Join Us

SHY FILMS – CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

This document outlines current casting and crew opportunities across three SHY Films projects:
  • Feature Film: THE UNIT
  • Documentary: Beneath the Surface
  • Live Creative Event: SOHO SPARKS – February Creative Meet-Up

🎥 Short Film: The World She Painted

Lead Animator

We are seeking a visionary Lead Animator to bring to life a poignant and visually arresting short film, The World She Painted. This project explores the delicate boundary between a mother’s love and a harsh reality, requiring an animator who can balance vibrant, “painted” beauty with the gritty, somber atmosphere of a world transformed by conflict.

Project Overview

The World She Painted follows a blind little boy who relies on his mother’s nightly stories to understand the world. She describes their city as a place of vivid mountains, flowing rivers, and beautiful buildings. These stories are his only source of joy and comfort.

However, when a glowing angel grants the boy’s wish to see , he discovers the heartbreaking truth: the “festival” his mother described was the sound of war. The beautiful city is actually a ruin of murky rivers, collapsed buildings, and black smoke. The film culminates in a powerful choice: the boy asks to forget the devastation he has seen to preserve the beautiful images his mother gave him.

Key Responsibilities
  • Narrative Animation: Create fluid, emotive character animations, specifically focusing on the tender interactions between the boy and his mother.
  • Visual Contrasts: Execute the transition between two distinct visual styles: the “vividly painted” world of the mother’s stories and the “dark, ruined” reality of the war-torn city.
  • Ethereal Effects: Animate the appearance of the “glowing angel” and the magical moment the boy is granted sight.
  • Emotional Nuance: Capture the boy’s heartbreak upon seeing the ruins and his ultimate peace as he chooses to return to his mother’s “warmth”.
Required Skills & Qualifications
  • Proven Experience: A strong portfolio in 2D or stylized 3D animation with a focus on cinematic storytelling.

  • Atmospheric Storytelling: Ability to convey heavy themes—such as the impact of war—in a way that is accessible yet profound.

  • Character Depth: Skill in animating subtle facial expressions, particularly for the boy’s first time seeing his mother’s face.

  • Technical Proficiency: Mastery of industry-standard software (e.g., Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe After Effects, or Blender). 

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio/showreel link, and availability:
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

🎥 Director of Photography (DoP)

Responsibilities:

  • Visual Narrative: Collaborate closely with the Director to define and execute the film’s visual language, aesthetic, and color palette.

  • Technical Leadership: Oversee the camera and lighting departments, working in direct partnership with the Gaffer to achieve the desired mood.

  • Shot Composition: Design framing and camera movements that enhance the psychological tension of the contained institutional setting.

  • Equipment Management: Select appropriate lenses and camera packages suited for the production’s technical and creative needs.

  • Consistency: Ensure visual and continuity standards are maintained across a fast-paced 14-day shoot.

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

  • Location: London

  • Shoot Length: 2 weeks (April)

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio/showreel link, and availability:
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

FEATURE FILM – THE UNIT

Format: Feature Film
Genre: Psychological Thriller / Drama
Production Company: SHY Films
Filming Location: London, UK
Shoot Dates: April (2-week shoot)
Budget Level: Independent

THE UNIT is an actor-driven psychological thriller set within a contained institutional environment. The production will run with a focused, experienced crew and a small cast.

CAST ROLES

🎭 BROOKE (Lead)

Playing Age: 18–25
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Open

Brooke is a fiercely intelligent, volatile young woman involuntarily committed to a private psychiatric unit. She is resistant to authority, emotionally raw, and highly perceptive. This is a demanding lead role requiring significant emotional and physical range.

Availability: Must be available for the full 2-week shoot in April (London)

🎭 DR. BLOOM (Supporting – Antagonist)

Playing Age: 35–45
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Open

Dr. Bloom is the psychiatrist in charge of the Unit. Calm, articulate, and quietly controlling, he represents intellectual authority and institutional power.

🎭 WALT (Supporting)

Playing Age: 30–45
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Open

Walt is a silent, physically imposing psychiatric orderly. He speaks very little but exerts constant pressure through presence and surveillance.

🎭 HAYDEN (Supporting)

Playing Age: 18–22
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Open

Hayden is a young patient who has voluntarily remained in the Unit. Privileged, emotionally immature, and fearful of independence, he masks vulnerability with arrogance.

🎭 CLYDE (Supporting)

Playing Age: 40–55
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Open

Clyde is a long-term patient whose behaviour becomes increasingly disturbing. He is socially inappropriate, lonely, and emotionally regressed.

🎭 MARGO (Supporting)

Playing Age: 40–55
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Open

Margo is a senior psychiatric nurse. Efficient, emotionally guarded, and pragmatic, she keeps the Unit functioning despite its flaws.

🎭 SADIE (Featured Supporting)

Playing Age: 17–22
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Open

Sadie is a withdrawn, fragile patient whose quiet presence becomes a major emotional catalyst in the story.

CREW ROLES REQUIRED

🎧 Sound Recordist
🎧 Sound Mixer / Location Sound Recordist

Responsibilities:

  • Audio Capture: Capture clean dialogue and essential ambient textures, including the mechanical airlock hisses and medical equipment.
  • Dynamic Range: Manage sound for intense sequences ranging from whispered therapy sessions to high-impact physical confrontations.
  • Equipment Management: Provide and operate a professional sound kit suited for high-reverb industrial settings.
  • Environment Mastery: Capture specific atmospheric sounds such as overflowing sinks and the snoring of orderlies on guard duty.

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio link, and availability
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

Responsibilities:

  • Capture high-quality dialogue and location sound

  • Manage boom and radio microphones

  • Deliver organised sound files for post-production

Ideal Profile:

  • Narrative film experience preferred

  • Own equipment advantageous

  • Comfortable with interior-heavy dialogue scenes

💡 Gaffer

Responsibilities:

  • Atmospheric Lighting: Execute a lighting plan that transitions from a “soulless white” sterile hospital ward to the dark, grimy aesthetic of an industrial warehouse.
  • Contrasting Visuals: Work with the DoP to light “unfinished” sections of the set featuring wooden planks and dangling bulbs.
  • Safety Coordination: Manage lighting rigs during major stunt days involving fire and practical effects.
  • Technical Collaboration: Partner with the DoP to maintain visual continuity across a fast-paced 15-day principal photography schedule.

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio link, and availability
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

Responsibilities:

  • Execute lighting plans in collaboration with the DOP

  • Maintain lighting continuity

  • Lead lighting setup for interior locations

Ideal Profile:

  • Feature or high-end short film experience

  • Strong understanding of mood and practical lighting

  • Collaborative working style

Makeup Artist (MUA) - Special Effects Focus

Responsibilities:

  • Character Continuity: Maintain specific character looks, such as lead Brooke’s “worn face” and Sadie’s “gaunt, pale” appearance.
  • Practical SFX Gore: Execute significant prosthetic work, including “crisscross scars,” arterial “geyser” blood spray, and trauma for “bloody awakening” sequences.
  • Detailed Trauma: Apply realistic injury effects, including sprained wrists, dilated pupils, and forehead scrawling.
  • Continuity Management: Ensure all blood spatter and gore effects remain consistent over the course of the 15-day shoot.

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio link, and availability
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

Stunt Coordinator

Responsibilities:

  • Stunt Design: Oversee and choreograph high-impact sequences, including bathroom chokeholds, arm-twisting, and lethal confrontations.
  • Fire Safety: Design and supervise a high-stakes fire/stunt sequence involving a hanging and burning documents.
  • Close-Quarters Combat: Coordinate wrestling and grappling scenes between patients and orderlies to ensure actor safety.
  • Safety Protocols: Provide technical oversight for sequences involving physical restraints and practical weapon use.

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio link, and availability
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

📋 Script Supervisor / Continuity Supervisor

Responsibilities:

  • Action Continuity: Meticulously track physical actions and prop placement, such as the position of vape pens, markers, and weapons during complex stunts.
  • Visual Continuity: Ensure consistent levels of blood saturation and sweat across multi-day sequences like the “Bloody Awakening”.
  • Dialogue Tracking: Monitor performance to ensure all technical and medical dialogue is delivered accurately to script.
  • Wardrobe Consistency: Manage the progression of hospital attire from neat “sky-blue” gowns to “bloody and steadier” clothing throughout the 15-day timeline.

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio link, and availability
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

Responsibilities:

  • Track dialogue, action, props, and performance continuity

  • Maintain detailed script notes

  • Support editorial and director with scene consistency

Ideal Profile:

  • Strong attention to detail

  • Previous narrative film experience preferred

  • Calm and organised under pressure

🎨 Set Designer / Production Designer

Responsibilities:

  • World Building: Design and oversee the construction of a contained psychiatric unit that contrasts with a large, rusted industrial warehouse.
  • Contrasting Aesthetics: Create the transition from “spotless white” clinical rooms to an “unfinished” wing featuring exposed wooden planks and dangling bulbs.
  • Detailing & Props: Source and manage vital storytelling props, including medical files, origami, hidden drugs, and makeshift weapons.
  • Texture & Grime: Develop the visual degradation of the environment, specifically the “Torted Room” featuring concrete floors and rusted medical equipment.

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

📩 Apply with CV/credits, portfolio link, and availability
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

Responsibilities:

  • Design and dress key interior locations (psychiatric unit setting)

  • Develop a cohesive visual language aligned with the film’s tone

  • Source, adapt, or modify existing locations where required

  • Manage props, textures, and spatial continuity

  • Collaborate closely with the director, DOP, and costume department

Ideal Profile:

  • Experience in narrative film (short or feature)

  • Strong visual storytelling instincts

  • Practical and resourceful approach to low-budget design

  • Collaborative mindset

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

Location: London
Shoot Length: 2 weeks (April)

📩 Apply with CV/credits and availability:
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

🎥 DOCUMENTARY – Beneath the Surface

(Working title – developed from “Breaking the Silence”)

Format: Feature-Length Documentary
Themes: Race, identity, media, politics, art, and social cohesion in Britain
Production Company: SHY Films
Location: UK (London-based preferred)
Budget: Low-budget / Profit-share collaboration

Beneath the Surface explores the roots of racial tension in Britain following the 2024 and 2025 summer race riots. Through historical context, lived experience, political and media analysis, and a musical intervention led by Pianist Without Borders (Fabio Tedde), the documentary examines how cycles of division persist—and how they might be broken.

CREW ROLES REQUIRED

🎬 Producer (Documentary)

Responsibilities:

  • Oversee documentary development and production

  • Coordinate contributors, access, and logistics

  • Support ethical storytelling and narrative structure

  • Assist with delivery, festivals, and funding strategy

Ideal Profile:

  • Documentary production experience (short or feature)

  • Strong organisational and communication skills

  • Sensitivity when working with real-life contributors

Compensation:

  • Profit-share / backend participation

🎧 Sound Mixer / Location Sound Recordist (Documentary)

Responsibilities:

  • Capture clean interview and observational audio

  • Manage boom and radio microphones

  • Record ambient sound in uncontrolled environments

Ideal Profile:

  • Documentary or factual experience preferred

  • Discreet and calm working style

  • Own sound kit preferred

Compensation:

  • Profit-share basis

  • Flexible shoot days

Location: London
Shoot Length: 1 week (April)

📩 Apply with CV/credits and availability:
contact@shyfilms.co.uk

The Easter Edit

Event Host: SHY Films
Venue: Karma Sanctum Soho, 20 Warwick Street, London W1B 4NF
Date: Thursday, 2nd April 2026
Time: 18:00–22:00

As the London film scene gears up for a busy production season, SHY Films invites you to the Karma Sanctum Soho on Thursday, 2nd April, for a night of cinematic connection and Easter inspiration.

ROLES REQUIRED

🎤 Live Singer / Music Performer

Event: SOHO SPARKS – Creative Meet-Up
Date: Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Performance Slot: Approx. 19:00–20:00

Looking For:

  • Singers or singer-songwriters (solo or minimal setup)

  • Confident live performers with strong stage presence

  • Any genre welcome (acoustic, soul, pop, jazz, indie, alternative)

What’s Offered:

  • Live performance at a respected Soho venue

  • Exposure to a curated creative-industry audience

  • Subscriber Spotlight opportunity

  • Live-stream exposure where available

  • Networking and future SHY Films opportunities

  • Travel expenses paid for London-based applicants

🎥 Videographer

Responsibilities:

  • Capture live performances, networking moments, and event atmosphere

  • Film highlights from the Creative Voices panel and audience interaction

  • Record dynamic footage suitable for promotional and social media use

Ideal Profile:

  • Experience filming live events or performances

  • Strong visual storytelling instincts

  • Comfortable working in low-light environments

  • Able to work discreetly during a live event

  • Own camera and basic kit preferred

What’s Offered:

  • Credit and visibility with SHY Films

  • Footage for showreel and portfolio use

  • Networking with creatives across film, music, and media

  • Opportunity for ongoing collaboration on future SHY Films events

  • Travel expenses paid for London-based applicants

🎙️ Event Host / Presenter

Responsibilities:

  • Welcome guests and introduce performers

  • Host the Creative Voices panel and audience Q&A

  • Guide the flow and energy of the evening

Ideal Profile:

  • Experience in presenting, hosting, or acting

  • Confident speaking to live audiences

  • Warm, engaging, and adaptable

What’s Offered:

  • High-visibility hosting role

  • Networking with creative professionals

  • Footage suitable for showreels

  • Travel expenses paid for London-based applicants

Location: London

📩 Apply with CV/credits and availability:
contact@shyfilms.co.uk