Childhood: Artist Statement
Blurry
A boy trying to search for his glasses while his mom is yelling at him to go was the story of my childhood. I seemed to lose my glasses all the time. I wanted to use POV shots to get in the head of the boy and see that he couldn't see. We shot almost the whole story out of focus. I wanted to have a lot of reds and blue throughout the film because those were my two favorite colors as a kid. I used handheld as the boy was searching to get a feel for the search and how you will look anywhere for them.
I learned that knowing how you are going to edit your story beforehand is very important. I had most of it cut in my head but the very end I didn't. So, I had to use a black screen like he is blinking so it wouldn't be such a jump cut on the mom. I learned that writing your ideas down on set is important. I was supposed to get the boy sighs from running so I could use that during the film. I wanted to do that so the audience would feel his exhaustion and anxiety. Also, I learned to trust your DP. James did a great job and brought great ideas to the table like the style of camera movement for the POV's.
If I were to remake this piece, I would add more locations for him to search like digging through his backpack. I think I could have sped up the pace even more if I had more options of him searching. I would have gotten better sound for the boy. I would have had the boy be more stage right at the end because there isn't much space for him to breathe and by that time he has found his glasses.
James Hall
ReplyDeleteDP Reflection
No one has energy like Cameron. Even the energizer bunny has nothing on Cameron. He is so animated and excited to work that it is contagious. I had so much fun on this shoot because Cameron was open to ideas, and loved to try new things, but this isn’t to say that he didn’t have the story concretely set in his mind. He really balances the creative and technical aspects well.
I agree that we should have shot more locations and actions. I think the lighting in the hallway is very cool, but stylistically, I think I would have made it lighter and possibly bluer. I also would have, as suggested in class, set the focus to a certain length so the boy could bring things up close to his face and then they’d be in focus. This was also an exercise in sympathy, I have never had to wear glasses, and so it was challenge for me to try and portray that. If I could do it over again, I would have asked more questions, and done more research so I could have portrayed it more accurately.