Formalism at Last

          Yesterday I rushed to Markham Park, prepared to film in the forest of a golf field for fear it was closed, and arrived to my favorite spot (one I had actually used previously as the set for a blue grass music video in this class). The spot is on the verge of a lake, perfect for the symbol of life and freedom that I wanted to incorporate. The spot itself a disjointed wood with broken trees and naturally dichotomous wildlife (both disgusting and beautiful). I won't let myself go on my rant about symbolism behind it just yet; but I wanted to set the scene before I talk about some of the more interesting parts of the process.

          The theme for this project for me seems to be "...well that went better than expected." On my way out the door, diving for food coloring in case I needed to fashion impromptu blood, I grabbed a bottle of maple syrup thinking "its a similar consistency to blood" while the back of my mind was thinking that I was an idiot. I didn't do any research on the recipes of fake blood, and honestly I'm quite glad that I did not and that I just stuck to my common sense. The mixture of the syrup and the food coloring was so perfect that when it dripped through Michael's fingers and onto the ground I had to film the blood on the dead leaves! It even gathered perfectly in the water! The only problem was that it stained Michael's hands so much that he'll probably be pink for the next couple of days, but I'm sure he'll survive.

      
          Besides that I'm surprised Michael and Amanda didn't go on strike for what I put them through. Having Amanda walk barefoot through icy lake water and having Michael crawl into an all manner of dark and dirty and squirming places was interesting to say the least. He particularly didn't thank me when I asked him to rub dirt on his arms and under his fingernails (though he seemed to be having a little too much fun as he rolled around in the dirt). Don't worry though, the marks you will see on his face are indeed stage makeup and his hair was made damp in certain shots by the use gel, lotion, water, and a couple of other textures that Michael wasn't particularly fond of.

          The inspiring parts were when I would see the both of my actors just sitting in though among the ambiance of the forest (or jungle as it is really meant to be, due to the circumstances of the film). Particularly with Amanda, who's character is peaceful and innocent, whenever I would catch her sitting in deep though, I would film her without her noticing, getting a truly organic shot (acting wise).




          I probably seemed quite confident and optimistic in this journey, but honestly I thought I would never be able to achieve what I did. Although I haven't succeeded yet, filming in the forest today was absolutely beautiful and haunting. I was quite inspired by Terrance Malick's "walk down the garden path", and emulated it in many of my shots. There was very little planning that went into my specific shots, only tones and themes that I was determined to delineate. I thought that by using Malick's method, by filming anything and everything that reminded me of my themes and evoked a certain emotion within me, I might take my audience through the same journey. I truly think I'll be successful. The content provides the perfect symbols, and the shots effectively incorporate movement so that when the time comes to edit there is a flow and continuity to seemingly disjointed images.

          Overall I'm extremely excited to see the final product and have developed a real passion for my work, so much that I've actually decided to finish this project as a short film once the AICE process has concluded. My actors has agreed to continue on this journey with me, an I'm extremely excited to what lies ahead.