All you have to do is head over to TFTI on Campus East to find a huge wealth of brilliant and talented young student filmmakers. We spoke to 2nd year Film and Television Production Student Max Roach about his student films and his production company Take 22 Films.
When did your interest in films and filmmaking begin?
When I was younger I first started really liking YouTube and I watched Minecraft videos and gaming videos and through that I found TomSka and the ASDF movies so I started doing little flipbook animations and fun little stories and skits. I then started making films on an iPod but I didn’t really see them as films or as anything serious, they were more [like] skits and me having fun. Once I started doing media as a GCSE, I was introduced to directors like Edgar Wright, but it was mainly just YouTube skits, TomSka, KickThePJ that were big influences for me starting out in films.
Through your filmmaking you created Take 22, what is Take 22 Films?
I first created Take 22 because I kept trying to find a name for a company that I wanted to make because labelling stuff as a Max Roach film is a bit cringe and I didn’t want to be that guy. I went through multiple names, Maximum Films was a bit too close to my name, Manta Ray was one, Box Turtle another. I think some of the best stories are personal ones and the number 22 is very personal to me so I decided to make it a brand and to make something out of it. I wanted to take something that encapsulated not only my creativity, but also other people’s, and I wanted something that can represent everyone involved in the production.
It takes into account the whole crew because everyone’s just as important as each other on set, and I want to make sure everyone’s credited equally for the hard work they do. Everyone’s an artist and I wanted to ensure that’s carried throughout all the work I do because you can definitely tell when people are having a fun time behind the camera. A good and happy environment is key, and I’d rather have a really fun time making a film and a terrible film in the end, than an Oscar-worthy film where I’ve lost some of my best friends. And that’s what Take 22 aims to be.
Are people free to explore within Take 22 when making films? Both in terms of the roles they play in making the film but also in the types of films they make?
It’s very fluid with how people approach what they do. We don’t have a strict amount of people who can do different things. I’ve had my finger in loads of different pies when it comes to making films as, at the end of the day, Take 22 is mainly for experience. We’re not there to make money. We’re there to have fun and be creative and to give people opportunities to try different areas like sound, or really pushing yourself when it comes to writing. Everyone has an opportunity to do anything. If someone comes up with a script, then they can choose who works on it. There are no rules to what people can do and that excites me because it allows for the exploration of creativity.
I make specific films that are quite elaborate, but I love to see how other people approach their style and how it changes. It’s one of my favourite things: people having their own styles and seeing them experimenting with different genres and mixing them together. Genre is a massive melting pot, and you don’t have to be strict. I like to see what people make from their own mind and so there’s no such thing as a Take 22 specific film. The main rule is the context in which it’s made, the supportive nature of the company, and the team around it. I wouldn’t even call it a company, I call it a film-house because of how broad the term is.
Where do the films get shown? Do they go to festivals? Do they go online?
Personally, with my films, I like to send them off. I think any festival is great to take it to. I love the opportunity to show my films to as many people as possible. We’ve had screenings at festivals across the world in South Korea, Japan, five different states of America, across the UK. We’ve had festivals where I’ve had to stay up to three in the morning; Zoom festivals were the worst thing ever! I loved going to my local film festival, the Romford Film Festival. You get very high-quality films, mixed with Jenny from the corner shop, sitting in the cinema being like, “Oh, that was a great film”. And then you get to see her afterwards like “that was me”.
It’s crazy having a festival that I wasn’t even aware of. I used to work below the cinema in a toy shop and I went upstairs on my lunch break, and saw a sign for it. I spoke to one of the managers of the festival and he said to send my film in. Growing up going to the same cinema every week and then to have your own film on that screen at a festival with films from Nigeria, Asia, and from the States, is just an experience that’s absolutely crazy as I haven’t even scratched [the] industry and yet I feel like I’ve accomplished quite a lot. Seeing one of my films on that screen meant more to me than anything else because it was very personal. I love things that are personal to you. Personal stories are the best thing to take influence from.
But I know a lot of people who make films within Take 22 that like to show them to family and friends before posting onto our channel and onto our website. Having a consistent schedule is key, so on the 22nd of every month, we have a film that releases and it’s very important to keep that going because it’s one of my favourite features of the company that every 22nd we have a project that comes out.
Why do you think student films are so important?
I’m a massive advocate for student films and they’re some of the best things to come out of film schools. It’s great because you take an industry where time is money and it’s impossible to make anything without money, and you give it to people who are so passionate, so passionate that they do it for free. They do it out of their own time and they spend hours and hours making something that they know they’re not getting paid for, to make a project that is formed from the minds of very dedicated individuals. It shows the collaborative efforts of many people that can come together and make something out of nothing.
The best thing about student films is that you’re not working for anyone so you can do whatever you want and it’s the only time in the industry where you’re not restricted to anyone’s overbearing rule. It’s down to you and you can do whatever you want with it. The world’s your oyster and it’s the only time in a career in film where you’re allowed to do that. It’s so important to have that time where you can allow yourself to be really creative with how you make stuff because you’re free. There’s no one telling you that you can’t make a film about talking to one of your socks. It’s the collaborative effort – letting your mind be free – and that’s the beauty of student filmmaking, that you’re allowed to do that.
How did lockdown affect you making films?
Lockdown was kind of bittersweet, because we had the challenge of making stuff, and restriction breeds creativity, but we also had the problems of physically making stuff. It was hard because I had thoughts for a really good film about lockdown but couldn’t actually make it because of the lockdown! There were loads of great apocalypse films ideas, but the problem was that we’re actually in the apocalypse so it’s pretty hard to make an apocalypse film in the apocalypse.
Lockdown gave a chance to breathe and to get down ideas and then take it to people once it was over and we’re able to make it. It was a big time for pre-production. For the week when we came out of lockdown, I was on set every single day because we’d done so much pre-production when we weren’t allowed to do stuff. It gave me a lot of time to work on writing because there was nothing better to do than just make films in my bedroom of me screaming to a camera. In the practical sense of making a film though, I really missed making films with other people.
Now that we’re out of lockdown I’m guessing there’s lots of Take 22 films lined up. What’s the future like for Take 22 with films lined up?
Now that we’re out lockdown it’s great because you can be in a creative space with creative people. There’s nothing better than sitting down with a group of people and deciding and stuff. So much better than over Zoom. But now we’re out of lockdown and not having to limit people on set, having that creative vision of being like “Oh, I’d quite like this to happen”, and you can actually do that. Being around people, being around friends, is one of my favourite things. And that’s what’s great.
How many films do Take 22 have being made at any one time?
Quite a lot. Our schedule is backed up to May so we have enough films now to release until May 2022. But, at the moment, we have quite a few films in pre-production. Creativity comes in its own time so we can’t really put a number on how many things we have in pre-production. We definitely have some big things coming. I’d love to do a feature length film at some point. But in terms of collaboration with other societies on campus, I love working together on things and the idea of having multiple logos at the beginning of a film is something that I love. People have a very negative connotation when it comes to student films and their title screens, but it’s the best way of showing that we’re students and we made this because, when you see a title screen and you don’t know what the company is, it definitely puts a stamp on the film.
What does the future of Take 22 look like? When you’re no longer a student will it still be about student films or just the films you make with your friends?
I think Take 22 is something that’s going to stay with me forever. Regardless of what happens, every single one of my films will be a Take 22 film. If people want to make Take 22 films, it’s up to them. It’s about allowing creative freedom and I think the mantras and attitudes behind the company will carry it into the future. Regardless of what happens or each path people take, I’m still going to be there making films and I’m going to need people to create as well. I’d love to see it where we could be more elaborate with filmmaking, maybe get a bit of funding behind some projects, seeing how big we can take it. Wherever it takes me is out of my control, but I know whatever comes from it will be done for the right reasons.
What’s your ultimate career goal?
It’s a dream of mine to take my Nan on the red carpet. She loves the BAFTAs, even though she doesn’t really care about films. But, most importantly, making something that I’m really proud of and making people smile and getting a reaction. I love when people give me personal feedback on films, or people tell me about a reaction that they’ve had towards it. Even if it’s a reaction of detest and disgust, at least they were watching. A career goal for me is doing what I love, which is making films, but also being happy while doing it. As well as seeing other people be happy, allowing people a platform to have a voice and to demonstrate their creative image. I put on my bucket list when I was 13, the number one thing is to win an Oscar, but the number two thing is to also give someone else an Oscar. Very wise from 13-year-old me, but I don’t think awards mean anything. You can win many awards and still not be happy. I think just making a film that we’re happy with and doing whatever I can to make sure that not only I make myself proud, but also I make my family proud and doing it all in the right way and making other people happy.
Max and Take 22 have a plethora of great films on their YouTube channel here with lots more exciting projects on the way.