Arranging the script on my floor

Here is a shot of the customary index card stage of screenwriting-
It's fun to bring a physicality to your writing : )

Camera Tests For The Distant Architect

The Distant Architect Preview from Clara Alcott on Vimeo.

Here are some camera tests that we made for the upcoming project The Distant Architect 

More photos by Mervyn O'Gorman

Photo's of Mervyn O'Gorman's daughter Christina. Autochrome photos taken on the beach, 1913.

Never Let Me Go

This beautiful shot is from the film Never Let Me Go. I love the look of the shot-

I have actually never seen  Never Let Me Go but I love the book by Kazuo Ishiguro. The book in some ways inspired the title for my blog.  Not sure why I never saw the film, maybe it’s because I was apprehensive because the book is so special to me.

But I love that shot, I even modeled a shot from my camera tests after it-

CU from my Camera Tests

Maybe it's time to see the film : )

Incidentally it was the photo on the cover of the book that inspired me to read Never Let Me Go

 

The photo on the cover is by Mervyn O'Gorman taken in 1912. O'Gorman was an aeronautical engineer and Colonel in the British Army. Photography was a hobby of his and he made a beautiful series of photos of his daughter Christina on autochrome.

Portrait of Christina in a Garden, 1912

More O'Goman photos on Autochromie

Breaking The Waves - Digitally Altered Landscape

Digitally altered landscapes by Per Kirkeby for Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves

images from zepfanman.com

Like A Glove

Feelings on Film Noir, Feelings on Writing a Film Noir

Hollywood likes it's myths and stories. The Hollywood Narrative appreciates the self-obsessed and Hollywood's favorite stories are about itself. Once a genre that came out of being a second thought, a thrifty "B Unit", the Film Noir is a reluctant American art form. I love cinema and I especially love Film Noir and I can over do it when I gush. It probably has to do with stylization being an integral facet of Noir. Noir needs style to be. 

In terms of screenwriting the blank page can be daunting, but with Noir there is almost a blueprint. It's not easy though. Shadows, a gun and dark clothing don't a movie make. If you step away for a moment, a well crafted Noir script is quietly modern and beautiful. A sparse framework, where shadows, pathos and mood can creep in and fill the empty spaces. I can take comfort that there is a suggested direction, and almost relax into it. A subtle relinquishing of control. As I keep working, I am writing my own story, the one that is needed for my film. It is like finding a tailored glove. Pulling it on slowly, tugging at something dark and form fitting. Schooled and studied, I've kept writing, pushing through stages of inertia, the grays and the bleakness of unconfirmed schedules and financing. But with time you begin to know. I know myself and I know my story. I know my curves and lines. Fit and dressed, I've let myself be drawn where I needed to go but the mold has become my own.

Shooting the Orbit Video

When my good friend Dania aka Stacian asked me to make a music video for her song Orbit, I was excited to work with her. I was also in the middle of two projects and needed to make a creative turn to make the video. Since this was my first project with Dania (but not the last! She is composing the score for Reds and Blues), I wanted to start small. I wanted to see how we would work together and I wanted to do something personal that reflects her character and music.
One of my favorite videos is Nick Cave's Deanna, which was mostly shot in his living room in Berlin. While I was developing the concept for the video I knew that I wanted to do something where I could use a camera and lights that I owned, no large crew, no large equipment rental package.   Simply show Stacian in her space and neighborhood, using a lot of different quick and easy set-ups. So it was just the two of us for most of the day, except when a friend stopped by to make us some tea.

Stacian's music is minimal synth, with textures and tones. I wanted to capture that "electronic" feel in the video. I wanted it to look very "video".  The piece was shot on one of my old 1 chip mini dv cameras. But most of the effects were rendered in post. I really enjoyed experimenting with the various degrees of video noise and textures and hope to do more in this vein. We actually shot a whole bunch of extra footage that day; we were very efficient, Stacian is a great creative partner : ) So I may even have enough left over to make another video!

Before the shoot we walked over to get some coffee. First things first : )