Post Production

The “Look” of a Film

When it comes to color correction, It seems that a lot of filmmakers work out a “look” they like and CC the footage to that, without much regard for what that look actually means to the film. Actually, this seems to be the case in a lot of Cinematography as well. People like cool shots, or cool lighting, but very often don’t think beyond that to what the shots and lighting mean to the content.

I am working really hard this time around one this aspect in my own film. I’ve done this to varying degrees in the past. In R.P.D.M., obviously I tried to represent the effects of the drug in a visual way, by slowing the footage down. In my film, BLOODY MARY, I developed a distinct look for the “Nightmare” sections, and a look for the “present.” Beyond those “looks,” the viewer was not given any real indication of which was which. Perhaps a little too obscure, but the point is, I was working on using the look of the film to communicate content. When the color was “X,” it was a nightmare, a vision brought on by the ghost. When the color was “Y,” it was the “present.”

Well in this one, I am going to be doing the same, but taking it further. The visuals will be important to understanding the story in this one, as I am going to be trying to represent a character’s various emotional states visually. In addition, representing transitions between a character’s emotional states visually. So what I am working on now, is how visual transitions work between emotional states. I do not want them to look digital, or like an effect, but more like a photographic, in camera effect.

I”m very drawn towards this kind of thing. To some degree it is very basic filmmaking; using the visual to communicate content. For instance, in 12 Angry Men, as the movie went on, the camera got lower and lower, so that the ceiling started to show in shots. This was to help emphasize visually the feeling of being trapped.

That’s the kind of thing I want to keep working on in my films.

Anyway, just some ramblings as I was working on this tonight. I will blog more about this as we go…

Here is a test: CC TEST

Thoughts on all of this?