st. elmo Village

Cinematographer’s Conceptual Statement

The interviews for this piece provide us the opportunity to tie St. Elmo Village's unique visual identity to human experiences. It allows us the chance to put personal histories into a physical context. This is a place of color. This is a place of hope.

Within the walls

I really want to ground the people in a space. I envision the subjects center frame surrounded by a manifested physical history. To make our beautiful images we should strive to create depth through geometry and hesitate turning the background into a blurry undiscernible mess.

From the art hanging on the walls of the studios to the trees and shrubs that line a colorfully painted driveway, we should make use of every corner of the village so that people know this is a place for creativity and the exploration of ideas.

Organic & Natural

We should employ large broad light sources in our lighting schemes. This will keep the light soft and pleasing across the face and give the appearance of just ambient light working the scene. All the light should flow in one direction. We should maintain tight control of the color temp of light hitting our scene.

For exteriors, we should strive for side lighting our subjects. Utilize large bounce sources and place subjects in open shade.

Intimate

It's all about the eyes. That's our way to trust and intimacy. We should keep the eye lines as close to camera as possible. With using a center framing convention this should make for a pretty natural image.

Here is a quick sample of possible lensing and aspect ratios. Aspect ratios top to bottom; 2.35, 1.66, 1.77. Focal lengths are 21 and 50mm. Just frame right is a 6’x 6’ book light of 1/4 grid cloth.

eavesdropping on a conversation

Ditch the chair! Get informal. We should find unique angles and spaces around the Village and when possible use the existing environment to stage our interviews. Let’s think beyond the default solution of placing the subject in a stuffy chair. Try a step or maybe the wood bench in the garden. It could be just as simple as having the person stand and move freely about an area.

Life, Love, & Liberty

A subtle warm push into the highlights and mid-tones with neutral shadows will give us a cozy and familial feel yet the neutral shadows will keep it grounded in reality. If possible the interviewees should wear browns, reds, yellows, and blues. These colors wear especially well with rich dark skin tones.