It takes more than a global pandemic to stop production on our Film and TV Programmes. As some of our staff and students prepare to return to campus, we take the chance to speak with 2020' MSc Film Production alumni Gabriela Predan about overcoming the challenges of studying remotely.
Alongside a team of five other students, Gabriela directed a commercial for Charles Tyrwhitt men’s tailored clothing retailer that won third place at the NAHEMI Kodak Commercials Awards in May 2020.
Our Greenwich Film Production students competed against students from universities including Leeds Beckett, NFTS, Westminster, and London Film Academy for the Awards.
The 30-second commercial ‘Suits Him’ won third place for the category ‘Charles Tyrwhitt’, recognising the work of Director Gabriela and the student team: Anca Bratu, Ioulietta Thymi, Lydia Ayoubi, Pratish Gurung, and Ovigwueraye Akpojotor.
Gabriela is now a Graduate Teaching Demonstrator in the School of Design and wanted to share her story of success despite the challenges of the pandemic, so that she can inspire other students.
It felt great to have our work recognised at the Award because we had so many technical challenges during production that we never expected we would win.
What is the commercial about?
The idea was to portray someone very different than the models Charles Tyrwhitt usually casts for their commercials. We wanted to suggest the brand could be for everyone. So, we worked with an actor who is a friend of our Producer.
What was it like filming during the pandemic?
A good part of the production was improvised. We decided overnight and the next day we started shooting in this tiny bedroom. It was challenging to work with our large equipment in such a small space. Working with film [instead of digital] meant that every shot had to have the light measured and carefully adjusted, and everything had to be very precisely calculated before saying 'Action'. Still, we all felt we learned so much.
Still from Suits Him. Directed by Gabriela Predan, 2020
Congratulations to Gabriela and the team of students involved in this production. You are welcome to send us your stories so that we can share more of our successes across the university.
