You know the saying – some guys have all the luck? Well, it is true for Darius Shu. From the way the cinematographer shares his story on how he penetrated the London film scene, it almost sounds too easy to be true.
According to the Kuala Lumpur native, one thing just led to another – getting his camera when he was 18, discovering a talent for taking people’s portraits, being approached to do fashion shoots, which then led him to the direction of filmmaking.
“Filmmaking, to me, is an extension of photography,” said Shu, who is now based in London, before sharing his first experience as a cinematographer.
“A friend of mine who was a director asked me to take charge of her production as she loves my work as a photographer ... It turns out that I love it too, and have made a career out of it. I’ve not regretted since.”
Along the way, the 24-year-old Shu has also shot music videos, commercials and documentaries.
His most recent entry to his already impressive resume is as a cinematographer for the 16-minute English film, Secret Child, which is based on the best-selling novel by Gordon Lewis and starring Fiona Glascott and Austin Taylor.
The film, set in 1950s Dublin, Ireland, is about an eight-year-old boy and his single mother.
Shu’s move to Britain came about as he wanted to learn more about the film industry. Since he already has a Bachelor Degree in Mass Communications (Broadcasting) from Taylor’s University, Shu decided to pursue Masters in Film Production (specialising in cinematography) at Arts University Bournemouth.
His involvement in Secret Child came about after Shu learned of the project through a contact, and was interested to be part of it. He sent his showreel (which can also be seen at www.dariusshu.com) and hoped for the best.
“The story and subject matter caught my attention and since it’s a 1950s period film, I wanted to do something that I have not done before.
“I was definitely very lucky when a few days later, I was informed that the producer was really impressed with my previous works and would like me to be on board the Secret Child.
“It has been one of the best film sets I’ve worked on with a top professional commercial crew.”
Secret Child is garnering attention at film festivals including the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards and the Oniros Film Awards in Italy. At both festivals, Secret Child won Best Drama (Short) while Shu was nominated in the Best Cinematography category.
Shu stated that it was a challenging shoot as the story features many emotional scenes. He spent more than two months in pre-production brainstorming with the team on how best to tell the story visually.
“When I read the script, the most important thing to me was to capture the emotions. Every framing, composition, movement and lighting had to be thought through properly to express the emotion of the character in a way that could make the viewers feel for the mother and her son. That was my goal.”
He added: “I’m a big fan of visual poetry and I incorporate a lot of it in my photography. I’m also a very visual and story driven person, and a perfectionist. The tiniest detail drives me crazy at times!”
During this interview, he was in Kuala Lumpur to work on commercials and doing photo shoots for a few brands, before heading to Singapore and Hong Kong to meet up with family as well as to network.
He also recently co-directed and shot a psychological thriller silent film, titled His Hands, which is currently in post-production in London.
Despite his busy schedule, he is keen to help out fellow Malaysians who want to try their luck at the international film market.
“I do want to help young people in Malaysia as I was so lucky with my work and Secret Child, which opened doors for me. I will always respond to questions relating to the film and media industry.”
Go to secretchild.com to post questions to Shu.
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