Lee is an artist, writer, comedian and filmmaker. Broadly adhering to a lo-fi aesthetic Lee has made a number of films, principally for Channel 4 but also for the BBC. He has held retrospectives at the BFI and also in New York courtesy of Rooftop Films. His most recent project saw him step into the mainstream with "Big Brother: What the Housemates Did Next" - a film following the housemates as they embarked upon their fledgling career as Z-list celebrities. Lee likes Chinese food, Kentucky Fried Chicken and once drew a picture of a crocodile that earnt him a tick.
Author: |Posted: 08:54 on 22/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
This was an alright little doc. It came together quite neatly at the end.
The friction of a resident’s real experiences contrasted with a corny Tour Tape could have been corny itself – but it kind of held it together. It must be a pain living under the shadow of Shakespeare’s quill.
All in all I’ve enjoyed watching the films in this competition and if I’ve seemed harsh at some points grow a thick skin. This is just one man’s opinion. I’m not arguing THE way. I’m just championing what I like. You should champion your own style and your own voice. If you don’t march to the beat of your own drum your step will be all over the place. read more
Author: |Posted: 22:28 on 21/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
I’m not sure how many times I could watch this. In particular the music became grating after about thirty seconds and then it carried on ad infinitum.
Again it had that feeling of late night filler you used to get on TV where there might be a couple of minutes you need to fill in the schedule at some ungodly hour and so they stick in something that doesn’t really go anywhere or do anything. Who knows? Maybe the feeling I had of wanting to get away completely echoes what it’s like to live in Bargoed, South Wales?
Author: |Posted: 12:08 on 21/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
This film did my head in. I hated the voiceover and couldn’t really understand a lot of what was being said.
My mind wandered a lot not because I’m simple but because the whole rhythm of it felt so nothingy. The only point where I started to get a bit interested was when the form completely changed at the end and we had a bit of an interview with the ventriloquist. read more
Author: |Posted: 09:47 on 21/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
I didn’t like this. It felt like I was on a school trip to a museum and pressed a button on a display in order to listen to a recorded actor tell me what life was like “back then”.
Sorry it just wasn’t for me. It had echoes of those daytime history channel programs where you have pieces of archive footage or re-enacted events which have been made to “look old” in the edit by clicking on the, “make it look old” button you get on all the editing software owned by the history channel. read more
Author: |Posted: 21:20 on 20/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
The editing wasn’t hitting the right notes for me. A lot of the pictures to voiceover were either too literal or incoherent.
There was a lot of the latter. My brain couldn’t always makes sense of the connection between the words and the pictures
Is that because I’m a rubbish viewer? Or is it cos the editor didn’t communicate successfully enough to me as a viewer what was perhaps obvious to them? The result was that as a viewer I began to increasingly lose my grip on the film’s narrative and in turn my interest waned. read more
Author: |Posted: 16:20 on 20/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
There was a really nice tone and feeling to this film. There was a warmth and likeability to the filmmaker and how they came across.
And that really counts for a lot, especially if telly is the route you want to take. (You’re gonna have more success if you come across as likeable as opposed to coming across like a bastard.) read more
Author: |Posted: 14:24 on 20/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
Very good. It created more of an emotional resonance than a lot of the films here, without the use of voiceover.
Dropped you into a sensory experience to communicate a feeling of unease and agitation. In this respect it placed the viewer firmly within the emotional landscape of what it’s like to live in that town rather than narrating, lecturing and telling you what it’s like. read more
Author: |Posted: 13:39 on 16/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
At first I hated this film. It sort of warmed on me a bit when it came together towards the end. However it just felt too much like “a documentary” for my liking.
The idea was cute enough – but the narrative and the visual rendering of it didn’t transcend anything other than generic TV documentary. There was nothing singular or idiosyncratic in the filmmaking which is what I personally look for when I sit down to watch a film. In an anodyne world of formatted TV and trend-following commissioning, I’m desperate for violent individualism and for filmmaking that is a breath of beautiful idiosyncracy. read more
Author: |Posted: 17:11 on 14/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
This was an alright film. Giving life to the landscape without people. A breath of fresh air not to have voiceover.
The visual geometry of it was nice too. Each shot was a carefully rendered composition that balanced its visual components in unexpected and refreshing ways. The general homage of the piece was a nod to a kind of dark futurism – with shapes and shadows and powerful angles rendered accordingly. read more
Author: |Posted: 13:29 on 13/10/08
Category: FourDocs competition
This is one of my favourite films. I was expecting to hate it cos Shoreditch has become synonymous with hipsters and bohemian posers. However that modern world dissipated or became more tolerable to myself as I was enriched with a sense of the spiritual and artistic history of the place.
The film brought to life with such peaceful calmness amidst the cacophany of the modern urban environ – the history of Shoreditch embedded in the mud and clay of the place – and upon which years of sediment and new activity have been added. read more
