Thread by @fraserstephendp

'Safe' (directed by Aleah Scott) won Best Micro Short (supported by @bfinetwork) at the BFI Future Film Festival 2023. Watch on the BFI YouTube channel now!



@BFIFilmAcademy @Undercranked #shortfilm #WomensRights #directorofphotography #cinematographer

I met Aleah through a website called The Dots and she pitched the idea for 'Safe' to me. I'd recently been horrified by the story and video below, which went viral.

upworthy.com/chilling-video…

The idea of being able to create something that could raise awareness about the issue and potentially help promote change was a big motivating factor. Along with the fact that I loved Aleah's previous film, 'The Art of Baking.

vimeo.com/445310249

In support of Aleah's core idea to juxtapose the image with sound, I proposed that we aim to represent the innocence, excitement, fun and variety of a child’s teenage years with the images we create.

I wrote this in prep: "The look of the film should subtly evoke feelings of innocence, naivety, nostalgia and happiness. We will create bright scenes with contrasty or dreamy lighting and saturated, warm colours representative of a child’s excitement at discovering the world. "

"We can use spontaneous and energetic handheld camera movement in exterior scenes where the girls are running or having fun and more static or slow moving/fluid camera movement can be present in more calm scenes, such as with the kids eating, playing or reading at home."

"Wide angle lenses can represent the open possibilities of a child’s emerging years."

We planned to shoot a mix of digital and Super 8, which would add texture and draw the viewer in with a strong nostalgic element. IIRC we shot @kodak_shootfilm 200T which was developed and scanned by @On8milSpace. It ended up being absolutely crucial to the success of the edit.

The digital footage was shot on the camera I owned at the time, a Sony FS72, paired with my #ContaxZeiss lenses. I think we used the 35mm f1.4 wide open paired with a Metabones speedbooster and 1/8 black pro mist to give us the dreamy, wide-ish perspective.

Here are some of my favourite frames that we referenced with my notes below.

@threadreaderapp unroll