The first shot featured my mother at the bottom of a staircase using crutches. The mood I was trying to establish was at the bottom of the stairs it was dark and dreary and as the you progressively moved up the stairs it became a more warm and bright feeling of overcoming obstacles. I chose a high angle to make my mother look small and weak because it seems as if she is powerless at the bottom of the stairs. I chose a long shot to show all of the staircase and lines within the shot. It is a deep focus so that the audience can perfectly see the obstacles my mother is about to face.
To try and create the warm feeling at the top of the stairs, I used a very subtle coloring like sepia. I discovered this location when I was walking around upstairs and I saw my cat looking so small at the bottom of the stairs, and my older sister had just recently been on crutches so I thought it would be the perfect overcoming obstacles picture. What appealed to me about this location was the amount of lines this picture could create, due to the railings, bars, and stairs, and natural light coming in from the window. I explored my family’s staircase leading to the basement, but there was just not the same amount of openness, lines, and beautiful lighting as the upper level staircase did.
I was trying to use a orange piece of tissue paper to create the warmth, however it did not create the color I was looking for and I taped it to the window, but it would not stay. I discovered that the natural light of the sun from my bedroom window at around 9:15 in the morning creates an amazing use of light to create shadows of lines for my project. The lighting created many diagonal lines for my photo to give it the mood of my mother being able to overcome her obstacles. The props I incorporated were crutches and they visually showed the idea of my mother having injury, therefore making it really difficult for her to go up the stairs. For the costuming, I chose to go with my moms everyday clothes and headband because it created a natural, everyday injury feel to the shot. I placed my mom right in the center at the bottom of the stairs to direct the audience’s attention to her. I told my mom to act as if she were in pain and was intimidated by amount of stairs, like someone in crutches would act if they had to do that.
The second shot featured my brother looking out the window as if there is a random stranger in our backyard. The mood I was trying to establish for this shot was eerie and unsettling feel, due the fear of the unknown on who is trespassing in our backyard. I chose to do a slightly low angle because even though my brother is unsettled by the activity in the backyard he still has the power to do anything. I chose a medium shot to show the window which also creates the diagonal lines visually telling the idea that he will overcome obstacles. I chose deep focus because I think the audience needed to see all of the lines and their attention would be directed to my brother. I chose the coloring to have a blue tone to it to create a dark and cold vibe to the shot. I discovered this location when I was sitting at my kitchen table and my neighbors little kids from next door randomly showed in my family’s backyard and it caught me off guard. Also, I chose to not show the intruder in the picture to give the audience a sense of fear of the unknown.
I did not explore other locations in my house because I knew this was the one because it is a big window and I needed that for this shot. I used the window itself as the equipment, and I did not have difficulties with it. I manipulated the light by using the natural light and an extremely low flashlight under my brother.
The lighting helped with my story by showing the lines and creating light on my brother’s facial expressions. I did not incorporate any props within in the shot because what one does not see is just as important as what one can see. Again, I just used my brothers everyday clothes, because something like this happens everyday. I directed my brother to have an expression on his face that portrays a feeling of confusion and curiosity, as one would feel if they were trying to figure out who the mysterious, trespassing stranger is in their backyard.
The last shot I took again featured my brother on the inside of our house letting me in. The audience is seeing through my eyes as if they are me. The mood I was trying to establish was a sense of anger that I was not being let in by my brother. The angle I chose to use was a low angle to show that my brother is in power like he is strong and tall.
I chose a medium shot because is the closest to real life, because being locked out is a typical occurrence for younger siblings. The shot is in deep focus so the audience could choose what they wanted to look at, like all of the vertical lines from the reflection of the glass. I discovered this location when I was trying to think about what to do for my cinematography project, and I thought of when I was younger and this would happen to me.
This location appeal to me because of the reflections on the glass of the house and scenery, but one could also see my brother on the inside with complete control of whether or not I come in or not. This door is the only door in the house with the glass window, so I did not explore any other doors in the house. At first I had difficulty with the glare on the window from the sun, because the audience would not be able to see my brothers face, however to resolve this problem I chose to go with an even lower angle so the sun would not be directly on the glass. The lighting created a sense of chaos with all of the lines going on inside of the shot because of the reflections on the glass.
I directed my brother to have a serious face as if he would not let me in. I did not use any makeup or costuming in the shot because I wanted it to be as real as possible.
