We Make Maidenhead
Lawless
Director: Ben Stevenson
DoP: Malte Rosenfeld
Over a period of three days Ben and his crew were tasked with showing Maidenhead at its best; as it is today, and as a vision for the future.
This was a real challenge as the aspirations for Maidenhead are huge. With the imminent arrival of Crossrail, the town is set to become a destination for tourists, businesses, and commuters alike. Capturing all this was key to the film.
As is often the case to Ben’s work with real people, casting was key; finding real and genuine people was what was going to make or break this film. Fortunately, Maidenhead has a wonderful and proud community who are close and really care about their town so in the end the job of the film was to amplify this.
When it came to locations, it was important for both Ben and the client, Maidenhead County Council, to showcase the range of diverse offerings Maidenhead has: it’s on the Thames; has an established high street; great communities; amenities; and thriving multinational businesses.
Ordering the locations to show the town at its best was the next step: from shooting early morning rowing on the Thames, right through to filming a football match live at Maidenhead FC in the evening.
We edited the real interviews to create the narrative that told the story of Maidenhead today, and how it will evolve in the future. We combined this with appropriate visuals and portraits of our cast to anchor the dialogue, people, and place together. This resulted in a film that was both fun, inspiring, and showed Maidenhead in a light that surpassed both client and lifetime locals view of the town.