Truth & Illusion

Project: Brand documentary
Role: DP/Director
Producer: Lucy Ridges
Client: Ilford Photo
Format: Online #MyFilmStories channel
Camera: Red Scarlet-W + Cooke Panchro I Classics
Lighting: x3 Crew - Tungsten, Astera, LED COB & HMI

Analogue photography has always been a personal passion, so when Lucy and ILFORD approached me to shoot a film for the #MyFilmStory series, it felt like the perfect opportunity to blend documentary storytelling with a more cinematic, stylised approach.

The film explores Lucy’s artistic process and her unique way of distorting reality—something we mirrored visually throughout the piece. We embraced opportunities to shoot through reflective surfaces and objects, leaning into unusual angles and layered compositions that echoed her creative philosophy.

Behind the Scenes

Cinematically, the approach was kept intentionally restrained. Most of the film was shot using a tripod and dolly, with occasional handheld moments to introduce a sense of intimacy. The aim was to let the visuals breathe, allowing the audience to connect with Lucy’s world without overstating the style.

Lighting was designed to feel natural, though we occasionally pushed beyond what reality might allow to serve the mood. Each location dictated its own approach: from large HMIs and small tungsten gem balls, to fully practical setups. The darkroom scene, for example, was lit entirely with Astera tubes, giving us full creative control within the constraints of the space.

The Cooke Panchro lenses were the perfect choice for this film. Their subtle vintage characteristics suited the tone beautifully—offering a soft, organic texture that matched the tactile nature of Lucy’s analogue process. When shooting through the ground glass of a Mamiya, the Panchros rendered a delicate, almost imperfect beauty. For additional close-ups, we used Arri diopters, which introduced a subtle and pleasing distortion that mirrored Lucy’s thematic interest in altered perception.

The underwater sequence, captured in the Lake District, required a more compact camera setup. We paired a smaller camera body with a 35mm Canon vintage stills lens that could fit within the housing. Shot at 100fps with a wider shutter angle and polariser, the footage brought a dreamlike quality to the final act of the film.