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We ask ´óÏó´«Ã½-debutant Shon Dale-Jones about his writing, performing, and directing work on Hash Helmet, which he calls ‘the very beginning of my journey into making TV.’

Shon, how did you come to make Hash Helmet?

Lots of my past experience is in live theatre and comedy. I’ve made several short films, but mostly to sit in the context of live shows. Hash Helmet is a bespoke project for Taster.

What did you want the film to achieve?

We wanted to test the central idea – that Hugh is back home in Anglesey, looking after his mother, and working on projects, while his family keeps making demands on him. And also the process – of combining working from a script with improvisation. Plus we wanted to see if we could make it feel ‘authentic’, as if the material was filmed ‘by accident’.

What was working on the project like?

It's exciting to begin a process of seeing how the ideas we've developed on the page might work on screen. There are as many crossovers as there are differences between live work and TV. Some rules apply to both, some don't. It was also great to work with Executive Producer, Jon Plowman (Absolutely Fabulous, W1A, Extras) as he was overseeing the project.

Were there any surprises?

Yes, a lot didn't turn out as expected, but this provides good possibilities for on-going development. I was surprised by the difference between the original script and final product. And how the process of filming and editing has such a big impact on the work.

What have you learnt?

We've learnt a lot about the process, and have started a conversation about how to develop this to support the idea better. And also about the relationships between scripted and improvised material, and ways of shooting.

And the way forward?

We continue to develop the idea – more writing, more improvisation, more shooting, more editing. It's as much about developing the process as anything else.