Post - The Project Magazine

Finishing any film project takes commitment, no matter the subject matter. But when the subject of a short film is hard bouldering across multiple areas of the UK, it takes something special to get it done. Rowan Spear-Bulmer and Dan Turner teamed up four years ago to do just that, capturing Turner’s ascents of some of the hardest lines in the UK. Spear-Bulmer, a previous contributor to The Project Magazine, combined his experience as a professional camera operator with Turner’s projecting ability to create an insightful and stunning view of what it takes to climb hard in the UK: Out of Obsession.

Bouldering in the UK is a unique experience; beautiful locations scattered across the country, varying rock types each with its own subtleties and weather conditions that can change in a matter of minutes. Projecting some of the hardest lines in the country takes obsession, as the title of the film rightly suggests. Turner takes down some of the UK’s most infamous lines, including Malcolm Smith’s Monk’s Life in Northumberland, Ben Moon’s Voyager Sitstart in the Peak District and John Gaskins’ Little Women in the Lake District. His narration gives insight into what this feat takes; many attempts over many sessions, spread out over hundreds of miles of the British countryside.

“There were doubts on whether we would be able to finish what we started, with lots of downtime between working on the project. We each had sporadic psyche which fired the other person up’.”

Turner talked about his approach to projecting these lines in his interview with The Project Magazine at the start of their journey. “I have always wanted to climb these. I put a lot of pressure on myself regardless so the process always turns out a bit stressful, which without doubt affects performance. However, I think you need to have that approach, determination and tenacity, to do them. The reason for this project was to try and get some really nice footage of these amazing boulder problems as I felt up to now no-one has really done them justice.”

But what the film doesn’t show is how the pair put it together. “The greatest challenge was ourselves,” says Spear-Bulmer. ‘Mainly coinciding both of our motivation. There were doubts on whether we would be able to finish what we started, with lots of downtime between working on the project. We each had sporadic psyche which fired the other person up”. It was that combination of joint commitment that enabled them to continue the project over a four-year period, which included twelve full shoot days and over a month and a half of edit days.

“We started off with naive energy that it would go down pretty quick. But it quickly became apparent that it wouldn't be easy,” says Spear-Bulmer. Many a film project has been started and left on a hard drive unfinished, and this could have easily have gone the same way had it not been for the pair’s joint commitment to finishing. “It felt like a mountain at first but gradually became more manageable, feeling more within reach over time as Dan ticked off the climbs”.

As a short film, Out of Obsession stands above many of those you may find. Spear-Bulmer and Turner have shown what it takes to develop a high-quality bouldering film with no budget, to create something that is both a beautifully shot psyche movie and an engaging narrative. In an age when anyone can pick up a DSLR and slider, it should be a resource to any aspiring bouldering filmmaker on all the elements needed, from the editing to the approach to shooting interviews with depth.

For Turner, completing the problems and the project, whilst satisfying, has left him questioning what challenge he should take on next. “I was chuffed to do them all, but if I am honest, I have been a bit lost since doing Little Women, especially in the UK. I like to have big projects that really challenge me, you know the kind that you can’t stop thinking about. While they always turn out to be a bit of a stressful affair I think I secretly love it. Time to be proactive and search out some projects.”

At its heart, Out of Obsession is still more bouldering psyche movie than documentary. But in the post-Free Solo, pre-Olympics climbing world where everyone has access to an iPhone, a YouTube channel and the ‘monetize with ads’ button, this film stands out as something truly special: The work of two close friends who decided to focus on capturing the best the UK had to offer, no matter how long it took or the personal cost.

Watch it and enjoy it. It may just leave you pondering if what you are creating is adding value to the community.