James Malone (Palpa Films)

Miles:

So how did you get into the industry?…

James:

Long story in short is: I bought a camera and started taking photos of mountain biking, because that was just what I did.

Later on, there was a competition I entered that was kind of pivotal - called ‘Deep Summer.’.

It showed me how rewarding photography was and how much I sucked! But also - how much potential I could have, if I just stuck with it.

One of the judges was a guy called Graeme Murray - a Red Bull photographer. When I asked for some feedback, he just tore me a new one [James jokes]. It was really good.

He taught me valuable lessons like: ‘go and fail early, when you don’t have the preasures of an audience’ - that kind of thing.

I got a couple of photos in magazines but I always wanted to film and make a documentary.

I had an itch I needed to scratch.

Miles:

What did you do for a living prior to mountain bike photography?

James:

I left school at age 18. And I had an offer to do an art degree.

Talked to my parents about it and they weren't that stoked on me going to university. From their perspective, I think they just saw me as a teenager, riding around on a BMX. They just wanted me to go and get a trade.

Miles:

What did you settle on?

James:

I ended up joining the Marines.

James (cont.):

My dad was in the Marines but I don't think he wanted me to go in… We were on the cusp of war.

I did a tour in Afghanistan and then, after five years, kind of had a guts full of that, then got into the private security industry - stopping pirate attacks in West Africa and East Africa, stuff in the Middle East.

I quit security after three and a half years. I wasn't that stoked..

Later, I was in the mountains after earthquakes, performing repair jobs and then on oil rigs. After that: I moved to Australia to work for the gold mines.

I then got a job then doing industrial rope access - which took me to New Zealand. Doing that, I took a photo that was used as the graphic on a New Zealand stamp.

I think even then I had this interest in photography, good films and more generally - just a really huge appreciation for images that made me feel something.

Miles:

We’ll come back around to filmmaking in a sec but your photo ended up on a stamp?! That’s awesome

James:

After loads of earthquakes in New Zealand, we ‘d take helicopters up the mountain, jump off and abseil down the mountainside, to remove loose debris and drill the safety precautions in.

Doing this, you’d see these really cool photos in your head and I was taking lots of them on my phone.

Originally this photo was for a work competition - photos to go in the work calendar that they could give to clients.
Really small time.
The printer saw the photograph though and contacted someone who worked in the postal service.

They used my photo and I made the sum of $200..

Jackpot!

Miles:

Do you have any of stamps?

James:

Got a load at home. $2.70 value.

Miles:

You transitioned from photography to filmmaking. What are you currently working on?

James:

Yeah, so currently working on a YouTube channel for Simon Jeffries, who’s a confidence and mindset coach. He’s an ex Special Forces guy and we're trying to make what he's learned in his careers (prior to that and afterwards) useful for everyday person that they can use in their own lives.

It’s free coaching.

Beyond that: developing ideas for a documentary - following veterans 10 years on from combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. How veterans of physical and mental injuries are coping, now that the dust has settled for everyone else.

It isn’t the government looking after them but charities…

Working on three short documentaries/fundraising films for the Royal Marines charity which I'm hoping get the Go ahead.

I just want to be able to convey the issues in ways that are so powerful, people want to give the charities lots of cash! [James laughs]

Miles:

‘Resilience’ is a bit of a buzzword in the industry and gets thrown around a lot. I keep getting email ads about courses.

I find it interesting that you’ve been in a lot of genuinely dangerous situations (like Afghanistan) but also, talking to you - you’re a really empathetic person.

Extreme stressors often push people the other way.

I’ve been curious to ask what ‘resilience’ looks like to you?

James:

‘Resilience’ is a buzzword yeah.

‘Mindfulness’ gets mentioned in a similar vein but as a bit of a get out of jail free card for people. Like: “You haven’t done your mindfulness”

So yeah - how about you just have reasonable expectations of people and stop making it life or death? Because it really fucking isn't haha.

I was really poor at that; really bad at handling my emotion - being aggressive and trying to be mentally tough. And actually, it was just mentally weak.

I think people want to better themselves and that’s human. But it’s all one big process, rather than a beginning and an end.

Miles:

So reliance to you isn’t ‘toughness’ as we’d traditionally describe it?

James:

No, not at all.

Resilience is courageous restraint. Having the balls to pull back you know - in the heat of the moment and just have a cigarette or something.

Miles: [surprised, starts laughing]

James:

I can think of a time… Picture the scene:

I am 19 years old and we’ve just been ambushed.

We dive into a ditch headfirst into load of brambles. There's … you know - bullets going everywhere and there's more artillery. Then, my section commander just rolls a cigarette, gets his map out and starts smoking a cigarette, casually reading.

And that was the most reassuring thing I could have seen in that moment, because I was like ‘well, he's not worried about this?’ - Like, what were we going to do run straight headfirst into a hail of bullets? That's not gonna happen.

Miles:

It’s interesting the paths people often take in. Especially those with different life experiences, often without formal education. Yours is different from most.

James:

There's a kind of thing that veterans do though is say: ‘I’m a veteran, turned filmmaker’. I don’t do that. But I could, you know.

Miles:

What’s your decision making for that?

James:

I just don't need people to know.

Yeah - it was defining time in my life. But it also affected me for a long time afterwards. 10 years later I was still getting my head around things that happened - good and bad.

The good: when I was doing that job, I honestly felt in my bones I could do anything.

I'm just kind of rediscovering that but as a filmmaker - trying to stick my head above the parapet - if you excuse the pun.

Miles:

I’m interested in everyone’s watching and how that influenced their career path.

What did you watch early on, that inspired you?

James:

It's honestly The Dark Side of the Lens by Mickey Smith. In my mind, it’s unbelievably good.

Like, the way he articulates how he feels about what he does, the filmmaking, photography and surfing.

It's hard to put my finger on…

There's epics too but me and my friends just watched a lot of the office. That's crept its way into some of my work.

Miles: [Laughing]

James

Just like some of the shots I remember filming a two minute thing for like a bike shop and it was literally an episode of The Office in a bike shop. Just loads of like shots of the mundaneness of like, you know, I mean, in the office. There was at least shots of people just typing, or the copier.

But there are two big films I like: Moneyball with Brad Pitt and A Place Beyond the Pines.

They managed to film the opening scene of A Place Beyond the Pines in a public-attended carnival and all of the reactions feel authentic and help pull you in. I think that’s amazing.

Miles:

Miles: James. Thank you very much for talking. Any plugs?

James:

www.palpafilms.com

www.instagram.com/palpa.films/