David Nobay’s Latest Short Film, ‘Cold Turkey’, Follows Young Creative Trying to Buy Way to Acclaim

A short film written by David Nobay and produced by Heckler called ‘Cold Turkey’ pokes fun at online industry posturing, and allowed its “makers” to flex their creative muscles.

The dialogue-heavy, nine-minute film, shot in Sydney over a single day, was produced and post-produced by Heckler. It follows the story of a young creative trying to buy his way to acclaim by negotiating with a mysterious, shady crime boss.

‘Cold Turkey’s writer, David Nobay, has spent a long time in the advertising industry, having served as CCO of Anthem BBDO, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi, and chair and partner of Droga5. He is also the founder of Marcel Worldwide, IMPERFECT CIRCLE and, most recently, co-founder of FAVOURITECHILD.STUDIO.

David developed ‘Cold Turkey’ with photographer and long-time collaborator Simon Harsent, before eventually bringing the concept to Heckler EP Will Alexander.

Importantly for David and Simon, it wasn’t “made by committee”. With no client, and no particular distribution strategy, the creatives were free to focus on “doing”.

“Part of the fun of it was there wasn't a major strategy,” David told LBB. “It was just, ‘Let's just make something [and] put it out there.’"

The reason these kinds of projects are important, David argues, is they are an opportunity to “redline” makers.

“Everyone's got to know where their red line is,” David said. “A lot of the time, clients don't push us to our red line. They push us to our red line in terms of patience and sanity, but not in terms of what we can do creatively.”

This is a natural trend, David says, for an industry invested in playing it safe.

“Trying to get something weird and interesting up these days … is not the easiest thing.

“[Clients say], ‘We're going to shoot some scenery, let's get that scenery director. We're going to shoot some performance. Let’s get someone who's got a lot of performance on their reel.’

“Something I learned many decades ago is if you want amazing work, ask the person who doesn't have that script on their reel to work on it. They want to do it. If someone's famous for doing black and white photography, sure, they can sell it to the client, but it's much more interesting to get someone famous for their colour photography.

“I think that's something we're losing in the industry. I get the sense everyone's being a lot safer, certainly from the client procurement end.

“I've seen so many people write articles about the need to originate ideas, the need to be braver, but it doesn't mean anything. You just have to do it. And so we did it.”

An award-winning photographer, Simon was drawn to the dialogue-heavy script.

“A lot of the TV commercials I get to art direct or direct are very much pictorial pieces,” the director said.

“It was really interesting to get into some dialogue stuff, which I knew I could do, but I just needed to prove.

“I also think it's about craft as well … so you don't have to have a million dollars, you just have to have the desire to do it and craft it well -- that's the most important thing.

“Having not done a hell of a lot of dialogue, we did trim a considerable amount out in the edit -- just working through it, and it became tighter and better and better. Just getting to focus, again, on the craft.”

David recalls a mantra from his days working with David Droga: “It’s not an idea if it doesn't get made.”

“A lot of people talk about this idea that's in their head, or they talk about something they might do … you’ve got to make it,” he said.

“It was not a convenient time to make something. I'm sure Heckler had a thousand other jobs that should have taken priority. But from the moment Heckler committed, we all just threw everything into it -- no one was pulling their punches.

“We're makers, right? That's the industry we're in. I’ve been in and out of this industry for way too long … but I've never stopped wanting to make things, and I find it's ultimately that that keeps you fresh.

“My personal philosophy is whether it's a paying job, whether it's just a joke, [whether] you're working with mates, whether you're experimenting with things -- you're never too old to keep experimenting and playing and making stuff.”

‘Cold Turkey’ had the advantage, David added, of being brought to life among a group of friends, and a production company that threw everything at the idea.

“These things work when there's a bit of trust and people are allowed to run their game,” he said. “Real collaboration involves respect and trust and chaos, and it's a wild ride.”

Heckler executive producer Will Alexander credits the film’s tight turn-around to the trust the filmmakers had in each other.

“We all learn [from each other] and we all back each other,” Will said.

“We've all been in the trenches together, and that’s the thing that drew me to the project. I know these guys. I love the script. The script is a bit of a heckle anyway, so it's pretty on brand for Heckler to be taking the piss.”

The experience reminded Will of being on the set of a music video, something he admits he wouldn’t do with everyone.

“Especially in this day and age, [with] everything so fucking safe and so tested and so bloody thought through that you lose the spirit of it. That's what draws me to these projects, and Heckler to these projects.

“This was a bunch of guys coming together who've had each other's backs for a long time, with some young kids who are all just in it for a laugh and to get some experience. There's an alchemy around that -- you really don't know what you're going to get out of it.

“When you look at the film for what we had, it's an incredible testament to that creative spirit. That’s what drew me to it, why I love doing these things, and why Heckler continues to support local industry and local production.”

With no firm plans for wider distribution, the short film will remain online for the time being. But David says this is part of the irony of ‘Cold Turkey’.

“It's based in London, it's shot in Sydney, but I think that's why it was cool … it's not a little Sydney film. This is a global idea about the need to just make stuff and the value of original thought. And I'm glad that it resonated the way it did.”