Face to Face with... Luke Losey

Having just directed a 4D spectacle on the walls of London for Ralph Lauren, the Park Village director has already started work on a new film project, which features contributions from Jude Law and Damon Albarn. Here, he takes time to tell us about working with a major designer label on a revolutionary project, mythical theory and all the things that inspire his creations.

Growing up around filmmaking, Luke Losey says there's a notion of it being the family business. He's developed a love for the whole production process, with a well-rounded industry background and a career that's seen him climb up through the ranks, since bagging his first job as a runner at 16. shots.net caught up with the man in London's New Bond Street, where his eight-minute ground-breaking short was being unveiled to the world.

Tell us a bit about what you do and how you got into it?

I feel comfortable on a set/in the edit - it's a familiar environment and I love doing it with a passion. After starting as a runner I then worked in the art department for many years. My first job was as the floor runner on Derek Jarman's Caravaggio, which was a brilliant way to start.

I'm involved in many aspects of the arts outside filmmaking, the two principle areas being lighting design and photography. I designed shows that involved the interaction of lighting and video for Orbital quite early on in the 90s, they were very narrative driven, each song a vignette or story told in light and pictures. I enjoyed that time immensely and the skills I have from it have allowed me to design for artists such as Robert Plant, The Libertines and The Verve to name a few.

How did this project for Ralph Lauren come about?

I was approached by Ben Fender, the managing director at Drive Productions; he had pitched the idea to Polo Ralph Lauren (PRL). Ben and I go back a long way. There was no creative brief for the job, so I went to and immersed myself into the world of Ralph Lauren and spent many hours brainstorming with Drive's creative director Imogen Hammond until we felt we were onto something and from that point I wrote a script, which we took out to the PRL creative team in NY along with some very strong story boards created by the projects lead animator James Medcraft.

What were your initial reactions to being approached for the project?

I was aware of video mapping as an art form but not really as 'new media' or as advertising, so my initial reaction was definitely, how are we going to make this work as a piece of artwork and a giant ad without losing the potency of either genre? It was a challenge to say the least, the hardest part of it all was to always remember the canvas it was ultimately being shown on, because the process of creating it was pretty much the same as any film, same rules with the client, brand guidelines etc.

But the tables in this case were turned because the creative had to come from us. Having to bear in mind that your canvas is a building, complete with windows, recesses, balconies, ledges - that was tough because normal rules stop applying at that point, in fact there simply wasn't a manual to refer to at all. Breaking new ground is roller-coaster with just as many highs as lows.

What was it like working with a major designer label?

The creative team at PRL are like the guys from CSI, their attention to detail is completely forensic. I believe that if we could have reshaped sub atomic particles to fit into the film and get them on brand, the team at PRL would have sanctioned it. All in all it was pretty awe-inspiring to work with them.

How did the event go on the night?

The run up to the event was a nerve shredder with sound design going into the timeline with only hours to spare, and of course NY happening on the same day. We had the night before to line up the projectors and work on the colours. When we saw the projections up on the building we knew there and then it was going to be special. Within seconds we had the first of many, many cheers and all of my fears dissipated.

What's your view on the future for this technology?

It's going to be huge, there is no doubt about it, the very way we view the world is now for better or worse bound up with branding of one kind or another. Like high couture stemming from designers walking the streets of Hackney and Brixton, taking in what they see and six months later it's on the catwalk. All these things begin life as art forms and mutate into something bigger, I'm not sure how benign it all is but it's absolutely fascinating.

What's the last 3D movie you saw and what do you think of 3D in cinemas in general?

Toy Story 3 with my kids, loved the film but all I really got form the 3D was a Pixar label sticking out of the screen at the start, call me cynical but...

Where does Luke Losey get inspiration from?

I find the unexplained compelling, I think myth and folklore are really important within every culture, they add colour and fill the night with dreams, allow us to escape and give reason to what we don't understand (or don't want to understand). Kubrick films blow me away, as does Terry Gilliam. I loved Darren Aronofsky's PI and John Hillcoat's The Road. I like myths, Andrew Dominic's The Assassination of Jesse James is a particular favourite.

When I saw Let the Right One In (directed by Tomas Alfredson) I loved it and realised the film I wanted to make was possible. A quiet film, unusual events taking place in familiar circumstances.

I read a lot of graphic novels, which stems from a childhood of reading comics; I was a 2000 AD nut. V for Vendetta, Watchmen both seminal works in the field, as are the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. I love the way ideas that were very traditional have mutated yet retained an ability to be self-referential - Batman comics in general being a great example of this.

Comics are the gap between literature and movies, much underrated for their influence on contemporary culture. Banksy, Tim Burton, The Wachowski brothers, Christopher Nolan all have comics in their DNA. Musically, most recently I've enjoyed the first two Joanna Newsom albums a great deal, thought provoking stuff... "Even molluscs have weddings, though solemn and leaden..." Brilliant!

What have you seen or read recently that would be relevant to shots readers?

I think William Gibson's recent stuff is astounding in the scope of its ideas. So would have to say Zero History as a book. Christian Marclay's 24-hour film collage The Clock as art - the clock is constructed of clips from films, when time is mentioned or when a character interacts with a clock, watch or just a particular time of day. Marclay excerpted thousands of these fragments and edited them so that they flow in real time. Very cool.

We understand you're working on a new film, what is it and what can we look forward to?

I'm working on a film based on the children's book The Boy in the Oak, which was written and illustrated by Jessica Albarn. It's a Pans Labyrinth-esque, dark fairytale about a neglected boy whose anti-social attitude to nature lands him in trouble with the fairies in the woods, who imprison him in an oak tree for eternity. Jessica's art is simply beautiful and the story is firmly rooted in the classic fairytale genre.

We shot a four minute pilot to the film in the New Forest two weekends ago, all on 35mm with blazing October sun and quite possibly the most amazing autumn I have ever seen. Jude Law is doing the voiceover for the film and Damon Albarn the music. It's all been supported by Alcove Entertainment and our hope is that with this little snippet we can raise money to develop the feature. All I can say now is the rushes look absolutely stunning and please watch this space!