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Corella 'Drifting' by Jay Creagh

Promonews - 9th Feb 2024

Jay Creagh demonstrates that you are only as old as you feel, in his charming video for Manchester indie outfit Corella, featuring Robert Goodman as a stir-crazy pensioner in rural Yorkshire.

Goodman plays a care home resident enduring a crushingly dull existence - spelling out the songtitle Drifting on the Scrabble board - before being lured away by an old friend who retains a cheeky exuberance of youth. Soon they are off playing football, riding bikes and making mischief in the picturesque setting of Hebden Bridge as they rediscover their childish selves.

But is everything as it seems? You'll just have to find that out for yourselves...

"I wanted to make a film that connected with the northern English roots and landscape the song embodied," says director Jay Creagh. "It took me back to my childhood growing up in a small town outside of Manchester and wanted that universal feeling of nostalgia and transience to be the centre of the narrative.

"We were commissioned to make the video at the end of December, with delivery being the second week of January. With the limited budget and time I decided to shoot in my hometown - Hebden Bridge. I drafted in lots of friends and family, and we just scrapped everything together, blagging most of the local spots that appear in the film. A lot of the casting ended up being people we found around town - the two kids were playing in the football field when I was scouting. It all turned into a bit of a community effort.  

"I wanted the film to always be pretty emotional. Rob, our lead needed to slowly come out of his shell as this curmudgeonly old bloke, locked in a little care home and Michael's character coaxed out the fun side of him very subtly. By the end of the picture, I think you're gunning for them, and as the dance scene, when the transformation happens is a good euphoric kick.

"I spoke to the band about the twist at the end. It takes the film into a much darker place, but to me gave the whole story a tonne more emotional resonance. When it came to shooting that final scene, we were on the Yorkshire moors, in the dark in freezing sleet, so only really got one take at it, but it rounded out the narrative beautifully. I'm really pleased with the outcome."

Promonews - 9th Feb 2024

Tags

  • Director's notes
  • Narrative
  • Indie
  • Rock

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Credits

Production/Creative

Director
Jay Creagh
Producer
Phil Tidy
Production Company
Squire
PA
Christina Gulick

Camera

Director of Photography
Alistair Little
Focus Puller
Sean Lomax

Choreography

Choreographer
Lucy Suggate

Casting

Casting director
Nicci Topping
Lead actor
Robert Goodman
Lead actor
Michael Griffiths
Children
Luke & James Millen
Daughter
Julie Love

Editorial

Editor
Jay Creagh

Grading

Colour Producer
Bumble Baker
Colour Producer
Jack Kirkwood
Colourist
Benjamin Rozario
Colour grade company
Smoke & Mirrors

Commission

Label
Velvet Hammer

Promonews - 9th Feb 2024

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