Last seen on Directors Notes with her unforgettable spa retreat drama Hot Mother, Lucy Knox’s most recent project is a 7 minute acknowledgement, educator and reminder of the difficulties of growing, learning, experiencing and moving forward in the present day. Eighteen lends itself as a momentary scope into the reality of young adults and the world they are coming to conform and adapt to. With the help of the production company Trust, alongside her returning DOP Max Walter and the rest of her talented crew, Knox brings forward a documentary that “acts as a time capsule” for these adolescents and the entire generation around them. Exemplified by a triad of individuals from her home turf in Australia, Knox’s short curates an intimate, thought-provoking and contemporary nostalgic glimpse into these lives on the cusp of adulthood, offering an opportunity for their voices and stories to be shared and understood. Join DN alongside Knox as we discuss the development of her project, the challenge of weaving the subjects’ voices together and the importance of sharing the evolving emotional journey that this younger generation are having to come to terms with.
How did you come to be working with Trust on Eighteen and how did they support you through the process of making the documentary? Were you working to a brief or given free rein to explore where your interests took you?
I had the idea of making a film about being eighteen, and pitched it to Trust. Sarah Brannan, the EP there, was an incredible resource and very trusting. This was a documentary about a theme; there was no script so I was pitching something that I didn’t really know how it would turn out. But she got it. Her input made the project so much richer; she had thoughtful questions that gave me new prompts and made me interrogate the subject matter more deeply. There was a lot of creative freedom.
There’s a formality to Eighteen’s compositions which, rather than distancing, provides an intimacy that connects us both to your subjects’ environments and them directly as they make eye contact with us. How did you develop the film’s visual style alongside DOP Max Walter, given your desire to embrace a more reactionary approach for this project?
I think having worked with Max over the years, he understands my taste, and we have a shared language and understanding of what we want to achieve, so that helps when responding to largely unplanned material. The visual language developed in response to the content. Because it was reactive, we wanted the camera to bring formality. So we leaned into framing each moment formally – meaning locked off, close cropped and still – to give it a visual structure and cohesion. We kept the setup minimal, because our cast aren’t actors and we wanted to be unobtrusive around them. So we’d go into a space and turn a few of the house lights off, maybe put a light or a bounce outside the window, but nothing in the space. We shot on the Alexa 35 and the Cooke Panchro Classics, with mostly long lenses.
Most Popular
From Max: “The grain structure and highlight latitude of the Alexa 35 is the closest thing to getting a filmic feeling into the footage. The creamy and textured quality of those lenses, but within the dependable and solid modern housing, was valuable to us while moving fast. We were nimble enough to react to what unfolded in front of us. Despite that documentary approach we favoured long lenses, particularly the 75mm and 50mm. The camera remained observational and largely locked off, but the closeness of the long lenses, and the stillness of the frame brought a gentle immediacy to every subtle look, every self-conscious movement.”
We leaned into framing each moment formally – meaning locked off, close cropped and still – to give it a visual structure and cohesion.
The balance between the voices of the subjects that you documented and your own voice within the film’s style and aesthetic is bang on perfect. How did you encourage their reflective responses and initially craft the discussion topics? Did those evolve at all as you spoke to more participants?
Thank you! We began casting with a social media callout, and I did Zoom calls with everyone to ask about their hobbies, what they cared about, to get a sense of their lives and how they saw the world. From this, I had a basic framework of questions going into their interviews, but the focus was on listening and responding to shifts in conversation. It helped having a team who understood and were invested in the project – in a couple interviews, our sound recordist Adam Armstrong also jumped in with some great follow up questions. It was also important to make sure the cast have agency in the filming process – establishing that their involvement doesn’t stop when we finish recording their interview. They knew they could retract anything later, and they are brought in to see the edit when it’s in post production. Then they can see and be part of how their story has been shaped, and we can ensure it feels authentically in their voice.
It was also important to make sure the cast have agency in the filming process – establishing that their involvement doesn’t stop when we finish recording their interview.
You’ve said this film is a time capsule documentary that marks a significant shift in the world as experienced by 18 year olds now, as compared to generations gone before. Is this something keenly felt by your participants or more a reflection of your observations comparing their concerns now with your own when you were their age?
I guess it’s probably a mix of both, as it’s hard to divorce from my own perspective. I do think this generation feels like they’re living through something unique. That the world they’re inheriting, the societal pressures around them, feel more intense than before. I felt that sense of pressure come through a lot of the interviews. But maybe that’s something every generation feels to some extent.
As you went into this with a clear desire to find your way with the material, how arduous was the editing process in identifying the connective tissue and final structure of the film? Were there any initially promising structures/flows which you abandoned or reformed to arrive at this final one?
Definitely, there was intentionally no plan in pre of how the scenes would link together, so finding that flow in the edit was a real process of experimentation – beautifully navigated by editors Leila Gaabi and Shannon Michaelas. I’ve worked with Leila a lot – she did an amazing job of crafting the scenes and shaping the tone of each character. When she got pulled onto a commercial, Shannon stepped in seamlessly, and then further shaped the non-linear structure that gives it that flow. It was actually great working with both of them, they discussed it a lot and bounced back and forth. We did try other structures – other edits that spent more time with each person, but in the end it felt strongest when we weaved their voices together. Not staying with one person for too long, made it feel like it spoke more universally to this age, more like a collective portrait, which was always the goal.
We did try other structures – other edits that spent more time with each person, but in the end it felt strongest when we weaved their voices together.
Eighteen is contemporary, present, relevant, and makes for honestly eye opening watching. I’d love to know if you learnt anything or connected differently to the themes during the journey of making this film?
For sure. I think I was reminded how emotionally intense that age really is – how deeply things are felt, how much pressure there can feel like there is around you. I think the process deepened my empathy and respect for this generation.
How go the long form projects you mentioned last time we spoke and will we also see more shorts from you in the future?
Yes, the long form projects are moving along, and yes to making more shorts. I love shorts, I think some stories are better suited to short form. It’s a great way to stay connected to making things or to try new techniques… while developing bigger projects in the background.
