DOMINIC
HAILSTONE
UK
based
Dominic
Hailstone’s
incredibly
vivid
short
movie
The
Eel
was
selected
for
screening
at
the
2006
S.A.
HorrorFest,
and
won
the
Best
Foreign
category.
Shadow
Realm
slithered
its
Dozen
Questions
over
to
him
…
1.
What
do
you
do
when
you’re
not
making
visually
stunning
short
movies
like
The
Eel?
Ho
ho
thanks.
I'm
pretty
much
always
working
on
something
but
I
enjoy
walking,
listening
to
music
and
playing
video
games
when
I'm
not.
2.
Have
you
made
any
other
shorts
or
features?
I
made
a
short
called
'Logboy
goes
Walkies'
in
2001.
I'm
currently
working
on
a
feature
film.
3.
What
was
your
motivation
/
impetus
/
inspiration
behind
The
Eel?
It
arose
from
hearing
the
music
that
Robert
Clunne
wrote;
as
soon
as
I
heard
it
I
saw
the
film
in
my
head.
I
had
to
change
it
quite
a
lot
really,
but
I
tried
to
stay
true
to
the
inspiration
along
the
way.
4.
How
has
the
movie
been
accepted?
Any
awards
thus
far?
No
awards
but
good
reviews,
people
seem
to
like
it
but
have
trouble
recommending
it
to
others
since
they
think
it's
a
bit
strange.
If
it
wasn't
for
Onedotzero
and
Frightfest
UK
nobody
would
have
known
it
was
there!
5.
What
format
was
it
shot
on
/
what
FX
packages
did
you
use?
It
was
shot
on
a
basic
1
chip
DV
camera
and
I
used
Afterfx
for
post.
6.
What
was
your
budget?
£300
7.
Tell
us
a
bit
about
the
pre-production
/
shooting
/
post-production
process.
It
was
shot
in
my
bedroom
so
the
process
was
basically
six
months
of:
i)
Wake
up,
ii)
Storyboard,
iii)
Shoot
the
board
iv)
Do
a
rough
comp
in
AFX
to
see
if
it
works
(if
it
doesn't,
go
back
to
the
storyboard)
v)
Finish
shot
to
80
percent.
vi)
Go
on
to
next
shot.
vii)
Fall
asleep.
So
all
the
work
was
happening
simultaneously.
Each
shot
had
a
massive
knock
on
effect
on
those
next
to
it
and
I
filmed
and
roughly
completed
almost
a
third
more
fx
shots
than
you
see
in
the
film.
Once
I
was
happy
with
the
basic
edit
I
spent
the
rest
of
the
time
polishing
everything
until
it
was
finished.
All
the
fx
work
was
done
in
camera
using
very
basic
puppets
made
from
foam,
tape,
string
and
bamboo
and
then
composited
together
using
After
Effects.
There's
nothing
in
the
film
that
couldn't
have
been
done
in
the
past
photochemically
by
some
maniac
with
a
bluescreen.
I
can't
do
CG
properly
so
it
was
the
only
way.
8.
What
is
your
association
with
Cradle
Of
Fear
director
Alex
Chandon?
I
did
effects
for
some
of
his
films
years
ago:
Drillbit,
Pervirella
etc.
and
we've
been
friends
ever
since.
9.
How
does
music
influence
your
visual
style?
Music
is
pretty
much
the
most
important
influence
I
have.
I'm
constantly
listening
to
music,
I
couldn't
really
function
properly
without
it.
10.
Your
favourite
movies
/
directors
/
bands.
Movies:
Harold
and
Maude,
Jaws,
The
Thing,
Made
in
Britain,
Come
and
See,
Texas
Chainsaw
Massacre.
Directors:
Stanley
Kubrick,
Alan
Clarke,
Steven
Spielberg,
Hal
Ashby,
David
Lynch,
David
Cronenberg.
Bands:
The
Melvins,
Meshuggah,
Ween,
Tool,
Black
Sabbath.
11.
Do
you
think
there
is
a
niche
for
directors
with
dark,
intense
visions
who
can
make
a
living
bringing
their
creations
to
the
big
(or
small)
screen
without
having
to
shoot
crappy
washing
powder
ads
on
the
side
to
pay
rent,
or
have
their
ideas
pillaged
and
watered
down
by
commercial
segments
of
the
industry?
The
thing
about
advertising
executives
is
that
arguing
with
them
just
brings
more
of
them
into
the
room,
telling
them
nice
things
causes
them
to
retreat.
That's
how
they
operate
and
that's
why
most
of
what
they
produce
is
worthless
-
These
people
are
so
annoying
that
most
people
just
want
them
out
of
their
lives
and
will
eventually
agree
to
absolutely
anything
just
to
get
them
to
disappear.
There's
certainly
a
'dark'
niche
there
to
work
in
but
like
any
niche
you
have
to
work
a
lot
harder
than
in
the
mainstream.
You
have
to
be
prepared
to
do
multiple
jobs
and
that's
pretty
tough
for
most
people,
the
niche
just
has
less
advertising
executives
living
in
it
so
it
smells
better.
As
so
far
as
having
your
ideas
pillaged:
-
Anybody
who
is
good
at
anything
will
have
it
happen
to
them
whether
they
like
it
or
not
so
it's
best
just
to
get
used
to
it.
A
friend
of
mine
put
it
well
-
"It's
the
worst
compliment
you'll
ever
get".
12.
How
do
you
feel
about
the
recent
spate
of
Hollywood
remakes
of
old
Horror
/
Chiller
movies?
I
don't
really
have
a
problem
with
them
if
they
improve
or
change
the
formula
somehow
ie:
Invasion
of
the
Body
Snatchers,
The
Thing
etc.
It's
when
they
follow
the
same
plotline
and
still
can't
improve
on
it
like
The
Omen
or
Hills
Have
Eyes
that
it
scares
me.
I
wonder
what
process
happened
on
the
way
to
the
screen;
they
had
a
working
blueprint
and
they
still
fucked
it
up!
That's
pretty
terrifying
I
reckon.
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