#ryan mackfall

Back in spring 2024 I directed what can only be described as one of the greatest opportunities in my career. Ask any British person what they think of when they hear the name 'The Royal Albert Hall' and you'll be greeted with a whole range of different concerns, events and conventions. It's arguably the country's most beautiful and well respected venue. So when Train got in touch, 6 months previous, to see if I would be up for directing a multicam live show film, I naturally jumped at the opportunity.

The venue has been filmed at thousands of times, but I wanted to try and bring my own flair to our project, so we made some camera position choices that others wouldn't necessarily have picked. There was also a lot of restriction due to the fact there was no photo pit and we were strictly forbidden to block any audience seated positions from seeing the show. It was a moment which therefore showed me the power of the 'front of house stage shot' opposed to relying on a mixture of photo pit and FOH cameras. Never underestimate what focal distance and lens choices to for the cinematic feel of something!

Thanks again to my amazing Crashburn crew and everyone who contributed to the project being such a wild success. You know you've hit the nail on the head squarely when management see the final piece and go 'wow, that is incredible!'. Below are some photos from the day (taken by Brian Robinson) along with a video clip for one of the band's major hits 'Drops of Jupiter'.

Watch the full show on VEEPS now!

Hello, I am alive.

There is life outside of social media my friends. I’ve been largely off it since February 12th apart from this blog and my personal sites where I connected with my friends and family. The “pics or it didn’t happen” mentality is a virus in the minds of every human on the planet. I originally began my hiatus as a month long experiment, but as my head has come out of the ether I find myself reconsidering if I’ll ever go back to the way I was before. Or if I do go back in a small portion; how I can avoid letting it consume my brain again? Realistically social media in the right amount can help us all in various ways, but it’s a knife edge. It’s been a huge help to me in my career, but I know I require a different approach now as I move into some things I’m not quite at liberty to discuss yet. The foundations of my career are now set in stone and a lot of the people who I began with have moved onto new things, or quite simply (and brutally) are no longer the people I want professionally involved with me. We must cut away the dead skin sometimes. I make a lot of friends through my work, and I keep the good ones close, but most of the rest are not components of the new equation I am working on. This equation is a re-evaluation of where I want to be as a filmmaker, and what things I want to leave behind connected with my name.  

I hope a lot of you can be brave and step away from social media for a bit, mostly because it gives you a clarity on the here and now (in work and in personal lives), but also because you can’t beat the feeling of real conversation, real interaction, and being close to all the people you need in your world. I sat with my dad last night, enjoying a whiskey, while chatting to my mum about a few things. You never know when moments like that may not exist, so I look to take every single one I can, because realistically my family are the unit which matter most to me. I have no regrets living in Cornwall and being near them while I am fortunate enough to work on many amazing things. But with that being said, if you’re staring into a phone how real are the moments? I’ve started something by choosing to delete the apps from my phone and telling everyone what I’m up to; I don’t plan on letting it turn into an idle gesture.

Just a thought on this cold and snow dusted Monday. I’ve just spent most of the weekend locked away with my new editor; she’s one of the new assets I’ve brought into my filmmaking world, and as I begin assembling a new team it’s bringing me a new zest to push myself. There’s some travel on the horizon too, but more on that as and when it happens. 

Be safe everyone. Put down your phones, log off, and be a better human.

CONFIRMED: My next short film

January 2018 I will be directing my next short film. This will be a horror/thriller. Funding has been locked and confirmed. A lead actor has been selected. 

Band: Amon AmarthSong: “Put Your Back Into The Oar”Director: Ryan MackfallAlbum: “Put Your Back Into The Oar” (single)Release Date: February 17th, 2022Label: Victorious MusicPurchase: 12″ Picture DiscAll options The group said of it: “We’ve been quiet over the last 2 years, but we’ve been at home in Sweden hard at work behind the scenes. Much has been said about fans coming to our shows to…

Band: Employed To ServeSong: “Mark of the Grave”Director: Ryan MackfallAlbum: ConqueringRelease Date: September 17th, 2021Label: Spinefarm Records Vocalist Justine Jones said of the clip: “With this video we just wanted to have fun. After months of being cooped up inside, we wanted to focus on a project that was more light-hearted. We shot the music video at Miracle Theatre in Cornwall with…

Band: TriviumSong: “In The Court of The Dragon”Director: Ryan MackfallAlbum: “In The Court of The Dragon” – singleRelease Date: July 9th, 2021Label: Roadrunner Records Bassist Paolo Gregoletto said of the track: “We started putting together the riffs for what would become ‘In the Court Of The Dragon‘ last year with no touring on the horizon. We decided to use the uncertainty to our advantage…

Οι Trivium κυκλοφόρησαν το νέο τους single “In The Court Of The Dragon” το οποίο συνοδεύεται απο μία μικρού μήκους ταινία σε σκηνοθεσία του Ryan Mackfall.

Melbourne - May 2018 - Photos by Jay Wennington

I’ve been in Melbourne for about 2 and a half weeks, and tomorrow I head back to the UK (after an easy 26 hour trip). What have I been up to? You’ll see soon enough. Here are a few photos of my final day in the city by my good friend Jay Wennington (a big thank you to him and his girlfriend Jess for not only putting me up at their apartment, but just being incredible friends).