance to work with the biggest talent in the world… but in quite a reactive way; getting thrown into the fire and making something happen. I found this exhilarating at the time but knew I wanted to be steering the creative process more.
HSF: How would you describe your style as a creative?
Ricky: I like awkward humour, I like surrealness. My work is always very character-lead. I end up writing love stories most of the time. I think my visual style is in a state of change, but I’m drawn to bold static frames just now. My directing style on set is pretty hands on and energetic. I like to be heavily interactive with my casts whilst directing. It’s a way of working that feels right for me, and I think it fosters a playfulness and willingness on the day that comes through onscreen.
HSF: What inspires you?
Ricky: That’s a hard question to answer in an unpretentious way.
HSF: Feel free to answer it in a pretentious way.
Ricky: I think I’m inspired by creating things that I would love to see. I know I’m onto something that’s true to my tastes if I’m cracking up whilst writing it. That’s when I believe that idea should happen. That inspires me to keep going. That feeling when you get to realise something inside yourself and see that come to fruition and be like ‘that makes me feel something’… and hopefully it makes other people feel things. That’s justification enough: just to be creating things, and through the creative process, you get to learn something about yourself.
HSF: What did you enjoy most about working on the schuh campaign with us?
Ricky: Creatively it was really up my street with regards to marrying something heavily stylised with something that had a nod to odd humour. For myself to take the lead on directing the TVCs as well as shooting stills, it was also a great opportunity to really push my creative capacity, and explore what was achievable in the timeframe. And everyone was amazing. It was just fun. Great cast, great crew. The whole campaign doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s not too moody or London-centric, so to create something that hopefully connects with people nationwide was really cool.
HSF: Is AI a production friend or foe?
Ricky: I think production-wise it can be a friend for sure. There are ways and means of using it that can make laborious processes more efficient. But there are obviously elements of the creative process that I think it’s important remain human. I don’t think you can imitate and replace human taste and ability to react and create from a place of lived experience.
HSF: And lastly, what’s the one thing we’re not talking about but should be?
Ricky: Better accommodating neurodiversity on set. Although there is more of an awareness now of how neurodiversity presents, there is still a lot of work to be done when understanding how those who struggle from it can be supported throughout the production process. It’s a superpower really. And when those who are neurodiverse receive the support and understanding they really need, just stand back and watch them shine.
HSF: Lovely stuff, cheers Ricky.
Ricky: No worries.
KEEP IT REAL
From the florist to the laundrette to the chicken shop… all in a day’s work.
CAMPAIGN: SCHUH
The same Schuh we all know and love… but same looks different these days.
That’s how the sausage is made – and here’s the sausage. We’re going to abandon this rather unfortunate metaphor now.
As the more astute of you may have gathered from the reel above, we recently had the pleasure of producing the brand campaign that relaunched and redefined schuh for a new type of shopper: turning up with confidence, originality and a clear point of view for those who do the same.
We shot the campaign over 2 days, starting in a location house in Kilburn. Don’t get us wrong, it was a lovely house, but it probably wasn’t sufficiently capacious to be invaded by a whole crew. Fortunately, the bloke across the road offered up his own home to be used for catering, which he definitely didn’t regret once he saw 40 people tucking into a hotpot in his front room.
From there we spilled out into a florist, a laundrette, a chicken shop, a park and even interrupted a tennis lesson - again, none of this was as obnoxious as it sounds - to capture a big, bold and, dare we say, beautiful campaign that represents the start of a new era for schuh - celebrating the non-conformists, blurring the ordinary with unordinary, and standing with those bold enough to stand for something.
