As the Director of Photography on a film, my job is to come up with a visual style that fits both the film and the director's vision, while still containing my own ideas and creativity. After the director and I meet discussing the look, I must actually be able to facilitate and create all of those ideas on set, using the skills and tools I know with both lighting and camera. In order to achieve this, a DP has to be extremely open to ideas and very willing to collaborate closely with a director. Personally I find this collaboration to be one of the most exciting parts of making a film. Before a light is struck, a set is decorated, or an actor delivers his or her first lines, the style, color, tone, and overall look of the film has been thoroughly discussed between the Director, DP, and Art Director, and all three have added their own input and agreed upon what is best for the story.

This script has an additional element which I find very challenging and exciting; two completley different stories, with two different looks on different formats, shot by two different DP's. The section I have been given is called "Clean" and will be shot on HD. It is a very deliberately paced and stylized character study, which I and my director have decided on looking natural and quite literally, clean. The reasoning for this is that we believe that soft natural lighting fits the mood of this story and allows the audience to absorb and connect with the character. Subtle details and coloring is what I believe fits with our protagonist. For most of the film I see blueish, cooler, soft tones, and lots of layers of shading - the film "Blue" by Kieslowski is one visual reference for the above ground scenes. Once our protagonist meets the secondary character underground the look, space, and tone affects her differently; thus, the lighting changes accordingly. For the underground sequences, the lighting becomes more of a set piece and much more obvious or practical. Warmer tones, higher intensities, and increased contrast will add to the set and the space, as well as the tone and emotions our character goes through upon entering this room. During one discussion with the director, I mentioned that it reminded me of a big chandelier or the inside of a toaster oven heating up, an idea I try keeping in mind while formulating the look of the scene.

Those are the two main styles or visual motifs I will be going for with my section. It is very different from any other shoot I have worked on because not only must I come up with my own visual design and look, but it must look different from the other two in the film. I am up to the challenge of being an artist who is part of a whole, using my creativity and ability to put together a section of an entire work. Added to this, being a part of a project that embraces the multitude of mediums that are available to filmmakers today is a very forward minded way of staying close to this constantly changing medium. Needless to say, I am extremely excited to have been asked to join this project, and cannot wait to start shooting.

Sincerely,

Matt Mitchell 
Cinematographer for the Laylee portion