First-Time Filmmaker

[Melmo]

Hi. My name is Melissa, and I am 17 years old. I have been in love with movies, specifically horror movies, for the majority of my life. Lighting and cinematography have always transfixed me when I am watching a movie, and I am contemplating pursuing the field of work. I have no experience making a film, but I am working on a film project for the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. I have taken your list of books for newbies into consideration and am planning on renting a few from the library. But I have a question in terms of a specific kind of cinematography, that of Luciano Tovoli's in Dario Argento's film "Suspiria". We would like to recreate the heavily saturated, dream-like colors depicted in the film, but we are on a tight budget. Any answers as to cost-efficient ways to do this, and more importantly, what to do?

 

Thank you so much for your time.

 

-Melissa

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

> heavily saturated, dream-like colors

 

Shoot heavily saturated objects.

 

Really, the amount of importance given to the various phases by small and unfinanced productions is often inversely proportional to their importance. The best and easiest way to make something look saturated is to shoot colourful objects; the easiest way to give it deep blacks and interesting shadows is to light it that way. So, your first port of call should be production design, costume, and lighting. These things will all make a much bigger impact than postproduction tweaking. Then you can start thinking about your plans for the image in camera and in postproduction, which can reinforce and refine what you've done in front of the lens.

 

Phil

[Melmo]

That's exactly what we were thinking. Thank you so much for replying--I will definitely take what you've said into consideration. Thank you!

 

-Melmo