HERZOG AND THE MONSTERS Directed By Lesley Barnes

Shane: Tell us about your film?

Lesley: It is a short animation, called Herzog and the Monsters, about a little boy who loves books.

S: How did you come up with the idea for the film?

L: It was basically inspired by all the picture books I remember as a child (Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak was a big inspiration!). I liked the way that the words and images work together in a picture book to tell the story and I wanted to recreate this in a film with music and movement, as well as, words and images.

S: Was this a school project?

L: Yes, this was my graduation film from the Glasgow School of Art.

S: How did you find your cast? 

L: Searched my head! (the film is animated)

S: How long did the film take?  (From conception to final edit)

L: It took about nine months.

S: What was the most difficult part of the shoot for you?

L: Keeping motivated in the middle of boring scenes……..

S:Tell us about the films festival experience so far?

L: Nice talking to other film makers and seeing other great work, which in turn gives you inspiration and drive to make other things!

S: What has been your most interesting Q&A so far?  What was your favorite question?  How was the dialogue afterwards?

L: My favourite question and answer session was at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival….all the children asked quite specific questions which required a lot of thought to answer! I don’t think children are afraid of saying what they think, so you can usually tell what they think of your film! My fav question was when one of the children asked me how I felt when I was making the film….I answered ‘ tired!’

S: What films or filmmakers inspire you?

L: Werner Herzog, Lotte Reiniger, Terry Gillingham, and Saul Bass designed title sequences! One of my favourite animations is called Hedgehog in the Fog by animator Yuri Norstein  (you can see it on YouTube so check it out!)

S: What is next for you?

L: I have just joined Picasso Pictures (http://www.picassopictures.com) in London as a commercials director, but I would love to make another short film!

S: If asked to give one piece of advice to a new filmmaker making their first short film… What would it be?

L: This is your chance to be free to do exactly what you want….. so don’t waste it!