Composition and lines

Paintings have always fascinated me. Especially today, when I can visually tell a story with the added dimension of time, I find the methods painters use to tell a story in a frozen moment even more inspiring. Composition is one of those methods, and it is all about lines of action. Those lines create the path on which our eye …

Managing The Set

Every filmmaker remembers their first time on a professional set. Maybe you walked through a big exterior scene on accident and had an AD shouting at you. Or perhaps you were visiting your actor friend in his honey wagon to celebrate his first real gig. Or better yet, your friend’s brother who is in film school emailed you to be an extra on his short film. The first time I stepped foot on a movie set was as an assistant electrician.

Finding Inspiration

When I join a new project, I have several sources of inspiration. It is, of course, the director who sets the tone and the script which dictates the events. Other collaborators such as a production designer or producer usually have great ideas and creative solutions. I find it important to use another source of inspiration: Art. Many artists, from the renaissance masters to contemporary amateur photographers deal with the same issues and themes we are dealing with. Examining their work reveals a bottomless well of creative ideas.

Working under pressure

Elena Undone was a 100 page script shot in 12 days. We used 2 Red cameras, although the tight budget did not allow us to have both for all days. In the many dialogue scenes of the film it was necessary to create a simple plan which is easy and fast to execute, while maintaining a high visual standard.

Emotions and movement

Movement can be used to emphasize a character’s place in its surroundings. Like with most visual elements, using the principle of contrast and affinity can help us isolate, or integrate a character in the world we create. In “No Return” we tried to use these ideas to deliver the emotional state of a young man, as he tries to escape from his nightmare.

Creative uses of smoke

In the abandoned alleys of an old city, a man looks up to the sky and discovers he can fly. The empty alleys which are both intimidating and comforting and the sense of things that are hidden in the dark were important themes in this film. In addition, a constant feeling of paranoia was created, as if someone is watching at all times. How did we do it? With smoke.

The Magic of Locations

I shot a Vietnamese teaser for a TV show called “Challenge” in March 2009. The series tells the story of an ancient martial arts competition, leaning partly on history and partly on folk tales. Director Lam Nguyen wanted it to be slightly reminiscent of Asian classics such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” or “House of Flying Daggers”. Now how do you make it look epic without having armies of martial artists, and no money to build a period building from a far away land? You go to the Death Valley National Park in California!

Painting the Movie With Colors

The above scene in “No Return” tells the story of a guy, who washes his face in the bathroom as he stares at his own reflection, while his girl sits in the adjacent room waiting for him. The boy turns around to look at her, only to find an Asian woman straddling a large white man, violently bobbing back and forth. Perhaps it’s magic, perhaps it’s a hallucination. It’s up to the audience’s interpretation. However, our goal was to elicit a more visceral, emotional response by using camera movement, slow motion, and strong colors.

Power of Suggestion

1975 Vietnam. Soldiers. Villagers. Bombs. Guns. Smoke. Fear. Oh, and no money to shoot all that. Sound familiar?

In my thesis film “Shadow Man”, the onset of the Vietnam War becomes one of the major catalysts for the lead character’s emotional descent. The scene could not be cut out. It could only be reworked. Thinking outside the box became very important. Or in our case, outside the frame lines!

Demo Reel

My 2010 Demo Reel includes shots from the following projects:
Shadow Man, No Return, Elena Undone, Challenge, The Perfect House, The Man Who Knew How To Fly and Various spec commercials.