The blog of photographer Kim Ayres

Where The Skin Lies

Last year I was asked to be a "Still Photographer" on a film set for a micro-budget horror film being shot in Kippford, just a few miles down the road from where I live.


Where the Skin Lies - Teaser trailer from Michaël Boucherie on Vimeo.

The film - Where the Skin Lies - is now doing the rounds at film festivals and an article I wrote about the experience has appeared in the September issue of Dumfries and Galloway Life Magazine.


3-page article in Dumfries and Galloway Life magazine, September 2017

My role was to take behind-the-scenes photos and an image that could be used for the poster.

When you look at a lot of film posters it’s easy to believe the images have come from a frame, or still, from the movie. However, most movie cameras are not filming at a particularly high resolution. It’s fine for the film, but if you blow the image up for printing, you would find it too pixelated to use. So what happens is after the scene has been shot, the photographer steps into the place where the movie camera was, and under the same lighting and set up conditions, shoots with his own camera. It’s this image that is then adapted for use for the posters and publicity.


My original photo


Adapted for the poster

Now the magazine article has been published and the film publicity is on the go, I thought I would go back through the behind-the-scenes photos and choose a selection of my favourite images


Director, Michaël Boucherie, discussing the next shot with actor, Amelia Bennett 


Director, Michaël Boucherie, and Producer, Joy Harrison, watching the action from the adjacent room


The cramped confines of a bathroom shot. Is that a photographer I can make out in the mirror?


Very little room to get the shot set up


Actor, Simon Rivers, spicing up his beans on toast




Amelia taking a break. One of the few photos I preferred in colour as the black and white version didn't do that 70s sofa justice.


Special effect makeup artist, Alex Knights, applying a knife wound to Amelia. Again colour was needed for this one as the wound wasn't so obvious in black and white


Michaël overseeing the set up for a scene


Left to right: Nathan Wright, Tristan Beint, Louise Williams, Amelia Bennett, and Simon Rivers


Actor, Nathan Wright


Actor, Simon Rivers


Images, sound and light don't happen without these guys!


Director, Michaël Boucherie, and Producer, Joy Harrison


Making sure Louise is in shot


When a bulb goes, someone has to fix it!


Watching back the last cut


The director gives instructions


Working out the best camera angle for the scene


The actors (including Georgia Winters on the right) rehearsing while the crew set up

One fun side effect of all this is I now have my own entry on the Internet Movie Database, IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm8680659/

4 comments

Jonathan Chant said...

Looks grand. Great work Kim.

Kim Ayres said...

Thanks Jonathan - much appreciated :)

Pat said...

As always I enjoy the varied posts but I'm a stick-in-the-mud and not good with change so it will take me a while to familiarise myself with it Keep up the good work.

Kim Ayres said...

I appreciate you making the effort, Pat. :)

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