This week we had the chance to ask Erinç Ulusoy some questions about his short film Night Owls, and his thoughts on the filmmaking process and short film industry in general. Here’s what he had to tell us…

Interviewer: What inspired you to make this film?

Erinç Ulusoy: I can’t describe myself as a ‘Night Owl’. But understanding the motivation of ‘being a night owl’ was always one of my niche interests since I was a kid. The reason for my first-night wake was to watch the Michael Jackson Concert live on TV. I was a kid at that time and at the same time, I realized that people still worked while we were sleeping at night. That night, they were working in a TV Station to bring us that live event. I guess the world was still awake… Not crowded, but still awake. I wanted to focus on that.

Interviewer: From the lessons you have learned through your experience, what advice would you like to give to aspiring filmmakers?

Erinç Ulusoy: It won’t be a creative answer but ‘passion’ is the key. But it’s not the only thing… I can easily describe myself as a hard worker. But I won’t say that to them to be a hard worker. Just be smart, give responsibility to your colleagues and don’t get into heavy weight all by yourself. But while you practicing that, don’t lose your unique touch. That will make everything different if you have a spark.

Interviewer: In your film we see the characters either squeezed in the frame, or left in the dark. We see different artificial light sources as a main character of your film. As a guerilla filmmaker how the lighting helped the film’s overall sense? (https://thefoundationspecialists.com)

Erinç Ulusoy: Well, in ‘Night Owl’ I did not set any light source as you mention. I didn’t want to lose the inner feeling of each character. That feeling makes the structure of the film I believe. That’s why I was following my characters like a shadow of something else, not theirs. I did not follow them too closely not to distract them, even sometimes staying too far from them. Because of that decision, I had to shoot a lot and shoot via different frames, especially putting them at different points of the frame, which I adore. I hope viewers can like it too.

Interviewer: Was there something that specifically inspired you to make a documentary about this subject matter?

Erinç Ulusoy: As I mentioned at the beginning of the interview, I think the idea came from living in different time zones first. I was a basketball player at that time. Like the concert which, I mentioned and also watching NBA games live was another reason. That’s why I also put this subject into the documentary. Thanks to Orkun Colakoglu and Kaan Kural once again.

Interviewer: Why do you think Short films are important?

Erinç Ulusoy: I think the important thing is ‘storytelling’. It doesn’t matter which medium you choose to use it.

Interviewer: Where do you see the film industry going in the next 3-5 years?

Erinç Ulusoy: So global right now, way much more than it was. The digital era brings a lot of possibilities to the table. Storytellers have a lot of tools. But ideas are a bit limited. If storytellers put their unique perspectives more than people want it will bring us much better films. But one thing I want back… The street cinemas. I really want to see them back!

Watch Full Short Film Here: