Simon Daniels

At some point the question of what you will be when you grow up is posed. All around him Simon found future firemen, nurses and pop stars. "When it came to me the answer was immediate, I had been considering it for some time. At seven, I want to be a director. What, why? Well the truth of the matter is I thought it would get me in to space or help me discover lost treasure quicker”.

“I would spend days setting up my toys in, well, scenes, I suppose. Then I would lie down around them and imagine what they were saying to each other or dream up and help them carry out their adventures. Not so good for carpet burns, but great for the imagination. There was a shed at my parents’ house full of sets and backdrops, dust covered props and trunks full of costumes, film reels and long dimmed projectors gathering dust, which gets inside you weather you know it or not.

”Simon is a director. It’s in his blood. He comes form a long line of actors, dancers (his mum was a high kicker in the Royalettes), cinema and theatre people. His grandmother ran the Dorothy Daniels Dublin City Players, which was a 'fit up' touring theatre company from the early ’40s, and his great grandfather began showing films in the ’20s. Eventually both were put off the road in the ’60s by television.

“I’ve come to directing by a circuitous route. I studied graphic design, but got bored of the reality, then went in to backline, sound engineering and stage management. Being in the moment excites me. Eventually, with some help I founded a company that specialised in set design and video projections for concerts and events. I began to really look at what we were being sent to project and arrogantly decided I can do better than that. So, eight years ago I began editing, then moved in to post-production and visual effects. Now I’m a director. I’m exhilarated by the opportunities it allows me. I imagine scenes again, but now I make them a reality. Finally, I’m home again.”

Simon set up his own post-production company 'Design for Life' in 2003, and as a result has seen it all, pretty much. "Having a post-house means you get all types of requests and problems to solve. The two things it has taught me are whatever it is, one, find the truth of it and you won’t go wrong, and two, when I go to shoot a sequence that is VFX heavy I understand what happens next so there are no or fewer challenges to solve: I know exactly what’s needed.

“Directing is about communication and storytelling, regardless of the subject matter: What’s the truth of this, and how can I communicate that to the audience? It’s an honour to work with talented people. In front and behind the camera I get the best from them, and that helps me deliver something unique and elemental. I like to make music videos for fun because it allows me to explore themes and learn something about myself along the way. Through Design for Life I explore animation, typography and VFX. There are few things more exciting than starting with a blank canvas and dreaming up the answer, then working to present that in an engaging manner.