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Aaran Mckenzie

@aaranwss

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Bassist of While She Sleeps 🎸
Director/ DoP/ Screenwriter @aaranmckenziefilms 🎥
𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝! 👇👇👇

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Independent films like Afterglow only exist because people choose to believe in them.

Right now, we’re 27% funded with 20 days left. And our Indiegogo is all or nothing. If we don’t reach our goal, we don’t receive any of the funds raised.

So if you believe in independent film, please help us get Afterglow over the line. by @aaranwss

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a month ago

Independent films have always existed because people decided they wanted something different.

That’s exactly what we’re doing with Afterglow.

A completely original feature film, built from the ground up by an incredible cast and crew who believe in telling human stories.

If you’ve ever wanted to see more original films get made, I’d love for you to join us.

Link in bio by @aaranwss

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2 months ago

Small film, big heart. Grateful to @soifilmfestival for the Rising Spirit Award, and to @curiosityjunction_ for standing with me on this one! taken in Sheffield by @aaranwss

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a year ago

Thank you @soifilmfestival for your continued support and for having After Glow (the short film) open up your weekend full of amazing films by amazing filmmakers.

A festival run by people who truly care about the art of independent cinema.

Now back to shooting Afterglow the feature film in the morning 🫶🏻🎬 by @aaranwss

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6 days ago

A huge thank you to everyone who backed Afterglow through our Indiegogo campaign.

We didn’t hit the target, which means the campaign has now closed and all contributions will be returned to our backers. Obviously, that wasn’t the outcome we were hoping for. But it absolutely isn’t the end of the film.

Afterglow is already well into production. We’ve shot a significant portion of the film, we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve made so far, and we’re committed to seeing it through to the finish line.

A number of people have already asked if there’s another way they can contribute, so we’ve now set up an ongoing GoFundMe for anyone who would still like to support the production. There’s no deadline or all-or-nothing target this time. Anything raised will go directly towards paying our amazing cast and crew.

If you backed us through Indiegogo, thank you. Genuinely. Seeing so many people support this film meant a lot to us, regardless of how the campaign ultimately ended.

The GoFundMe is now live and the link is in our bio.

Afterglow is still happening. We’ve just had to take a slightly different route to get there.

Thank you for sticking with us. 🎬 by @aaranwss

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9 days ago

There’s a few days left for us to reach our crowdfunding goal.

Is it a long shot? Absolutely.

But we’ve come this far by doing things that probably seemed impossible in the first place.

So f**k it. Let’s see if we can do the impossible one more time.

Crowdfunder link in bio. 🎬 by @aaranwss

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14 days ago

Two weeks left.

We’ve already come a long way with Afterglow, and the support behind this film has helped us keep pushing it forward independently.

Now we’re into the final two weeks of our crowdfunding campaign.

Every contribution goes directly towards getting the remaining production over the line. Cast, crew, locations and everything needed to finish the film properly.

If you’ve been following Afterglow and want to help us make it happen, now is the time.

And if you can’t contribute, sharing the campaign with someone who might connect with the film genuinely helps.

14 days. One final push. Let’s see how far we can take this. by @aaranwss

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25 days ago

1. I wrote Afterglow to be achievable. A contained story, manageable cast, minimal extras and locations I knew we could realistically access. Even the school was somewhere I’d shot before and knew we could afford.

2. We worked out what the film would cost to make independently, keeping the production lean while still paying people and putting as much of the budget on screen as possible.

3. I found the actors I wanted to work with and built the cast as we went. Shooting in blocks meant we could bring new characters and actors onboard when their part of the story was approaching.

4. Rather than waiting until the entire budget existed, we split the film into production blocks. Raise the money, prep the block, shoot it, then move onto the next one. That decision is a huge reason Afterglow exists.

5. Once we started shooting, everything changed. Afterglow stopped being a script and became something tangible. We suddenly had performances, footage and a visual language to build upon.

6. Shooting this way also lets me edit as we go. I can see what’s working, learn from the performances and rewrite upcoming scenes when I know I can make them better.

7. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve almost quit completely a handful of times, plans have fallen through and money disappears frighteningly quickly. I’ve been directing and producing. Now I’ve learnt that solving whatever problem lands in front of me that day is essential to being dealt with right then.

8. But we’ve also had some incredible shooting days. Schools, old war bunkers, streets, a fish and chip shop and plenty I haven’t shown yet. An amazing group of people have helped turn this thing into an actual film.

9. We’ve now shot almost 1/3 of Afterglow. There’s literally a feature film taking shape on my hard drives, with around 15 shooting days remaining.

10. That’s where we need help. Our Indiegogo is 28% funded with 19 days left. It’s all or nothing. If we don’t reach 100%, we receive none of it. This is how much of gamble making a feature film independently is sometimes. But we believe in us and we believe in YOU!

We’ve got this far. Now we need to finish it. by @aaranwss

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a month ago

This year has been completely fucking insane.

The last 3 short films I made before taking the leap into my first feature have had a year I genuinely couldn’t have imagined when we were making them. Seeing all 3 well and truly on their own festival run is such a joy.

Livid has been selected for @romfordfilmfestival and has its first festival screening this week.

After Glow (short film) has been selected for @horrorigins, a festival I’ve admired for a long time, and will have its first screening across the Atlantic.

And God Forbid has been selected for @thedeadofnightfilmfestival.

I couldn’t be more grateful for how these films have been received. These films are only possible because of the people who gave their time, talent and trust to making them with me.

What a fucking year 👻

LIVID

Writer/ Director/ Producer - 🙋🏻‍♂️
Co-writer - @stateofstevesitkowski
Producer -@amylbanks
Producer/ Editor - @lisa_rustage
1st AD - @__josieconnor
Gaffer - @tom.konjr
Sound Recordist - @waqar_wsonsound
Set Dec/ Props - @maisiedrawndagger
Gaffer - @riccardocencimedia
DP- @stephmelling_dp
MUA - @velvetbctwings
MUA - @erin_monument
Production Assistant - @niamhblissfilm
Colour - @franztaztic
VFX - @martin_rezi
Olivia - @itsmskiss
Jack - @loztaylorwss
Fran - @gabriellatavini
Grace - @georgiaconlanxx
Roxanne - @fayebennettcreative

AFTER GLOW

Writer - 🙋🏻‍♂️
Director/DP - 🙋🏻‍♂️
Gaffer - @tom.konjr
Prop/Set Dec - @maisiedrawndagger
1st AC/Spark - @abby.filmportfolio
Producer - 🙋🏻‍♂️
MUA - @velvetbctwings
Sound Recordist/Post Sound - @waqar_wsonsound
Colourist - @franztaztic
Associate Producers - @curiosityjunction_

Cast:
@isabellapercival
@laurencejamesdavis
@rafebirdactor

GOD FORBID

Writer/Director/DP/Edit/Producer - 🙋🏻‍♂️
Gaffer - @tom.konjr
1st AD/Make Up - @maisiedrawndagger
Spark - @rossdrawndagger
Sound Recordist/Post Sound - @waqar_wsonsound
Drone - @matthewbarsby
Colour - @franztaztic
VFX - @martin_rezi

Cast:
@madelinedpercival
Martina McClements by @aaranwss

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a month ago

Block 3 stills!

I don’t really know how to put this week into words. For the past few months, so much of my life has been about getting to this point. Constantly preparing for something at a scale I’ve never come close to attempting before.

This week we shot one of the most complex blocks of Afterglow. There were days running on barely any sleep, hundreds of daily decisions, difficult setups, things going wrong and somehow coming back together again. All while being so deep inside something I’ve wanted for so long that I haven’t really had the time to stop and comprehend that it’s actually happening.

So upon much reflection in the last few days, I’m going to let myself say it… I’m really fucking proud of what we’re making. I’m proud of these performances, these images, this story, the sound we’re getting. I’m proud of everyone who trusted me enough to step into this strange little world that lived in my head for so long, and bring something of themselves to it that I could never have created alone.

There’s still a long way to go, but a huge part of Afterglow exists now! And it’s because of the wonderful people below!

Ava Blakemore/ Producer - @georgiaconlanxx
Holly Bishop- @issievictoria
Sophie - @isabellapercival
Karli - @maiaread111
Miss Hargreaves- @helenfullertonactor
Participant 1 - @georgewhenster
Participant 2 - @__clintoncurtis
Participant 3 - @ellelouisewilder
Additional Writer - @stateofstevesitkowski
Producer - @ms.suzielee
Production Assistant - @niamhblissfilm
Director Of Photography- @stephmelling_dp
Sound Recordist - @waqar_wsonsound
Sound Trainee - @natkershaw.wav
DIT/ Boom Operator- @frankie_currie_media
Block 1 1st AD - @hi_calwearfilms
Block 3 1st AD- @callum.ow
Script Supervisor- @dan.does.film
Block 1 Gaffer - @riccardocencimedia
Block 2 Spark - @abby.filmportfolio
Set dec/ Costume - @maisiedrawndagger
Block 1 Spark/ Block 2 Gaffer - @rossdrawndagger
MUA/ Special Effects Make Up - @crazzysfx
Block 3 Spark - @matthewbarsby
Block 3 Assistant Camera - @thomasreklaw
Block 3 Gaffer - @philgamble485
Associate Producers - @curiosityjunction_
Executive Producers - Amanda Warwick, Carl Warwick, Andy Hillier. by @aaranwss

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2 months ago

Tickets for My Own Private Idaho on Thursday 27th August at @thelight_sheffield are now well over 50% sold out, so grab yours while you can.

Alongside My Own Private Idaho, we will also be showing the short film In Another Life by @aaranwss and a series of era-specific trailers, plus there will be the chance to win an awesome prize in our free raffle AND get a first look at our festival trailer.

The film will also be introduced via an exclusive video by @gus_van_sant himself.

Tickets for My Own Private Idaho on Thursday 27th August are available now via the Light’s website https://sheffield.thelight.co.uk/spirit-of-independence-film-festival and don’t forget to click “tell me when something is added” to get notifications of when new screenings are announced. 🎇

Tickets for Spirit of Independence Film Festival 25th - 27th September are available now www.soifilmfestival.com taken in Light Cinema Sheffield by @aaranwss

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2 months ago

As we head into Block 3 next week, here’s a few behind the scenes moments from Block 2.

Independent filmmaking is built one day at a time, and we’re getting closer with every block.

If you’d like to help us finish Afterglow, our crowdfunder is live through the link in bio. Every contribution, share and comment genuinely helps.

📸 @niamhblissfilm by @aaranwss

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2 months ago