LOOK
You know I am a fan of larger formats by now, but I think it would be a great choice for a spot like this.
It’s intimate, feels larger than life, keeps our framing contemporary, and keeps us nimble in post when it comes to different aspect ratio deliveries. It also keeps us moving quick, relying on less light to reach something that truly feels cinematic.
I also want to keep things extremely fresh between scenes. Perhaps some warmer tungsten fixtures, then something more sterile and incandescent. Perhaps a scene in the early morning with sun streaming through the window, another we shoot in twilight. We can use our limited time for shooting to make bold but simple visual choices that will differentiate our look from scene to scene.
Another thing to note is camera movement. I think it would be easy to think this whole spot up as handheld, but I believe we can create more nuance to that. While I believe some moments could look amazing with a more human touch to the operating, I want us to also be thinking about where we can restrain our movement.
I was glad we all liked the one reference I sent through on the call, but I will post it here again as a good example of the way this differentiation in camera movement could work. A healthy mixture of handheld, sticks, and dolly!
Check it out below!
When looking into DPs, I think focusing on someone who really thinks with a “filmmaking” mindset will be important. Someone who can get on board with our scene objectives rooted in emotional events, and make it their mission to craft shots with me accordingly.
Farhad Ghaderi, Mack Calistan, Peter Hadfield, and Evan Ciniello are examples of folks who I think could be great fits.