London-born, LA-based photographer and filmmaker Millicent Hailes has always fancied shooting Left Brain aka Vyron Turner. So, when she and his girlfriend Sarah met on a shoot, the two got talking and dreamt up a creative plan. With Millicent behind the camera, Sarah both in front of it and doodling all over the result, and Vyron doing his thing plus scoring the short, we’re fully into this playful collaboration. Sitting at less than a minute long, it’s short but very sweet – if you don’t mind blood with your birthday cake. Sarah is hauntingly beautiful in her Mickey mask, turning Millicent’s usual American Dream into a trippy magic kingdom nightmare. Get to know the filmmaker below…
What was the concept behind the project?
I got a Mickey Mouse head and decorated a birthday cake so Sarah and Vyron could have their own weird party together. We shot at a taco place and ate and talked throughout the shoot so it was really relaxed. I wanted the images to have a playful side, kind of reminiscent of a kids party, nothing too serious.
Which came first, the track or the video?
We were filming throughout the day with the intention of making a small video and I sent a little rough cut over to Sarah and Vyron to see what they thought after the shoot. Vyron instantly sent over a track he had worked on and thought it would fit perfectly with the video which I was super happy about.
And how was Left Brain to work with?
He was great. Very sweet and very chill, really open to anything.
Whose idea was it to add the illustrations?
I’d seen Sarah’s work before the shoot. She drew me on a dollar for me in her amazing, colourful style and did one for my friend too. She was talking about holding an exhibition of her work (which she later did) in LA so I thought it would be amazing to incorporate her art and more of her ideas into the final images.
Your recent work has been very American Dreamy… did you feel like exploring a darker side?
Yes, I guess so. I think that work changes according to where you are and what’s influencing you at the time. I think spending time in LA has definitely had an effect on my work. It’s made me think about the use of color, and perhaps allowed me to explore a darker undertone too. I think that’s how I feel about LA. It’s so bright and beautiful with its blue sky and palms, but it really is pretty shitty and depressing in other ways. I guess that’s part of its charm for me though.
What’s next for you?
At the moment I’m finishing shooting content for my first solo book. It’s a series of images taken of a close friend of mine over the course of a year. We have a very special working and personal relationship so it was fun for me to document this and turn it into a book. I’m making a short teaser film that will be out pretty soon.
Credits
Film and photography by Millicent Hailes
Illustrations by Sarah Parker