Contest Entry

These were entered to the Photographer's Forum (and SIGMA) 30th Annual Spring Photography Contest

Idea Blog for 04/08

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Storyboards for my film in Digital Film. Given this comes out well, I'd like to ask Tom about including it in the senior show. It follows the same concept as my work in senior portfolio but has a more definitive end.

Here is the script:

1. Outdoors (field), daytime, early-mid afternoon:

Hayley (wearing a white dress and a pristine orange paper crown) is lying on her back in the grass with Charlie nestled in the crook of her arm. She is quietly looking around, running her hand over the grass. She stops what she’s doing and turns her head to the left in the direction of the woods as if she’s heard something. Quickly, she sits up and looks around. Seeing and hearing nothing, Hayley lowers her head and talks to Charlie as she pets her. She rests her head in her hand and stares off into the distance. Relaxing, Hayley lies back down on her back and rolls over to her side and closes her eyes. Charlie has wandered off. Hayley pats the grass searching for her. Noticing her absence, she pats the grass as she calls for her. Charlie does not return. Hayley opens her eyes and slightly raises her head and continues to call for her. Still no response. Hayley then rolls onto her back and calls again for Charlie. She continues to lie there and wait impatiently. Charlie does not return. Hayley sits up lazily and pulls on her boots. She stands up and looks around for her on the spot. She walks to the left out of frame.

Hayley beings walking, then skipping, and then running through the field as she calls out to Charlie.

HAYLEY:

Charlie where are you? I’ll find you, little girl.

Hayley begins stomping around like a giant. She continues to frolic through the field, seemingly forgetting about Charlie. As she comes to the threshold of the woods she pauses, brings her hands to her mouth, and calls for Charlie. Waiting for only a brief moment, she beings to walk into woods, picking up speed as she gets closer, as though to break through the threshold into another world.

2. Outdoors (woods), daytime; early-mid afternoon:

As she enters the woods she slows to a walk and calls for Charlie. Hayley continues talking herself through a story, making it up as she crosses logs, creeks and rounds large trees. After much walking and playing and talking to herself, she finds Charlie sniffing around by a creek.

HAYLEY:

There you are! I told you I’d find you, Charlie-girl.

She goes to pick up Charlie. She turns and begins to walk up path that leads out of the woods, carrying Charlie over her shoulder. She hears something and quickly snaps her head around to look behind her. She nervously beings talking to Charlie to fill the silence, eyes closed. She hears the noise again and looks up, panicky. She slowly backs up, turns around and hurries up the path. As she’s walking she hears the noise once again. She puts Charlie down and begins running out of woods. Charlie follows.

Hayley looks behind her, calling for Charlie as she emerges from the woods. Upon turning around (to face the camera) she gasps and comes to a sudden stop. She has come face-to-face with what she’s been hearing in the woods. She slowly closes her eyes as she continues to stand, frozen on the spot.

Screen fades to white.

3. Indoors (bedroom), daytime, mid-late afternoon:

Hayley (now wearing a dark-blue top) rolls over in her bed onto her side, her orange crown-now crumpled-rests on its side on the bed behind her. The audience can now hear what Hayley has been running from. Strained voices can be heard outside her door. She closes her eyes.

Screen fades to white.

4. Outdoors (field), daytime, late afternoon/evening:

Hayley walks away from camera (into the sun), holding Charlie over her shoulder. Camera continues to follow her as she walks, slowly panning up. Hayley’s crown bobs slowly as she walks before it disappears out of frame.

Screen fades to white.

THE END!!!!!!!!!!

The whole thing will be shot in one day with the help of Patrick, who has very graciously offered to drive up to Fairfax for the day on Sunday to help me out. I'd like most of it to take place in the late afternoon so that I can shoot into the sun while still getting a soft, but colorful light. The dialog in the script is rough. I would rather have her talking to herself quietly without the audience really being able to hear what she's saying, but understanding that she's talking herself through these adventures while trying to find her dog.

I'm also shooting a wedding this weekend, so I've been full of nerves this week. Wish me luck! I have a very busy weekend ahead of me!

Artist Blog for 04/05

Children of Men promotional poster, Jaap Buitendijk

Children of Men production image, Jaap Buitendijk

Gladiator, Jaap Buitendijk

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Jaap Buitendijk

Even though shooting specifically for my portfolio has slowed, I have to restrain my temptation to rent Where the Wild Things Are for fear that having seen it; I will subconsciously alter something in my work thus far so as to mimic a shot that happened in the film. I am deathly afraid of this. I understand there’s nothing wrong with inspiration, but I don’t trust myself enough to catch unintentional copy work before someone else does. I am, however, interested in how my images may relate to film stills.

Jaap Buitendijk is a film still photographer originally from Holland. After much traveling in his early twenties (where he first picked up a camera and discovered his passion for photography) that he attended Newport School of Art where he studied documentary photography. Buitendijk explored the “apparent contradiction of using documentary skills to record an artificial reality; that of films.” He has worked on numerous big-name films such as Harry Potter and Blood Diamond, as well as smaller production films like The Constant Gardener and Girl With A Pearl Earring.

Buitendijk does a wonderful and effective job capturing the mood of his subjects and seems to do so in his own style; one alternative to how the film itself was shot for theaters. I feel his images are more personal and perhaps less mainstream and therefore can be accepted as a legitimate type of art photography. Or I could just be hoping that the products of one of my dream jobs of being a film still photographer could breach the fine art world. Nonetheless, Buitendijk strongly composes his images, communicating a clear message and garnering a direct response from the audience. I also very much admire his use of light.

While my images aren’t taken on large-production sets, I would consider them to be theatrical and could alternatively be attached to some sort of movie as film stills. Technically, I do not think they are up to par as far as composition and use of focus goes, though, I think my concept is communicated clearly and effectively.

Jaap Buitendijk website