It’s lights, camera, action for budding Beerwah director, Ryan Butler who is set to premiere his short film, ‘The Gorge’ this month.
The paranormal thriller follows the story of five friends who find themselves in a fight for survival against an invisible force during a camping trip in the woods.
Ryan told GC&M news that filming in the bushlands of Kenilworth was both equal parts rewarding and frustrating, with some shooting days lasting up to 14 hours; however, the team were in high spirits nonetheless.
“The crew were all fantastic, everyone was getting along well,” he said.
“You are hanging around with like-minded people having a laugh, especially when it’s two in the morning and you are cold and want to go to bed.
“It was certainly an exciting and exhausting experience.”
Ryan admitted to developing a small ‘man crush’ on his co-worker, former Home and Away actor, Lincoln Lewis, who plays ‘Josh’, and praised him for his passion and effort towards the project.
“He was there to work, he was there to have fun, he was there to be a part of it; he was just a go-getter,” Ryan said.
“He is a very passionate movie fan; you can tell he enjoys the whole process.”
The short film runs for 15-minutes, with the cost of the entire production a modest $50,000 in total.
The sum of the gruelling hours, money and hard work put in by the entire crew is reflected in the final product, says Ryan.
“To see it on the screen and go, ‘Oh my god it all worked out’, so we are very happy with how it turned out.”
Ryan Butler is no stranger to the film scene.
The Beerwah creative was recognised for his scriptwriting skills at the Sunshine Coast Showdown Awards, where his original post-apocalyptic film, ‘Bin Day’, won the best script honour.
Both ‘The Gorge’ and ‘Bin Day’ were filmed at the same time, with Butler working back and forth between the two.
“Day after day both films were taking shape, so I was on a bit of a high the entire time.”
The filming and editing schedule proved to be hectic, but Ryan had his methods to cope with the busy timetable.
“Late nights, alcohol and fast food,” he jokes.
‘The Gorge’ is set to premiere on August 18, before hopefully making its rounds on the International Film Festival circuit.
If the premiere wasn’t enough of an indicator of Ryan’s cinematic chops, there are whispers of potentially developing either of his short films into feature length productions.
“Although I’m as nervous as you are when waiting for any news if you’ve done something well or not, I’m quietly confident that both films do well and then hopefully we will be in conversation with TV stations,” he said.