Client: Poetry vs Colonialism | City of London
Agency: Neon Chameleon | Prodigious London
Role: Directing | Cinematography | Editing
Agency: Neon Chameleon | Prodigious London
Role: Directing | Cinematography | Editing
_the Challenge
To shoot 8 distinctively different poetry films in 4 days. To create poetry films which explore colonial history and can be viewed both artistically and for educational purposes. Three prestigious funders, (yet) extreme budget and logistics limitations, 8 poets, the smallest creative team, the tiniest of crews, and zero willingness to sacrifice production value nor quality.
Hosted by London Metropolitan Archives, we chose an old bookshelf filled with XIX-century books. The problem was we couldn't move it, and the spot looks dull in real life, with an inconvenient white wall nearby.
_the Solution
I decided to motivate the light from an implied window, left of the frame. A naturalistic look, reminiscent of cozy mornings. The light direction is subtle but clear enough for the viewer to recognise it subconsciously.
The detail that makes it interesting is the talent and that the background is lit by different sources of light which do not affect each other at all. That means that even though the light direction matches, there's a little something unreal and interesting about it. The scene feels hyper-realistic, yet it also feels like the real world wouldn't look like that. This is a deliberate creative decision.
It also allowed me as a DP to independently control the background and talent exposures and temperature. Note that the background splash of light go bottom-left to top-right, which is unnatural - the sun would go top to bottom - yet deliberate. Both decisions contribute to the effect I was looking for - hyper-realism where something hard to pinpoint makes it interesting.
Lighting setup was simple, with a window, two lights and a reflector. Precise positioning of the table, props and artist position resulted in a perfectly balanced light wrap with character and just enough for a small catchlights.
Art-wise, the outfit, head cover, props and background books positioning are fully curated for the desired balance of colour palette and composition.
VFX of books jumping into place tightly ties in with the story, providing impactful crescendo and a powerful metaphor of the artist filling in the knowledge gaps through her work.
The detail that makes it interesting is the talent and that the background is lit by different sources of light which do not affect each other at all. That means that even though the light direction matches, there's a little something unreal and interesting about it. The scene feels hyper-realistic, yet it also feels like the real world wouldn't look like that. This is a deliberate creative decision.
It also allowed me as a DP to independently control the background and talent exposures and temperature. Note that the background splash of light go bottom-left to top-right, which is unnatural - the sun would go top to bottom - yet deliberate. Both decisions contribute to the effect I was looking for - hyper-realism where something hard to pinpoint makes it interesting.
Lighting setup was simple, with a window, two lights and a reflector. Precise positioning of the table, props and artist position resulted in a perfectly balanced light wrap with character and just enough for a small catchlights.
Art-wise, the outfit, head cover, props and background books positioning are fully curated for the desired balance of colour palette and composition.
VFX of books jumping into place tightly ties in with the story, providing impactful crescendo and a powerful metaphor of the artist filling in the knowledge gaps through her work.
