Ink isn’t your typical low-budget indie movie. A wildly ambitious fantasy about two forces fighting for human souls through our dreams, the movie has been favourably compared to Brazil, Donnie Darko and Dark City. The film’s talented director Jamin Winans took time out to speak to Total Sci-Fi about Snow White, cheap tricks and risking bankruptcy.

You must be pleased with the way Ink’s been received by both critics and audiences. Did you ever imagine it would prove so popular?

I don't think we had any idea. When you're making a film on a shoestring budget and as the director you're on set hustling sandbags and equipment yourself, the last thing you're thinking is, “This film is really going to hit big.” Fortunately our fans have carried Ink much further than we ever could have and given it a life we never imagined.

Where did the initial idea come from?

I was a big fan of Snow White as a kid. Consequently I was terrified of the old witch. So when I was about four years old I had these lucid nightmares that she was sneaking into my room while I slept and trying to kidnap me. That visual stuck in my head and so the story of Ink was built from that visual. It's not just coincidence that Ink looks a bit like the witch in Snow White.

How easy was it to raise the funding?

It took about seven to eight months. We had made some other relatively successful films, in particular a short called Spin. So we were able to garner some interest with friends and friends of friends who could afford to risk a few grand.

Kiowa, my wife and producer, and I re-mortgaged our house so that we could invest ourselves. It wasn't the safest financial choice we've ever made, but we had to let other potential investors know that we were serious. Fortunately for us, it worked out and we haven't gone bankrupt.

What were the biggest challenges that you faced on such a limited budget? You managed to pull off some pretty ambitious action scenes!

The film was a monumental challenge for the whole cast and crew. The biggest challenge was the amount of days that we shot. We shot 83 days, which for an indie film is unheard of. That was possible because we had a very small crew that worked very hard. Some days there were only three to four of us. So ultimately it was a marathon shoot that we were just trying to survive.

The action scenes were carefully planned and rehearsed months in advance. Our fight choreographer and good friend of mine, Brian Taylor, started designing and practising the fights about six months in advance with his team. They created the fights and then brought the actors in and trained them to do the same. Brian and his group are part of a freerunning team that are amazing at street acrobatics and stunts. They worked some of those moves into the fighting and really gave it a cool style.

In addition we had our stunt choreographer, Jim Milligan, who helped us pull off a lot of the trickier action bits like the car wreck and bigger stunt pieces. A lot of cheap tricks done by people who really know what they're doing.

Ink has been compared to everything from Donnie Darko to Brazil and Dark City. What were some of the films and filmmakers that influenced you?

Dark City is an unquestionable influence. That movie rocked my world when I was about 20 years old and left a lasting impression. Alex Proyas's The Crow was also a big influence.

Gilliam is hands down one of the greatest filmmakers in the world and a true example of how to be an uncompromising filmmaker with real guts. Brazil is certainly a great influence, but I think my favourite film of his is 12 Monkeys. That movie taught me not to be afraid of allowing the audience to be confused for a while.

Michael Mann, though his influence isn't obvious in Ink, has always been a hero of mine. He has a real pristine and detailed approach, and his films always have a weightiness that creates an unspoken sense of tragedy.

You wrote, directed and edited the film, and even composed the music. Was it satisfying having so much creative freedom over your vision, or was it difficult wearing so many hats?

Well I didn't plan it that way. I got into filmmaking as a kid and no one was handing me scripts at 10 years old so I had to learn to write. One would think I was an egomaniac, which may be true, but what's more true is that I've always been poor and never been able to afford to pay anyone else. Thus I've done a lot of jobs myself.

Creative freedom is satisfying and doing so many of the jobs is satisfying because your mind doesn't break the process up. In other words, I don't think of the film as a writer first, then switch hats and think of it from a director's stand point and then as an editor and composer. From the initial conception I'm thinking about every element of the storytelling as a whole rather than breaking up the components.

On the flipside, yeah it kind of sucks doing that many jobs. As if directing alone isn't enough pressure, then add a few other jobs on top of that. But give me a break, right? There are people starving all over the world and I'm complaining about how hard it is making movies.

Ink benefits from some very impressive performances. What do you think were the main qualities Chris Kelly and Quinn Hunchar brought to the film, and would you like to work with the cast again?

Thanks for saying so. I'm really proud of all our actors. I don't think any of them quite knew what they were getting into. When comparing the script with the amount of money we were working with, they all had to wonder at some point if they were making the worst movie of all time.

I had worked with Chris Kelly several times before so he trusted me and was integral to the creative process. He actually has a script consultant credit on the film as well because he really worked with me on refining it. He's one of my favourite actors in the world and one day I hope to write material for him that matches his talent.

Quinn Hunchar was a little miracle that showed up randomly at an audition and made us all cry within a couple minutes. She was a complete natural with no real acting experience. She was simply comfortable in front of the camera and remarkably confident for an eight-year-old.

I loved the whole cast. Jessica Duffy, Jeremy Make, Eme Ikwuakor, Jennifer Batter and Shelby Malone were like family at the end of the shoot. Some of us have actually worked together again on a short film called, Uncle Jack. Chris and Quinn are both in that along with Jeremy Make, who played Jacob in Ink, and Shelby Malone, who played Sarah.

Do you have any advice for independent filmmakers struggling to get a feature film off the ground?

We live in an amazing time where anyone can make a film. Technology has made it remarkably easy and cheap. I'm a big fan of just making the film no matter how much money you can raise as long as you have a great script. If you wait for money you'll never make a movie. If your story is great and you have solid actors and good sound you'll have something worth watching no matter how much money you spend.

Finally, what’s next for you?

Real kind of you to ask. We're developing a new film, a sci-fi/fantasy that's a bit hush-hush at the moment. It's something I've been working on for a few years and finally have a finished script I'm really happy with. We're planning on shooting this time next year, assuming everything goes to plan.

Ink is released on Region 2 DVD on 25 April 2011.