Rabbit Hole

Artist Statement (late)
This video is from the film Rabbit Hole (2010). The film centers around a mother and father who lose their son in car accident. This scene is when the mother finally meets the boy who was driving the car that killed her son. It is an intense moment where the two are able to finally talk about what happened and come to terms with the guilt and remorse that they are feeling.

I chose this scene because i really wanted to experiment with my ability to direct actors and try to get them to an emotional level. I had been playing with this idea the last half of the semester. I chose this scene to contrast my last one, since this film was both emotional and redeeming/heart warming. I think the acting was great, not too much my doing either. They were able to follow my direction and portray the characters exactly as i had hoped, which was great. I also worked with some technical aspects to achieve depth in the scene. I used the recurring musical theme (which is pushed a bit too much) as well as juxtaposition of imagery--dead trees, the statue resembling them, etc. I also did a slow progression inward from wide to medium to close ups, which matches the scene's tone fairly well i believe. Good acting, great scene.

Artist Statement

Revolutionary Road (Scripted Scene with coverage)

(I realized that this never got posted, my bad)

This was by far the most difficult scene I took upon myself. The content is heavy, the thematic elements are pretty dark, and overall it required certain elevated levels of commitment that I worried about achieving. All in all, I am overly satisfied with the end product. I was really trying to go for the raw emotion, the conflicts of couples who love one another but that love is complicated, and tainted also with slivers of hatred and loss. I mostly shot for a focus on the blocking and style of camera work. I wanted April's character to constantly be backed up against a 'wall,' while still trying to lash back from this cage. I wanted Frank's character to be violent and evasive, controlling and harmful--but still held in by the love he knows he has.

I played with camera style by using handheld shots, close and up in the action to add a sense of reality/documentary feel. The original plan was to build tension this way, though with some editing conflicts, we jumped to the handheld much quicker than I anticipated. I wanted the distant handheld shots to convey an overseeing audience feel, and hit you right in the feels, which i think worked well. Overall, the editing was the bulk of the time mixed with finding and emotionally sufficient soundtrack. Kudos to 'bensound' for the score, and for my amazing actors who committed much more than i could have ever hoped, finally to Drew for his excellent skill with camera work. Great job everybody.

Projection

(Wednesday) This was a fun image with a lot of contrasting lines; i like the mixture of curved and vertical lines mostly. Theres also a nice symbolic connection with the church and the feeling of 'broadcasting' itself to the world, or receiving a message from above. 

"For Dust We Are"

(Thursday) I have to admit that i stole this idea from Ammon. I really likes the smoke mixture with light idea, so i went for one. I am happy with the subtle focus being on the random floating specs, while the background is a dynamic blur. 

Encroaching

Another cool image of lines, very Kubrick style i guess. I really like the harsh straight lines trying to hold up against the jagged curves of nature that is slowly creeping onto the frame. It is also interesting that the tree, though smaller in size, is still 'taller' in the frame than the harsh building.  

Symmetry 2

I just really like how well everything lead directly to the law building. The trees line up nicely, the pavement gives a clear shot, and even some of the rivets on the mountain lead you down to the building. Also, that sunset.

The Line


(Monday) I just thought this looked interesting, almost like competing lines between the trees and the parked cars. I tried to line it up with the rhythm and line of the shot, leveling out to a nice central vanishing point.

A Fire in the Sky

Again, just a nice opportunity. I really like the slow lead of the mountain line to the sun. Although i think it would have worked much better going left to right, not right to left. On a deeper level its interesting to see nature (the mountain) overshadowing industry (the building), but its still ambiguous, since we don't know if the light is coming or going.

Exhausted Tree

(For Wednesday November 25th) Pretty straight forward. I saw a cool opportunity, and pulled out my camera. The very obscure angle, with all the jagged lines, is nice, and the smoke does add a nice effect with the cold nature of the photo.

Earthquake

(For Tuesday November 24th) Just juxtaposing the symmetry, with dynamic lines and structure. I really like how it changes the feel of a picture so much, by a simple turn. The front pole dirtying the frame is nice, i also wish i had centered the dome in the middle so that it still led to the same spot as the last one.

The Dome

(For Monday November 23rd) Just looking for opportunities of symmetry with lines. This one is still a little crooked, but i like how it guides your eye to the center. It is pretty well balanced, except for the tree.

Brother Waltz and His Sidekick

(For Friday November 20th) Same as last picture, we were just playing with the coincidence lighting/tone alongside concealing the subject (Wes). Trying to do both is difficult, but it adds emphasis on the fact that one is hidden.

Chris Waltz

(For Thursday November 19th) We were trying to mimic some non coincidence of tone from Spectre. This works well to conceal the subject, and adds a sense of horror, since we can't see who the subject is... AH!

Looking for the Indian

(Late Wednesday) This was a moment i saw, liked and wanted to capture more than anything. I really like the dynamic nature of the diagonal lines, the dim light coming through the attic window casting shadows, and only lighting the subject with a slight outline. It all looks very cinematic.

https://youtu.be/dj580XfdYi8

This is an interrogation type scene from The Usual Suspects. The script was very loose as far as the action goes, so i played a lot with making actions that represented the characters and combining that with camera angle and camera movement. I tried to pay close attention to the dialogue and how it applied to the characters specifically, in who was in control at what part of the conversation. I really tried to play with power switch and power struggles over all.

I think overall it worked out very well, and i hit a lot of the marks i was aiming at.  I spent more time on lines and acting with this video, and i feel like that helped achieve the idea I wanted. This was definitely a great learning video experience.

...But Not of the World.

(For Tuesday) This was mostly just playing with the focus and color elements of pictures. I had to be pretty open due to the light outside, so the background is not as soft as i would have wanted, but the focus switch and color boost (with red against mostly complementary greens) help draw the eye to he single falling leaf. Compositionally its almost perfect as well, just shy of the third.

Peeking Through Autumn 

Just some more fun nature shots. I really like the gold colors on the leaves, and the whole dynamic nature of the shot with vertical and diagonal lines. It just looks like autumn, before everything dies. 

...To the Soul. (For Friday)

This is a fun picture i took outside my house, i really like its use of characterization of the building. Houses have some innate feature, like cars, to look human, especially in this case with the windows representing eyes. While eyes help you glance into the soul of a being, windows can give you an unshielded view into someone else's home and private space. The reflection on the window is really nice, if you look closely there is something hidden deep within the home, trapped like a bottled up emotion that will die if it is not let out. Not that dark guys, but it turned out pretty nice.

The Bridge (For Thursday)

I was enjoying some fall nature shots. I had seen this street a few weeks ago and really like the long line of trees, so i wanted to come get some depth shots looking down the barren sidewalk. I really like how almost everything in the shot is nature, besides the sidewalk itself. It gives a very nice Shire-esque type feel that i really enjoyed. 

WHERE ARE THEY?!

I am planning on going for a interrogation style for my next project, so this lighting setup appealed to me as we were just messing around with some lights at the FSSSSS. I like the dramatic feel but the nice backlights, giving some separation. This gave me some nice ideas for my upcoming project as far as lighting goes.

Brothers.

Just thinking a little on production design, i thought this was a funny set up. Having matching color vehicles, but of a very different connotation could be used to do a lot of characterization in a film between the rough and tough, and the simple and nice. 

(For Monday) Contemplation

I saw an opportunity for something that looked nice, so i took it. I wanted to try and capture the beauty in autumn, with maybe some leaves falling, the golden light, etc. I really like the nice contrast of sun and color, and think this one turned out pretty great.