Julie Graham: self-shooting drama on lockdown

Actor Julie Graham and producer and investor Andrew Green debuted their online isolation drama Dun Breedin’, about a group of middle-aged women and their relationship with the menopause last week.

In an interview with Broadcast, they reveal how the 10 x 10 minutes YouTube series was developed, re-developed and re-scripted following the coronavirus outbreak and produced and shot in isolation.

They also discuss sexism in television, how Covid-19 could impact content releasing post-lockdown and the future for the show.

Andrew Green It was about making sure that women are able to make content without the handcuffs of male [decision-makers] who choose what they can or can’t direct or write.

There is a huge gap in this world that’s too wide and needs to end – 93% of writers and directors. That’s what gave us the inspiration to do Dun Breedin’.

Julie Graham You see it on film sets where an actress will have a point of view that is seen as her being ‘fucking difficult’, whereas an actor will have idea that will be respected. I’ve very rarely heard a male actor described as ‘difficult’ – unless he is a complete wanker.

There are a lot more female directors and crew members these days but it remains a very male, very white environment.

JG The original concept was a group of women who have been friends for a long time through marriage, divorce, death, suicide and all of those things. They’re into their 50s and have all hit the menopause.

I didn’t want to do a single-issue show or talk about hot flushes and all that nonsense – the menopausal woman is always a figure of fun, who is there to be ridiculed through the male gaze.

I wanted to open a debate about it and show how it affects everyone but make it funny. I want people to laugh with me, not at me. Comedy is a great tool to start a debate without being too heavy.

AG Three weeks ago I had a couple of tequilas and texted Julia to ask whether we could produce the script she’d been writing on lockdown.

JG: I said yes - and I hadn’t had any tequilas.

AG I quickly found a director and production team who were up for it and 36 hours later we had a cast.

JG I’d had some people in mind for the parts and everybody was in right from the beginning.

I always knew I wanted Robin Shepherd to direct it and she was up for it immediately.

JG It was like Filming for Dummies. Robin laid everything out with really detailed notes on each shot. Then she got floor plans of our houses and went through exactly how she wanted us to create the shots with red and green markings.

She was also at the end of the phone. Shooting on iPhones means we can quickly WhatsApp her videos to assess. She told us: ‘Shoot the fuck out of it’ and if anything inventive came out, we sent it over. It was daunting at first.

My husband is now my DoP, caterer and lighting and cameraman.

I have worked in the business for 25 years and I will never again walk on to a set and moan about how long things take. It proves television is a really highly skilled, collaborative profession.

JG We’re no experts so [director] Robin rang a DoP friend of hers and worked out which simple lights could create day and night effects. A box arrived with one light and a couple of ring lights, and we also use daylight.

AG I looked at what has been done before using an iPhone by people such as Michel Gondry (Detour). They may have had bigger budgets and crews but they have still shot on handsets.

JG I want broadcasters to see this and decide to develop it fully.

When Andrew came to me with the idea [of a short-form YouTube launch], he said to think of it as ten little tasters of what this could be when everything goes back to normal. It’s a calling card focusing on my writing and the idea.

These are original scripts that I re-wrote bearing in mind the limitations. You have to get inventive and they do include a lot of FaceTime. There are so many stories that I can explore fully. I really want to get all of the women featured in one room.

AG It’s hard to get a first-time writer away. With this, we are putting Julie on a soap box and showing we don’t have to wait for someone else to tick all the boxes. That’s where the industry needs to go.

There is some amazing talent out there who are not given the right utensils to get things away. Broadcasters go to certain writers because they know they can get a hit but Julie can be as good as them. People won’t believe she hasn’t written a full series before.

JG Digital platforms changed the music industry by making it easy for people’s songs to be heard. They are a great way to get your work out there.

This industry can be very daunting and exclusive. You have to go through such a long process to get things made and can get stuck in development hell. People should have the chance to see bloody great ideas. If this inspires any filmmaker then that’s fantastic.