Trailblazing Director Ed Blum on the Filmmaking process

Writer, Producer and Film Director Ed Blum addressed an audience at Starcom MediaVest Group today during the agency’s regular Inspiring Guest Speaker sessions. Hosted by DCM, Ed’s talk looked back on his inspiring career across TV, documentary making and now filmmaking, including an insight into how independent films make it on to the big screen.

Ed’s first film Scenes of a Sexual Nature – a film about love, sex and the need for long walks – attracted a stellar cast including Tom Hardy and Ewan MacGregor on a budget of only £200,000. The film secured a nationwide cinema release in the UK and has since been sold around the world. The film is still finding new audiences with a distribution deal for France secured in May 2013. Variety have called Ed and his team’s achievement “a spectacular feat”.

Discussing his success with the film, Ed said: “I didn’t know the rules so breaking the rules helped me get the feature made. He continued: “If you are innovative and entrepreneurial you can retain artistic freedom. My aim is to be a commercial auteur and retain my distinctive voice.”

Ed went on to talk about his next project currently in development – The Laughter Clinic. As part of the development process he has looked into crowdfunding and innovative marketing techniques, particularly harnessing the power of social media. He explained: “Through social media you now have the possibility of building your fan-base before your film is even released.”

Responding to a question from the audience about the enduring appeal of long-form content, Ed said that technology was actually making long-form content more accessible for a new generation of filmmakers interested in storytelling. In an age where media is increasingly fragmented and attention spans are under pressure, Ed maintained that long-form content, particularly in the cinema environment is more powerful than ever.

He concluded: “At the cinema people share that collective desire to watch something. It’s a unique event with no other distractions.”

Keep an eye out for Ed’s next project, The Laughter Clinic, which is due to start filming next year.