Earlier in the week Horror Cult Films reviewed the excellent London based horror/ fantasy Okora The Prelude . Since then we’ve exchanged emails with the young and talented directors Lexx James and Lyston Laurence in London to discuss the project, the shoot and what’s next for Okora.
What was the genesis of Okora: The Prelude?
Lyston: It was based and adapted from a full length script that was originally written by myself and Dean Simon. Originally it centred around 4 individuals that represented the 4 elements, though with Power Rangers having done this already myself and Dean took a darker route and began exploring the Seven Deadly Sins.
Lexx: I met Lyston in 2008 and got talking about movies so he sent a rough draft and i was immediately interested. Because of my background in Media – scriptwriting and film production – Lyston suggested I come on board to re-write it with fresh new ideas. We began a third draft further exploring the character Tahani and focusing around her journey, ultimately making her the protagonist.
What kind of horror or fantasy movies have impressed you guys in the past?
Lyston: I really like Constantine. The premise of the story was deep and it explored horror yet can’t really be labelled as one. It had elements from religion, romance and even action/thriller. I’m drawn to these types of multi genre films. I also loved Animatrix a lot. The episodic way they told the individual stories but connected them to the world of The Matrix was interesting. I applaud this type of filmmaking.
Lexx: Growing up i loved Buffy. The premise, execution, humour and the story’s adaptability across the entire series was always a focal point for me. I also loved Donnie Darko and Southland Tales. They were unique, different, confusing yet drew you in and you had no choice but to be interested in the set of characters and plot lines. I am also a massive fan of the Tartan Asia Extreme movies. Movies like Premonition, The Eye and Pulse. I also loved 2046, Dumplings and A Tale of Two Sisters. Asian films are inspiring. They’re terrifying and the stories are well written and the concepts well executed! Okora is a mesh of our inspirations and cinema we are drawn to. I hope the film reflects our love of these types of movies!
Can you tell me about the larger Okora project?
Lexx and Lyston: The feature length is far and beyond The Prelude, which only offers a glimpse into the world of Okora and its characters. There’s so much more to this story. New relationships are formed while others are broken. The story really engages in each characters struggle and we see how they deal with themselves, each other and the apocalyptic circumstance. You get the many answers to what the Prelude questions. We can only hope that one day we get to tell the story of Okora in its entirety.
So what do you consider the role of the ‘prelude’?
Lexx and Lyston: The role of The Prelude is to gain interest in the Okora name while introducing our world and characters. Also for everyone involved it was our first foray into film so we found The Prelude a great way to gain experience.
Coming to such an ambitious project as first time filmmakers, how did you find the shoot?
Lexx and Lyston: Shooting Okora was not an easy process at all. We began filming late 2011 – self funding the scenes with a micro crew. A fundraising campaign was put in place using IndieGoGo as our platform, where we hoped to raise funds to continue with filming. Late April our campaign ended and we managed to raise just over £3000. Every day was a challenge to say the least. We faced different obstacles with locations, availability and, of course, money. All in all with the re-shoots, last minute changes, adjustments and in working with the actor’s schedules the filming process took just under two years in total.
I understand to make this you had to teach yourself computer effects from scratch. How was that?
Lexx: Not easy. I’ve always been pretty handy with a PC, but nothing could of prepared me for it. The title sequences were enjoyable and we played with certain designs and ideas before settling on a more simple look. As for the effects themselves, well thats another story. Most of the sequences I designed were the second, third or even fourth design idea. I used Element 3D for the galaxy earth shots and Trapcode Particular and Form for particle, smoke and sun-rays. I researched different techniques for weeks. One point I started working with Vue (used for Avatar’s landscape shots) but never got close to a finished sequence. Disappointing given what we could have achieved, but realistic given the time that had already been invested in the project. Holding down a job while editing was a nightmare.
Did you ever consider scaling your vision back?
Lexx and Lyston: There were plenty moments we thought we may have bit off more than we could chew. In fact, we completely rearranged a scene because it required a lot of attention, extras and all our cast. Believe it or not, the prelude is a scaled down version of what we had in mind. We feel, what we have now is enough to interest people while keeping everything modest. Further scaling down would of seriously affected certain scenes while jeopardising the world that we wanted to create.
Along the way were there any points you thought it wouldn’t get finished?
Lyston: I stick to whatever I throw myself into. This project has been my life for the past 3 years and I was so passionate about telling this story so for me, it never occurred to me that it wouldn’t happen. Maybe at times I felt like giving up, but I knew somehow this film would finish. If one of us fell short of inspiration, another would motivate and keep us focussed on the job. It’s the bond, passion and drive that kept us moving forward.
Lexx: Once we started we knew we could always back out if we felt it got too demanding. But that changed once the fundraising campaign went live. We weren’t just doing it for ourselves then, but also the generous fundraisers. It added a pressure but kept us motivated as we refused to disappoint. After shooting we were forced to dub the entire film. Literally every sound was sourced out, recorded or taken from our original footage. At this point we felt majorly pressured and almost lacking in hope of the project getting finished. Needless to say, our actors were superb and professional enough to dedicate more time in replacing every word, exactly how it appeared in the original recording and a lot of them if not all were more than willing to jump back into the roles and deliver.
What do you want to do next with Okora?
Lexx and Lyston: Hopefully a lot. We’re planning on filming a pilot episode and hopefully establish some kind of deal for a TV series. We feel this would be the best plan of action and far more reachable than a full length feature. The prelude was devised in a way to act as a clever marketing tool, but friendly enough for audiences to follow. We feel its an interesting way to secure backing from a TV distributor whilst proving we’re not only film makers but story tellers and can deliver a different yet familiar, interesting yet confusing, thought provoking and mysterious conceptual piece of work. We’re excited to see how far we can go.
Thanks very much to both you guys for your time.
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