Today I can show you my latest directing achievement. I was recently asked to produce a video viral to promote Jekyll and Hyde The Musical at The Union Theatre. This is not like the previous versions of this theatre production, it doesn’t include any hammed up acting and there won’t be any well dressed prostitutes singing in a naff cockney accent about syphilis. Instead this will explore the dark themes and subject content bravely unlike it’s predecessors. This visionary piece of theatre has been the brain child of Morphic Graffiti. A new theatre company that dares to boldly change the industry and make productions of the highest standard that would even get Mr Webber gooey.

I met with Stewart Charlesworth and Luke Freddicks from Morphic Graffiti and they explained their vision for the production, the dark content and their plans to have multimedia imagery throughout the performance. I had to create a video that reflected their bold tendencies. A contemporary ident that dealt with the dark subject matter and establish the performences’ identity. The key elements I wanted to explore were transformation, obsession and the haunting of London.

Storyboard 

I started with a Mood Board then moved on to Storyboarding. Luckily we were all on the same page and Morphic Graffiti were excited about my ideas. Here’s a few examples of the work that went into the storyboard. Everything from concept, lighting, shots and camera angles, narrative and reasoning behind it are outlined clearly for cast and crew. 

The Concept

Jekyll struggles, a man possessed, plagued by the demonic voice and the impulses of his alter-ego. We look at his obsession for Lucy, driven by primal urges of lust and rage. He is beast like, no longer human. We reference the landmarks of the musical, his father’s watch, the telephone he uses to murder the Bishop and see him transform into Hyde. A predator. Ever present and lurking in the shadows unnoticed. I play on the fears we have today. The fear we carry when we walk home late at night. Hyde feeds on these fears. He leaves Lucy his calling card, a symbol of death that signifies he is not through with her yet, but her fate is still undetermined because our production has not yet started.

I scouted for locations in London that Hyde may possibly use to pray on his victims. Getting inside the mind of a killer like this I soon realised that no where was safe. We filmed Jekyll transformation into Hyde in a flat. A great shoot where I got to have lots of fun with fake blood and black out the windows with plastic bags. God knows what the neighbours thought was happening. I was lucky to get Leon Lopez of Brown Boy Productions on camera and we managed to achieve all our locations in one day of filming. Joining us on the day was our Lucy played by Louise Olley who was a pleasure to direct. Helping me and Leon with the final edit and creating our sound scape of demonic noises was Ben Walden. I hope you like it. Here’s the final product. 

To read more about the behind the scenes making of Morphic Graffiti’s Jekyll and Hyde visit their blog. 

Quote from Morphic Graffiti:
‘Clayton drew up a storyboard that took our initial ideas into a complete new dimension, incorporating themes, characters and issues in the piece. The clarity of his vision was evident from the start and allowed the filming and editing to create something dark, sinister and foreboding. His attention to detail was incredible and his visual instincts and storytelling are crystal clear. We are beyond thrilled with our viral for Jekyll and Hyde. It has captured the imagination of our audiences, been seen across the globe and sparked discussion and interest from the original writers of the piece, to West End producers and those intrigued by our take on the original story. We cannot wait to work on the next project with him!’