Chatterton Second Weekend

We shot most of the film yesterday and today.

It was remarkable. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and pride for my cast and crew. They weren't just good and they weren't just great; they were creators of this film as much as I was. Charles has pictures coming soon. I can't wait to get into the editing lab.

Chatterton First Weekend, Part 3

Chatterton First Weekend, Part 2

More pictures by Charles of last weekend's shoot.

Aljosa levels the tripod with Jay, my sound man, animator and crew member extraordinaire.

On the photoshoot with Cindy and Al.

Watching the footage & setting the next shot.

We ended the day with a few more stills in the dance studio.

Chatterton: First Weekend

We rolled video on the first shot of Chatterton this Monday. The shoot was extremely successful; we did the exterior scene and a photoshoot with the actress playing Donna. Meanwhile, Charles floated around us, taking stills of the production. Here are a few; I'll post more this week.

Click on pictures for enlargements.

All photos: Charles Zhang

The cast waits for us to start shooting: Donna (Cindy Chen), Tom Chatterton (Mike Tanenbaum) and Daniel (Thomas Murphy).

Aljosa Zovko takes a picture of Cindy for the photoshoot.

Cindy poses for the forgery.

Tom and Mike pretend to take a photo...

...while Aljosa takes the real ones.

Sometimes you need to stretch out to get a shot...

...like this.

Cindy poses against the tree for a cute shot.

Cast & crew

Graflex

Some pictures by my friend Charles Zhang, of the vintage camera we will use as a prop in the shoot tomorrow and next weekend. This is the camera that Daniel and Tom use to take their fake historical photographs.

Meet the cinematographers, Part 2

Today production on Chatterton started with Daniel's voice-overs. It was a very successful session and it definitely filled me with confidence for the shoots to come. I also picked up the vintage camera from Audio-Visual Services of Hampden, saw some test footage from Aljosa and Carlos, and discussed sound and animation with Jay. In other good news, Aljosa just posted two of his short films on Vimeo!

Aljosa Zovko is one of my cinematographers on Chatterton. Below is his final project from last semester, shot on 16mm film, and featuring our film professor as the main actor. Aljosa's diopter close-ups give objects dignity and faces painful intimacy. With smooth, naturalistic lighting he invites the viewer into a series of quiet, contemplative moments. He also created some of the music for the film below. I'm very lucky to have his talent on my set, and he and Carlos are already working together to blend their skills to make my shooting script a reality. I hope you enjoy his film!

Short Film - Measures of Meaning from Aljosa Zovko on Vimeo.

What does a cinematographer do?

It's a question that seems to be asked a lot, and the answer always varies because it's different on every set. In my case, I've found that in order to give every single detail the attention it deserves, I can't do every single task myself; that my priority is working with the actors because there's a crew member for everything else; and that I might have the organizational skill to coordinate an entire film, but I don't have the technical skill, on the professional level that some of my friends and collaborators do, to achieve the most complex shots that I imagine. I'm a decent cameraman; but I know people who are prodigies, so why not use them?

For Chatterton, Carlos Valdes-Lora and Aljosa Zovko will be my cinematographers. They digest my descriptions of every shot and translate them into physical camera rigs and lighting schemes, then they operate the camera to make sure every shot is executed perfectly. They both just finished shooting with Matt Porterfield on a new short film, where Carlos was key grip. In addition to being my friends, they are ridiculously talented.

Here's a taste of Carlos's work, from a class we both took last year in which choreographers teamed with filmmakers to make dances for the camera. I'm not sure if Aljosa has any of his work posted online, but if I find it I'll post it as well. Aljosa's work with close-ups and his attention to detail are aspects that make him a promising cameraman.

In Carlos's Hallway, you can see the graceful camera movement and expressive lighting that Carlos excells at. I'm very excited to have him working on my set.

Shooting begins this weekend and continues next weekend. By Tuesday, I should have pictures of the first shoot to share here!

Hallway from Carlos Valdes-Lora on Vimeo.

Chatterton Playlist

For my crew, as we discuss the film's style. These are the songs I plan to use in the film. Polyvinyl has given me permission to use any music by "of Montreal."

The Cindys Display Their Total Domination of Awesome

Cindy Chen, my actress playing Donna in Chatterton, just sent me pictures from her first fitting in the costume Cindy Ye designed and built for the film.

In Chatterton, Daniel and his roommates use Donna as a model in their fake historical photographs. She climbs into an old theater costume and poses for them in Wyman Park while they snap her with an antique Graflex - that's the old-fashioned kind of portrait camera with bellows around the lens and a hood for the photographer. You can read more about the camera I'm renting for that prop here.

Below are pictures of Cindy Chen trying on the costume Cindy Ye made. It needs a few small alterations, but I'm extremely impressed with Y's craftsmanship, especially on the ludicrously small timeframe and budget I gave her! I can't wait to see the dress myself at the shoot next weekend.

The Chatterton shoot is coming up in two weeks! What's left? I have to cast one very minor role; finish the artwork for Daniel's room and notebook; draw keyframes to send to Jay, my animator; continue recruiting crew members; send wardrobe specifications to actors; check in with Cindy on Donna's costume; make a final, master list of all props and equipment to bring up with me to Baltimore; and take several very deep breaths.