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Maya Angelou 'Alone Together' (voice: Guy Johnson music: Luke Branch And Jennifer O'Neill) by Andy Delaney

Maya Angelou 'Alone Together' (voice: Guy Johnson music: Luke Branch And Jennifer O'Neill) by Andy Delaney

Promonews - 19th May 2020

Andy Delaney has corralled cinematographers across the globe to help him make a short film about a world united under lockdown - brought all together with the words of Maya Angelou's poem Alone, read by her son Guy Johnson.

With music by Luke Branch and Jennifer O'Neill, Delaney has tapped into a global consciousness, and celebrated that universal moment of togetherness and contemplation when night falls, whether its in Southend or Mumbai, Hollywood or Hong Kong, Windhoek or Vancouver... 

As he explains here, the film came first, and then he asked the Maya Angelou Estate to use the poem. They not only gave their blessing, but offered Johnson's reading of his mother's work. It has a cumulative power which works brilliantly here.    

ANDY DELANEY:

"This is my short film about the lockdown. What started as a way to see my friends faces in Southend has become a global project.

"I was intrigued by glimpses of lives being lived behind the scenes, seen through lit up through windows at night. DoP friends in LA saw my Facebook call out for friendly subjects and suggested they could do the same over there. It didn't take long to figure we could open this up to film-makes we knew across the globe.

"I put together a 'cheat sheet' for everyone so the footage would consistent and waited for the material to come in. The results were beautiful, very personal and intimate but global, people generally filming their own family or partners.

"I found a poem by Maya Angelou that seemed to match the mood and took a punt in asking for permission. The Estate of Maya Angelou were wonderful, not only in letting me use the poem 'Alone' but by creating a new reading of it to use as voice over, recorded by her son Guy Johnson.

"This absolutely, positively would never have happened without my friends, old and new, who filmed it, wrote music for it, graded it, did the titles, the sound design, everything. The music is a collaboration between Jennifer O'Neill (Indian Queens) and Luke Branch (Asylums) - musicians who are part of the Cool Thing Records scene here in Southend. Although the film is global in reach it's also the product of the vibrant local Southend art and music scene.

"As the poem says: 'Nobody, but nobody, can make it out here alone..'"

Promonews - 19th May 2020

Tags

  • Poetry
  • lockdown

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Credits

Production/Creative

Director
Andy Delaney
Producer
Andy Delaney
Production Company
New Art Films.com
Executive Producer
Andy Delaney

Editorial

Editor
Andy Delaney
Editing company
New Art Films.com

Grading

Colourist
Adrian Seery
Grading company
Harbor Picture Company

VFX

VFX
Adam Dunlop
Post Producer
Andy Delaney

Commission

Commissioner
Andy Delaney

Misc

Other credits

DoPs

Andy Delaney, Eric Zimmerman, Stevo Fan, Inna Goroh, Pierre Rios, Tom Baker, Tuki Jencquel, Jon Joffin ASC, Colin Watkinson ASC, BSC, Cristobal Sotomayor, Alejandro Fernandez, Simon Hawken, Eve Baker, Alec Bruce-Mason, Mihir Fadnavis, Ajatshatru Singh, John Paul Lancaster, David Caneva

Music Production

Rees Broomfield

Sound Design

Louis Gaston

Promonews - 19th May 2020

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