Sam started his Dissimulation journey with a few short robot sketches. He was inspired by the darker side of character designs, such as in Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam films. From there, a script was written, characters created and themes discussed. It became obvious from an early stage, that while a feature film would have been a great experience to direct and produce, the funds were not available to create such an enormously detailed world.
So with this in mind, it was decided that a short film was the best way to proceed - the available budget could be utilised to produce a high quality film but in a short format - the equivalent of making a mini Hollywood production. Sam would often describe the short as being like a slice of Hollywood where every character, from background to foreground, had a well thought through backstory, with tailor made costumes and props. Dissimulation is a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi where most of the creations were achieved using practical effects, from makeup to masks.
The few exceptions were several CGI shots to add additional scope. This mostly practical approach, was an intentional creative decision to make the film achieve a more nostalgic feel. There's something about the handcrafted nature of much of the film that resonates with the imagination, harking back to traditional effects, similar to the early Star Wars films. The largest production to date for Sam Weeks has seen collaborations with various other creative talents, allowing them the freedom to innovate in their different creative fields. In all a team of 80 cast and crew was brought together, with the longer term intention of pitching the short to larger companies in the future with the goal of funding a feature film of Dissimulation.
