charliefilmproject

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A link to the scans of my storyboard. We have had to adapt to a new location, so have had to make last-minute accommodations to the new space we are shooting in (The Raging Bull)

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A link to the shot list I created.

I then organised a meeting with Molly, our AD, to establish a suitable shooting schedule given the short amount of time we have with our actors.

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A link to the moodboard I made, using both Lilith's inspirations and some of my own to establish the visual style the film would employ.

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I organised a meeting with Lilith to run through what she had imagined for the screenplay and I made some rough annotations to help me plan a shot list.

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Proposal of Intentions for "Regularity"

Lilith's screenplay "Regularity" tells the story of two regulars in a pub, whose friendship simply lies in their coexistence within the space. The two are part of the pub's furniture, but this relationship between one another and the space is confronted once one of the pair passes away.

Having lived above a 'local pub' myself, I am aware of just how much the people make the place - I am also aware of the restrained yet somewhat dependent relationship the regular men have with each other. Naturally, I was happy to be involved when Lilith asked me to DoP.

My idea for the visual style of this film fortunately aligns with some of Lilith’s initial ideas when she visualised the script herself; she is a big fan of Edgar Wright and his cornetto trilogy and this is certainly something we can borrow from in terms of the portrayal of the pub as a hallmark of British culture. However, given the dark thematic elements of the script, I think it is worth playing on some of the tropes we see in gritty social realism. I think that this film only works if the location aligns with this bleakness that takes place in the film. I think we should use camera to create a connection between Paul's death and the 'dying local'. I plan to use handheld camera and 'fly on the wall' tableau shots to instill a sense of documentary realism to the film, reminiscent of British kitchen sink drama. I also plan to use close-up shots of the decaying pub itself to reinforce the parallel between the demise of the pub and of Paul; peeling paint, framed newspapers from decades before, a dripping tap, etc. I also intend to use repetition as a key feature of the cinematography. I want to utilise this not only to present the regulars as an ongoing feature of the pub, but also to draw even more attention to the space Paul leaves behind once he dies - both the tableau shot and the two-shot of Paul and Dave will be repeated each day in the film. I plan to work closely with the production designer to ensure this repetition is functional without becoming, ironically, repetitive. Another source of inspiration for me is Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting” and Ken Loach’s “The Angel’s Share”. Both of these films present the bleak reality of working class Scotland and share a visual aesthetic in their pub sequences; a place perpetually stuck in the past, presented through flat low-key lighting and a warm softness that connotes a stale feeling as opposed to a comforting ones. I want to use this in The Usual - muted colours which have faded as a result of unchanged design since its establishment, handheld camera, diffused light, etc. The other benefit of this aesthetic is it creates a greater contrast when we transition to the ‘dream sequence’ wherein Dave gets to pour his heart out and say goodbye to Paul. Lilith is keen for this sequence to be touching on the theatrical; we move from the dreary realism of the pub to the cinematic dreamspace of the same location. I am excited to play with lighting here, as again, I am keen to keep the shot types/composition the same, but now with the juxtaposition of surrealism. I want the colour temperature to shift to colder tones, as well as shooting the actors on a larger aperture and introducing a more dramatic key and backlight and eliminating most of the fill for high-key lighting here.

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ASC Article - Requiem for a Dream: Downward Spiral

I chose this article to read for a couple of different reasons; I'm fascinated by Requiem for a Dream's distinctive and expressionistic style, but also because it's a film which strikes a chord with me thematically (addiction, mental instability, young love, the passage of time).

The article was interesting to me for its exploration of the camera techniques it uses to give it its unique style, but also in terms of the dynamic between director/cinematographer and other HODs in order to create a harmonious filmic language. I also had no idea that Requiem is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Hubert Selby Jr. who I'm a really big fan of.

Director Aronofsky had success with his previous film Pi, which he directed alongside DOP Matthew Labatique. Labatique also worked as cinematographer for Requiem. Aronofsky encouraged all departments to be experimental to create something completely new and different; "Of course, all of the special techniques we applied had to advance the story, because we didn't want the film to turn into this self-indulgent MTV type of thing". Experimental visual elements such as split screens, high-speed photography, fisheye lenses and body-mounted camera rigs with 14mm lens create its characteristic style, but not simply for the sake of it, but to highlight the film's surrealism aligning with the deteriorating mental state of the four characters we follow; Pi was the subjective experience of one character, Requiem is the subjective experience of four.

(Labatique's body rig shot on 14mm to create a distorted, subjective perspective)

Pi was shot in black and white in order to simplify the language of the film. "We were able to keep the visual language so specific that it went hand-in-hand with the story, the music and the effects". Unlike Pi, Requiem is shot in colour, but both Aronofsky and Labatique agreed that the colour must not complicate the story or distract the spectator. Instead they simplified the palette by keeping colours muted and monochromatic in tone. They also wanted a sense of timelessness which they achieved through costume, hair, makeup and production design. Aronofsky says that this timelessness is important to him because addiction is a "human story that can happen at any time or in any era".

Influences for Aronofsky and Labatique included some of my favourite photographers: Nan Goldin and Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, both renowned for their Western depiction of marginalisation, realism, bleakness and fleeting moments of the urban modern world. I really like when visual departments will draw inspiration from visual sources other than films - another of Aronofsky's inspirations being Spanish painter Goya, particularly his "black paintings" which came towards the end of his life. His works start off lively and colourful, but by the end of his career, his works progress to darkness:

(Example of Goya's early work)

(Example of Goya's "Black paintings"

Aronofsky wanted the same change to occur within his characters as the seasons change from Summer to Autumn to Winter within Requiem. He and the production designer called this a transition from "magical realism" to "artificial naturalism"; "We had a great structure incorporating Summer, Fall and Winter, and I wanted all of the department heads to work together like an orchestra to create one musical piece. We wanted Summer to have a magical but realistic feel, where everything was very warm, but we wanted the end of the story to have an artifical feeling with ugly light produced by heavy-duty fluorescents, as well as sodium-vapour and metal-halide fixtures". Libatique primarily used Kino Flos for sets towards the film's artificial, bleak end. For interiors, he used mainly fluorescents or softboxes. In Sara's apartment, they built a softbox which could change tungsten globes to daylight globes and compact fluroescents as the 'seasons changed'. Kinos are ideal here because of the simplicity of changing tubes for the right colour temperature for the season/act they were shooting. As all HODs were so aligned in their vision, the production designer knew how to work according to this change in tone; "always provided windows for the Summer scenes, and we used fluorescent practical units to justify the lighting in the darker portions of the film".

I think that this focus on practical lighting is really interesting. Libatique says part of his lighting philosophy is to use as many practical sources as possible to help actors work naturally. Natural environment = natural, believable performances. This is something I will definitely consider in the future.

Libatique also says he prefers a lack of depth of field, primarily shooting on T2 or T2.8 (much to the focus puller's dismay I'm sure) and sometimes down to T5.6 when necessary. A

Aronofsky says that in terms of framing, he's inspired by the balance of Kurosawa. However, he sees framing as an intuitive aesthetic choice as opposed to an intellectual one. This intuition interpreted Selby's tale with highly stylised camerawork to mimic the characters' intense emotions. Shots are motivated by mindset. This shifting perspective of characters is conveyed through split screen generously throughout the film. I have never thought much of the value of split screen, but reading Aronofsky's decision to use it in order to present two simultaneous moments through two different mindsets really fascinated me. It allows the visual elements to mimic two characters' mental states at once.

I love Requiem for a Dream, but it is full of techniques I would never have thought to use within my own work. After reading the ASC article and learning about the creative process of not only the cinematographer but the entire crew collaboratively, I can understand the importance of having all of these techniques in your 'toolbelt' and knowing how to use them effectively, not simply to show off or be experimental for its own self indulgent sake.