What I've Learned So Far As A Director

Throughout this past year, I've established myself as a Director/Writer and been strictly following that path. Although I am always desiring to further my knowledge in other aspects of filmmaking such as cinematography, editing, production design, and sound design, I feel that my true passion for filmmaking lies with writing and directing.

All three of my short films I have written and directed and through every film, I discovered new things, I succeeded at many things, and failed as well. However, it is through the hardships, through memory cards crashing and footage being corrupted where I learned to always be prepared. Preparation was probably the biggest thing I learned this past year. As a director, you must always be prepared for technical issues but also, it is just as important to be prepared for your crew and your actors.

Being a director isn't just bringing a creative vision to life, it's also about bringing a group of talented, artistic individuals together that will be able to maintain and sustain your creative vision and help bring it to the screen. Always be considerate and understanding, but never let anyone else run your set. Make executive ideas and communicate them effectively and in a timely manner. No matter how tiring, awful, or unproductive your shoot was, always thank your cast and crew for being there and commend them on their good work but also address those who need to improve in a constructive way. Devote yourself to the story and to the characters because in order to get the performances you need from your actors, you need to know exactly what it is you want to see and hear. These are the most important things I learned for myself as a director this year and I only hope to learn more as I continue to direct more films. I will not only motivate myself, but others as well. Inspire myself and inspire others, tell a story and have it be heard.

Cheating The Space In 'Like Dreaming, Backwards'

Like Dreaming, Backwards, is a short film that I am currently co-directing. In the film, there is a scene where the character, Nell, is attending a therapy session with a psychologist, Dr. Heimlich. For some time, myself, my fellow director, and DP discussed what kind of look we wanted. Were we going for a more sophisticated, medical space which would be a psychiatrist office? Or were we looking for a more comfortable, intimate space like a therapist's office? Ultimately, we decided that a therapist/psychologist office would be best for the scene and would further serve to tell the story better. The location we chose to shoot the scene was at one of our friend's house which proved to be convenient for we had the space, time, and ability to shoot, a freedom which was also cost efficient. However, for the scene we needed it to look like an office and not a house which means we had to cheat the space.

In our friend's house, he has two living rooms. In one living room, is a long wall that is essentially one long bookshelf. My fellow co-director felt that having the bookshelf and putting a desk next to it would really capture the feel that we were in an office when shooting Dr. Heimlich's coverage and I agreed. Although, if we were to reverse the shot and get coverage of Nell, the open space behind her would have been the kitchen. Our DP came up with the brilliant idea to cheat the space which led us to shooting Nell's coverage in our friend's second living room which had a closed off background.

Above, are the screenshots from the footage we recently shot of both Dr. Heimlich's and Nell's coverage. As you can see, it appears as if each shot was filmed within the same room. By doing this, we were able to achieve the look of a psychologist's office without having to shoot in an actual office.

My third short film, 'We're Okay', has officially wrapped!

Earlier this week, my team and I finished shooting the short film I am co-directing. Whenever I finish production for any project, I always feel a sense of relief but also a great sense of accomplishment. Especially with this film which is titled, We're Okay, there were many obstacles my team and I, as a director, had faced that made shooting it frustrating. However, through the frustration and the struggles, we learned new things and overall developed as professionals.

I'd say the hardest part of this production was reshoots and figuring out how and when to get them done in a timely manner and also making sure that our actors were available and weren't too overwhelmed, for they too have their own individual projects they're working on as well. Another thing is directors tend to work with the same group of people and have the same team working on all their projects but the crew I worked with on We're Okay was not my usual crew. Although it was the first time working with them, I'm glad to say that my experience was mostly a good one and I'd be happy to work with them again for another film.

As of right now, the film is in post-production and my team and I are working on a rough edit, which is close to being finished. The music for the film is by far my favorite part of the film itself and I feel the choices in music which my co-director made really make the film come together as a unique, romantic film. Ultimately, I am thankful to all my cast members and crew members that helped making this film even possible. I am very excited to see the final film in its entirety and see a beautiful story about an unusual love come to life in full effect.

The VFX In The National Domestic Hotline PSA

When I first imagined how the scenes where she wipes away the bruises would go, I came up with the plan to apply alcohol to her fingers so when she wipes across the makeup, it would come off. Although it could have worked, on the day of the shoot, my cinematographer (who is also quite proficient in visual effects) suggested that we shoot two part coverage of each scene where she wipes the bruises away. One part, where she will have the bruise makeup on and the other part, we shoot with the makeup off. With this, he planned to mask the makeup with the footage of her having no makeup and editing it so that it would appear that she actually was wiping away the bruises in one single swipe. 

I am so thankful for him because his idea proved to be much better and it came out just as I had imagined when I wrote the script. However, we came across a problem with the last scene where she wipes away her makeup and reveals the bruises. Our issue was when it came time to shoot the final scene, she had to start the scene with no makeup on, but my actress was already in makeup because my makeup artist had to do the facial bruises for she had another appointment and had to leave early. If we took the makeup off to start the scene, we would have no makeup artist or makeup to redo the bruises for the final shot. 

We were struggling to figure out how we could accomplish the scene when finally, my actress had the idea of wiping her bruise makeup off in a backwards motion, and then just reversing the shot in post so that it would appear that she was wiping away makeup to reveal bruises. It was absolutely brilliant and worked perfectly and had I not revealed that just now, you wouldn't have even noticed that was what we did and that is why I love working as a team where more ideas can flow and become useful. 

If you want to watch the PSA, check it out here. 

Getting The Emotional Response You Want From Your Actors

Last monday, I was filming a scene from a short film I am co-directing and it was an emotionally heavy scene. It was the first scene I had to direct where I needed my actor, Celina, to cry and it was also her first time needing to cry for a scene. Although she had her concerns and I had mine, our focus and collaboration gave me, as the director, the emotional response I was seeking from her, and as the actor, she was able to give not only a heartfelt, heartaching  performance but one that is diverse from her previous acting.

As a director, you need to prepare yourself by discovering and learning what kind of acting method your actor gravitates towards. As an actor, she is looking to me for guidance, reassurance, and reason behind what she is doing. Therefore, I feel that in order to get the emotional response you want from your actor, you must get to know your actor and not only direct them, but give them freedom to choose what works best for them. Before we shot the scene, I sat alone with Celina and asked her if she was more comfortable pulling from personal thoughts and memories to help incorporate into her character, or if going through the physical mechanisms of crying would help get her to a certain point that she can then build upon and apply to the character's situation. It was difficult, for she was comfortable with the previous option but could not bring it to the surface, and with the latter, I had to coach and direct her without acting it out myself which is something a director should not to do.

After working with her for fifteen minutes, we were able to get her to the starting point she needed. What followed, when we started shooting the scene, was a performance that exceeded my expectations. It was natural, heartwrenching, and most importantly realistic. I do believe Celina would have been able to cry without the fifteen minute work session we had. However, I don't think she would have been able to execute it as authentically and as moving as she did thus, getting the emotional response you want from your actors requires getting to know them and giving them options they can choose comfortably from.

Framing and Editing Decisions In 'Distance' And How They Helped Tell The Story

A close-up indicates emotion, intimacy, and intensity within characters whereas cuts in editing can bring you closer to or further away from characters or a situation in a scene. With Distance, I analyzed every scene and made decisions in both framing and editing that I felt told the story on a more profound level.

In these particular shots from the very last scene, I felt it was essential to shoot the scene in a wide shot and all in one take. I am confident with my decision and stick by it despite various comments and questions I have gotten regarding this scene. People have asked me, "Why wouldn't you cut to close-ups to get their reactions so you see how they feel?" and "Why did you shoot it so wide? There's so much head room and it makes it almost look flat". In my defense and in the story's defense, these are my reasons:

1. I felt the close-ups at this point were unnecessary. At the beginning of the film, when they're close to one another and in love, that's where I make use of the close-ups because that's when we feel close to the characters as they feel close to one another. 

2. Throughout the film, they become more distant and therefore I translated that into shot composition. The more distant they become, the wider the shots became and less dynamic so that when they finally become so distant and so out of love that they're on opposite sides of  the bed, not speaking to one another, the wide framing really captures not only the huge physical space between them, but the emotional and intellectual distance between them as well. 

With these framing and editing decisions, I feel that you are not only seeing two people falling in and out of love, but also experiencing it. At the beginning of the film, you can feel the burning excitement of being in love and by the end of it, you feel the heartache and dullness of life without love which is exactly what Distance is all about. 

To watch the film, check it out here. 

The Power of Pathos in a PSA

A PSA (Public Service Announcement) can be done in various ways through the use of one of the three main methods: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. Logos follows a more logical approach by providing facts and statistics that can prove the point the PSA is trying to make. Ethos focuses more on credibility and trust and does so by using personal testimony, citing credible sources (doctors, experts, etc.), and by doing so, emphasizes the message of their PSA. Lastly, there is Pathos, which concentrates on story and playing on the viewers emotions and their individual values. 

Although all three methods are effective, I find that Pathos is the best way to reach an audience for a PSA or any commercial/ad, and which is why I used it and was successful with it for my PSA for the National Domestic Hotline. Just from writing the script, I already sensed the powerful message the PSA would portray. In the final product, it is clear that visual storytelling makes for a stronger PSA and that creating something an audience connects with is more effective in making them aware of the message you are trying to send.

We shot the entire PSA in one day. I had a special effects makeup artist come in and the work she did was absolutely amazing which I think further drove the narrative of this piece. My DP and I agreed on keeping the shots very simple, almost delicate in a sense and I am confident with that decision. With the slow, longer, minimal movement in the shots, the audience is more able to feel the weight of the tension, dread, and fear that victims of domestic violence experience. In turn, there is not only a story to be told, but an audience that is actively connecting which makes them more aware of the National Domestic Hotline. 

If you want to watch the PSA, check it out here.