Taylor: How did you get into filmmaking? Did you have a moment when you realized that you could study it in college or pursue it as a career?

Radheya: I've always loved film and animation; I grew up on it. But I started getting interested in making films when I was in late primary school. I remember watching this old British TV show about dinosaurs, called “Primeval” (I was a dinosaur kid), but I was really interested in the CGI and the VFX behind it. I wondered, “how did they actually create this,” and so I would  watch VFX breakdowns and research how they were able to show us the impossible. So, that's kind of where I started to learn how to use software and create visuals.

Once I had a grasp on that,  I'd always loved storytelling and writing. I think both of those naturally converged together into film and animation. Initially, I did want to create live-action films, but at the time, I felt like I didn't have the resources or the knowledge to be able to create what I thought would be a good live-action film. I didn't have a camera, so I would hold my dad's Macbook Air and run around and record things. Then, I'd cut things together in iMovie and put on these crappy effects...it looked terrible, but at the same time, that also sparked my love for filmmaking.

I created my first animated short in high school, and it was selected for a film festival in Queensland for the Port Shorts Film Festival. It was all very new to me, but I was so happy it got selected. I remember my parents burst into my room with a phone in their hand. They said they were announcing the live award ceremony that was happening. I didn't have my hopes super high up because I was in the open international category. We were huddled around it, listening intently, and somehow my film won the overall prize! Of course I was super happy to have had any sort of my work acknowledged at all, but I think that was the moment where my parents and I realized that maybe film was something that I could pursue as a career. 

Although I will say, going into uni- I know I mentioned I did a double degree of Screen Arts and Marketing- but in the first year, I was only doing Marketing because my parents were like, “ no, you're not studying film.”  Thankfully, they came around. Now  they're really, really supportive, and I'm so grateful to have them. 

Taylor: Where do you go for creative inspiration? Any specific books, movies, or music?

Radheya: I think weirdly, Calvin and Hobbes. I grew up on those comics as a kid. It's imaginative, and I just love that kind of world. I wouldn't say I draw on it for inspiration now, but it definitely shaped me to be who I am.

In terms of other sources of inspiration, I've always loved space. And so, seeing movies like Gravity and 2001: A Space Odyssey-- seeing how they translated so beautifully into film--that definitely was an influence.  I was like, “Wow, I really want to make a film about this. I want to tell a human story, but through celestial imagery.” I wanted to bring this unique perspective on sound and how that translates into isolation and loneliness. And also escapism and the imprisonment of the mind. I'm a big fan of sci-fi and horror, and shows like Black Mirror or Inside No. 9… really anything with a twist that brings you on a psychological journey.

For music --to be honest, my personal taste is very embarrassing--most of the time it’s generic pop music and then some movie soundtracks. Right now, there's a project that I’m working on, and I’ve been listening to so many Studio Ghibli soundtracks. It's really lovely because you can have music playing anywhere in the background and it definitely helps you to be inspired.

Taylor: What's the most challenging project that you've worked on? 

Radheya: One of them, I would say, was a documentary I did over in the U.S. I did an internship at a place called Nokia Bell Labs, and I had to do a documentary there about my fellow interns and their projects. They were so incredible to work with.  I had to write, direct, and do all these aspects of a documentary that were completely new to me. It was very much trying to figure out what I was doing as I went. So that was one of the more challenging projects, but I really loved it and loved the experience. 

Taylor: What does your creative process look like when planning out and developing a film? 

Radheya: “The Quiet” was very much an evolutionary process. When I started the animation, I had no idea what the finished film was going to be. I knew the basic plot and some of the themes that I wanted to be integral to the film’s soul, but a lot of ideas came to me throughout the creation. This is the same for  pretty much all of my other animated films. I don't know, maybe it makes it sound a bit disorganized, but it's definitely a very fluid process and the story becomes very malleable as I’m grabbing ideas as I go. 

“The Quiet” started out from two different places. I'd written a short story a few years ago called “Silence.” It’s very different to what “The Quiet” is, but it started out with the same sentence, “silence is the most beautiful thing that exists in the universe.” I thought, “Okay, maybe I can pluck out that and that could be the start of the narration.” Then when I was in Hong Kong, I had this thought of stars and the sound of a salt shaker and then the sun and the sound of a gas stove, so I wrote the ideas down on my phone. It was obviously not a story, but it was maybe someplace I could start. I began thinking about sound and silence and what if I could  pair those up with some everyday sounds to create a connection and use that to tell a narrative. It was also really great to have my dad narrate the film--being able to go back and forth with him, bounce ideas off each other, and to have that kind of collaborative creative process with someone that you’re so close to--it’s  really special.

When I have a vision for something, even if I don't know at all how to approach it, I will stop at nothing to make it.  I'll just be like, yeah, okay, we’re doing this. I know there'll be lots of late nights, but at the same time it doesn't feel like work for me because I love it.

Taylor: How did you come up with the style for “The Quiet”? I know you incorporated some actual photos from NASA, but how did it all come together ?

Radheya: Actually, I made a film called “Journey” and it was also set in space ( I think there's a space theme going on, but I just love space). I  had discovered that NASA images were on the public domain, so they could be used for projects. I really wanted to revisit that with “The Quiet” and take, for example, the image of a constellation and see how I could edit it. How could I change the context of where it's in? What other elements do I use to completely change it’s meaning? 

There’s definitely a few different styles in “The Quiet.” I was interested in exploring the minimalism of the line and how that translates into visual silence but also the visual noise. There are a few louder visual scenes where it's very detailed and a completely different style to what you've seen previously in the film. I think, partly because of that, I really wanted it to be one flowing shot with the visuals melting into each other and having transitions. I didn't want it to be too jarring visually with so many different things going on. The film is a flowing consciousness of memory and then finally having that cut, when the truth is revealed at the end...it was just really fun to be able to explore. Especially with a film like this, which is more experimental, I didn't feel restrained by the rules of the visuals and what I could tell. It felt very freeing to be able to do what I thought would most expressively tell the story.

Taylor: How do you go about making the soundtrack for a short film like “The Quiet”? 

Radheya: It's actually done on my laptop, so I play the instruments all digitally.  I used to play piano, saxophone, flute, and the guitar. I haven't touched them in such a long time, but that initial background definitely helped with figuring out the score. In terms of the process, it's very different for each film, and it can be very spontaneous. I have so many embarrassing voice memos of me humming tunes and melodies (these are never going to be heard by anyone, I'm just going to lock it away in a dungeon forever)! 

I thought of the main theme for “The Quiet” when I was in China on exchange.  I was sitting outside and I thought of this tune, and then I just hummed it. And then afterwards, I went back into my dorm and started working on it from there. It can be very challenging, but I do love that process as well.

Taylor: With all the films that you've made, is there any common thread throughout or is there anything that you always try to include?

Radheya:  I'm so glad you asked that; the one thing that's consistent throughout all of them is the painting of The Scream. Every single one of my films, so far, has incorporated that in, whether it's more subtly or a lot more noticeable like in “The Quiet.” Apart from that, I love the juxtaposition of darker and lighter elements. I love trying to put the viewer on some kind of journey, whether it's an emotional journey or one that might change their minds.

Taylor: Do you have a favorite constellation? I know Gemini played a large role in “The Quiet,” but I wasn't sure if you had a different favorite.

Radheya: I'd say Orion--only because when I'm looking into the night sky, I can see Orion’s Belt and actually recognize it! In “The Quiet,” there was one sequence with all the constellations. It was honestly one of the most painstaking parts of the film; whenever I had any kind of free time, I was working away at it. I got the constellations and their different points and I brought them into After Effects. Then, I had to draw out the lines that would connect them together and individually animate all the lines that outlined the constellation. Three quarters of the way through, I figured out a slightly easier way to do it, but before that, it was all manual. I was like, “Oh my gosh, why are you wasting so much time?” It took a while, but it's a learning process, and I got to learn a little bit about constellations through it.

Taylor: Do you have any new projects that you're working on? 

Radheya: One of my main projects for the year is called” Bird Drone.” I'm working with producer, Hannah Ngo, and writer, Clare Toonen. Last year, they approached me with a project, and we applied for funding--thankfully we were successful. It's about an unrequited love story of a bird who falls in love with a drone. The film’s going to be my baby. I'm coming on board as a director, and I'm just so happy, excited, and grateful to be working with them! They’re incredible. I have a documentary as well called “Pace the Pool,” which is about this man called Richard Pace, his extraordinary life, and how he overcame a lot of his physical struggles with aqua therapy and swimming. Those are my two main projects, and I’m super stoked to be able to do this. 

To learn more about Radheya, please check out his twitter:  twitter.com/heyaitsradheya, instagram: @radheya_j or his website: radheya.net