The Urban Collective

Salford’s Jason “Clarky” Clarke is a filmmaker, musician and frontman of urban-exploration group The Urban Collective.

Venturing into abandoned mills, pubs and hotels of bygone eras, The Collective’s work is a gritty portrayal of decaying Northern heritage.


interview originally published in STAT - ISSUE 05


First off - how would you describe The Urban Collective and why did you start making films?

It's hard to explain exactly what the collective is in a paragraph, but basically, we document history through the medium of film, covering long-forgotten and abandoned places and the people that frequented them or made them tick, if you will, whose echoes "live on" amongst the dust and decay.

As for why I started film making, I pretty much always wanted to do it ever since being exposed to it as a nipper, from the likes of Billy Friedkin's The Exorcist - to Romero's Dawn of the Dead or even the good old British cult classic that is the wonderful Kes. It was the atmosphere, the tension, the hopelessness that just captured my imagination. But I figured without a budget - or even a camera - filmmaking would never be possible, so I never chased that dream and just pottered through life until I discovered social media and Urban Exploration. That's when I realised I could indeed make film in a style that was cheap, but just as accessible or engaging as a big-budget flick at the movies and would highly likely mean more historically in the long run. Basically, I discovered a style of film or subject matter that included everything I loved about all those post-apocalyptic flicks I’d watched as a kid that was actually doable for someone skint but with a passion plus I get to cover the demise of socialisation and freedom in general as well but we'll leave that for another sitting PMSL preferably at the pub...


St. Joseph's Seminary, Up Holland, Wigan
MAY 2019


Many of the places you've filmed are derelict, decaying and unloved - is there anything in particular about these kinds of places that interests you? What makes a good location?

I think for me, from a film making perspective, the visually stunning decrepit and decaying ones are most attractive because they tell their own stories through the peeling paint and the broken windows etc. It’s the foreboding and hopeless horror-inspired atmospheres you can create there that I love, but the ones I love most in my heart are the old boozers, churches and schools etc, places people take for granted and then they are gone. These are the ones I get the best responses from. For example, I once did an old abandoned pub and as I was stood at the bar I transitioned to an old photograph taken in the same place I was stood 30 years prior, it turns out that in the photo was the father of one of my viewers a father who'd long since passed and of whom no photos existed. As you can imagine the viewer shed a tear of joy and sent me a wonderful message.


Manchester Victoria Station
April 2021


Any favourite locations or films you've made?

I liked St Joseph’s Seminary because of its scale it was quite literally otherworldly in there but my personal favourite is Brock Mill as it's the first place I ever did and I barely speak on it lol.

(Can't stand watching my own films once they are done they are done I'm allergic to hearing myself back)


St. Joseph's Seminary, Up Holland, Wigan
MAY 2019


I find you're very good at creating an atmosphere with music in your films, and that you also make your own music. Is music-making something you do separate from the films or do you make tracks with certain locations in mind?

I've always been a big fan of music and actually play my own instruments too. I've been in a few bands and made a few demos solo but kinda fell out of love for it when I began to think the world was not all it seemed. Anyway, I started the film stuff and now if I can't find music that fits it I’ll just make my own, so it came in handy in the end. I am actually working on an electronic instrumental album at the minute in the style of Jean-Michel Jarre called ‘1984’ so hopefully, if I ever get it finished I’ll put that out too.


For those interested in filmmaking, how do you record and edit your films? Any equipment recommendations? Any tips or advice for aspiring filmmakers?

My advice is just to do it. Regardless of budget, regardless of ability, just do it as experience is what counts. You can't make yourself good if you don't fail to get there and the best camera you can get is the one you actually have.

For my cameras though I've used a Canon t3i rebel a 750d - GoPro and most recently a DJI pocket 2. I edit my film in Vegas Pro and tweak everything right down to cranking up the compressor when I open a window to let all that ambience into your ears. I also colour code my films to try and make them look more cinematic.


Agecroft Power Station, Salford
OCTOBER 2018


Is there anything coming up you'd like to tell us about? Any other kinds of film you might be looking to try out?

I actually have an awful lot planned for urban exploration and am hoping to top it off one day with a trip to the Chernobyl exclusion-zone (An Urban Explorers Paradise). My main goal though is to one day make a Great British cult classic feature film, a film that will be made by people who are passionate about film and not money.


To delve into The Urban Collective YouTube channel

CLICK HERE



answers & images

Jason Clarke

tw/fb: @Clarky1503

ig: @clarky_theurbancollective


questions

Pete Mercer