Journey
It
was never supposed to be a serious film, I was filming a project and
decided to makesome improvements to my 16mm camera by building it a
new viewfinder. Once I made my improvements all I had to do was test
the camera. Initially I had just planned to go out to the park and randomly
film, but then I wanted to get a more accurate idea of framing and focusing
with the new viewfinder, I asked some friends to be in front of camera,
they were reluctant so I thought of getting actors instead.
I
wrote a simple little shot list, there was to be no dialogue - I was
only going to test the new viewfinder, focusing and framing, so there
was no need to complicate matters by shooting sound. I met some very
skilled and talented people who came onboard and we started filming.
This
has become more than just a test film, as I have continued writing and
developing the shot list. I don't know what the final length of the
film will be, it could be ten minutes, or perhaps much more, but I am
very excited as I feel a unique story emerging and turning into a very
visually enchanting film, where no character talks. I haven't written
any dialogue, I must point out that it's not a silent film, there is
sound and music, just nobody in the film talks. I feel having no dialogue
has been incredibly liberating and exciting. Non verbal communication
has challenged me to think far deeper, more creatively about everything
and to approach each sequence differently.
I
believe that filmmaking is a medium of constraints which should force
the filmmaker to think in different ways and to be creative at all stages
and ideally to have a bohemian approach to story telling. Personally I
like to tell odd stories, stories that are told in an unusual way, stories
that are unconventional, whether it's through the characterisation, the
photography, editing, music or sound. Here the story has been continually
developing and evolving, it has become intriguing, complex and a multi-layered
fil.