‘I am a God’: Isaac Winter’s Words

‘Gathering’, one of Diana’s keywords, has been such an important part of Cradle of Fire. External contributions have been most welcome, enriching the project with fresh perspectives.

Thus we’re delighted to publish the following words by actor Isaac Winter, aged 16, one of the voices of Vulcan in the Cradle of Fire film, and our youngest creative collaborator.

The Ring, a poem by Carolyn Waudby read by Isaac Winter – film still, with ring image by Carolyn Waudby, Cradle of Fire Project

From Isaac Winter:

When a friend I met through a production at the Nottingham Playhouse (a mutual connection with Carolyn) reached out to me a few months ago, asking if I would be interested in the Cradle of Fire project, I had no real idea what it would entail, or how I would fit into the final movie, but was intrigued by the prospect, nonetheless.

Voice acting is something I had never really dabbled in as there aren’t a great many opportunities for it outside of professional work, and as a teenager with little to no industry connections, the gigs weren’t exactly flooding in.

With all this in mind, I approached the project with a great deal of curiosity and excitement, getting the chance to be a part of an experimental multi-media film exploring the story of Vulcan and its connection to steel making in Sheffield. After a few discussions with Carolyn and Diana, I was fully on board and set about recording some extracts they had sent over.

A Faultless Pearl in the Darkest Sea, a poem by Carolyn Waudby read by Isaac Winter – Cradle of Fire film still – embellished Nautilus shell courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum

The recording set-up consisted of my laptop and phone, balanced precariously on some assorted items to get the right angle for the microphone to achieve the best acoustics, along with some blankets draped around the room as some makeshift soundproofing. Whilst nothing impressive, it served as an adequate improvised recording studio considering the short time frame I had to put it together. I tried to fit in recording sessions in my bedroom studio whenever I had free time and enjoyed exploring the selection of poems Carolyn created for the character, my favourite being ‘Knife’.

The Knife, a poem by Carolyn Waudby, read by Isaac Winter – Cradle of Fire film still – knife courtesy of Emma Boden

I modelled the accent off the audio clips Diana sent over of the man portraying the older Vulcan, a selection of Sean Bean interview clips (and his iconic voice with which I was already familiar), and people I already knew from living in the East Midlands. Simply through repeating the lines of Carolyn’s poems over and over, and mimicking the accent, I found myself adopting a slight South Yorkshire twang in my everyday life, although this has since faded. After all the necessary clips had been recorded, they were sent off to Diana and her collaborators and all that was left was to sit back and wait for the première.

I am a God, a line from Vulcan, realising his power, read by Isaac Winter – Cradle of Fire film still. Typography by Will Hill

The day of the première came, and I headed off to Kelham Island Museum with my family, eager to see the finished product, especially as I had not yet heard any of my voice recordings against the backdrop of the accompanying images on the film. Although there may not have been any paparazzi, it certainly felt like the grandest opening night I had ever been to for any kind of acting role.

The movie was unlike anything I was familiar with, as the images and poems read by myself, and several others managed to create a clear story without traditional character dialogue or animation. The link between Vulcan’s story and steelmaking was also demonstrated here through the interwoven images of the natural world, steel forges, and more literal representations of the story beats in Vulcan’s legend.

The necklace, a poem by Carolyn Waudby read by Isaac Winter – Cradle of Fire film still – necklace courtesy of Carolyn Waudby

I am very grateful to have been a part of the project, and to Diana and Carolyn for creating it and bringing me in to voice the young Vulcan. I can’t wait to see where Cradle of Fire goes next!

A little bit about me, as requested by Diana: as an aspiring actor, and currently a sixth form student in year 12, I am always on the look out for interesting acting jobs/projects to get involved in, in whatever ways I can. Cradle of Fire came at the perfect time for me, and besides the obvious logistical challenges of recording a voiceover from a bedroom, in whatever free time I could find, I love opportunities to explore interesting characters and try to embody their personalities in my performance, and Vulcan certainly had an interesting story.

Isaac Winter, actor, portrait 2024, photo by David Wilson Clarke

With thanks from the Cradle of Fire Team

Thank you, Isaac, for this fabulous personal take on the film project, and the Kelham Island Museum Cradle of Fire launch. We were all impressed by your high level of professionalism, and dedication, and wish you all the best in your acting career.

Find out more about Isaac and follow his progress or contact him via his Instagram acccount.

Blog by Isaac Winter