Ger Leonard

This has become quite frustrating.. Its clear that you have made assumptions bases on the reality of my posts .. Firstly it is quite common to call back an actor a number of times in castings. (ask around) The fact that i called this actor back 5 times shows not my mistrust of the actor but rather my dedication and commitment. I mentioned also that some of these sessions were to read opposite other actors. At third callback he was cast. The other two times it was to see how other actors I was considering worked opposite him. If you read my posts properly you would have clearly seen that I was NEVER even suggesting that I would tell the actor to "feel vulnerable". This as i said is "result direction", I find your posts to be patronizing, and i'm afraid to say show distinct signs of profound disrespect and hubris. PLEASE only respond to posts that you have read properly. Or else this will really get us nowhere useful. You go on to give 2 directing METHODS as a emotion has to COME FROM SOMETHING.. I KNOW THIS .. I SAY THIS IN MY POSTS, I even give examples!!!!! Why you insist on the opposite, i cannot fathom. You tell me that i should try to find situations where he'll feel vulnerable...READ MY POSTS .. How could you have missed my saying this myself? Please review all my posts on this topic.. I have taken acting classes, have done a directing actors course with Judith Weston, have read Checkov and stanislavsky, and many more.. I know about playable and unplayable direction. I know "act vulnerable" is result direction, i explicitly say this ! Yet you insist that this is exactly what i intend to do!! I talk about backstory, what just happened, images, objectives, wants, obstacles, intentions, action verbs etc.. as methods to ENCOURAGE vulnerability. Please lets focus here ! I will say this one final time I HAVE NO INTENTION OF TELLING ANY ACTOR TO FEEL VULNERABLE I agree with everything you say in your posts (which should be abundantly clear, as I say almost the exact same things), but as to the reasons why you are writing them in such a manner I am at a loss. You seem intent on assuming that what i'm intending to do is ignorant and uninformed. Yet if you were to pay proper attention you would i hope realize something quite different.. I hope you respond to this, but only after some reflection on my previous posts and perhaps some self-refection also. ;)

While i appreciate your comments I think you have rather wildly misinterpreted what i said and my intentions. I have no intention of "ramming" my version down the actors throat. I love it when an actor surprises me, does things that i had not expected and fully inhabits the role, makes it his own in collaboration with me. That is the reason why i cast this actor. Seeing him being this character was so convincing, so persuasive, it was exhilarating to see this character i had written come to life. All I was asking was "how to encourage vulnerability in a performance". As i said he is a wonderful actor, a real talent that I am thrilled to have found. The suggestions i made were some possibilities I have been considering. Again I find it hard to understand why you ask "why are you asking us if this will work?", this is after all a directors' forum where we are given the opportunity to discuss ideas openly. I do not claim to know if these will work. I do not as you suggest have any intention of "badgering" an actor into a preconceived performance. Yes i spoke about an actor who is unavailable that seemed to perfectly fit my concept of the character. But i have no intention of "forcing" my actor to fit that. This would be self-defeating and i would not have cast him if i felt he hadn't something that seduced me, and excites me. It is a liberation of the character from my preconceived image.. taking on a life of its own. Again all i am asking here was about encouraging vulnerability in a performance. I do stand by my statement that "the actor owns the character", and that "the director owns the take/cut". I recognize the dangers in having a preconceived reading of a character both for the director and the actor. I believe you have misrepresented my previous post James, but I'm sure your intentions are good ones. We will be shooting this film in november (touch wood), and of course I will be working with the actor on the character over the coming months. We have despite your suspicions a very strong working relationship. He was called back 5 times to auditions, sometimes to work opposite other actors, and each time he gave my something remarkable. I am confident that he will be truly great in the film. I posted my question to discuss methods to encourage vulnerability NOT to force, and subjugate an actor into some impossible other..

I have a specific question explained below: How to encourage VULNERABILITY in a performance? Casting is crucial but on low budgets especially its hard to find exactly what you are looking for. I long had in mind an actor who i'd long admired and followed his career , who i felt and still do is perfect for a particular part. His career has taken off, and he is in demand, and is unavailable. So long ago i had to move on. I went through exhaustive casting sessions and found an actor (theatre exp, no film), who is extraordinary. He took direction, he was alive in the moment, real. He simply blow everyone else away. He was in a totally different league. Yet his take on the character and indeed his look is quite different to what i had in mind, the aforementioned "perfect" actor. This "perfect" actor has just been in the lead in a major television series, and again i was struck by his mesmerizing performance. I find it hard to shake him from the role in my mind. His image lingers. He fits so completely. The key thing this actor has is vulnerability, it is impossible not to feel for him. He is so sympathetic, so pure, so fragile, so enigmatic. My question here is how to make this wonderfully talented actor i have cast more vulnerable on screen. As i said before he is a extraordinarily real actor, every gesture seems intuitive, in the moment.. yet its that vulnerability that seems lacking (in comparison to this other actor.. very few actors, if any could stand the comparison). I want to avoid result direction "show more vulnerability", of course, and perhaps as it will be his first major film role, he will feel vulnerable! But obviously my aim will be to put him at ease so he can find the character within himself. Possible directions to encourage VULNERABILITY? IMAGES and BACKSTORY: remember your childhood, to a time when you were all alone and frightened, you had pissed in your bed, and your drunken father was shouting at your mother next door. AS IF you have pissed in your trousers. AS IF you are naked AS IF you have explosives tied to you, which could go off at any moment, but you cannot tell, YOU NEED to make a connection with someone before you die. AS IF there is a jury watching you, judging you. YOU WANT someone to hold you, but you know you bruise easily on physical contact. YOU CAN make eye contact but don't hold it, it hurts too much, you will fall. As said in previous post: the actor owns the character, the director owns the take/cut.. I know its difficult not knowing the script nor the character but anyone any further suggestions?

yeah i'd heard somewhere about that kazan - brando direction...dunno if true but print the legend ! As with everything its good to know the theories but in practice whatever gets you there gets you there. Its only whats captured on film that counts. Ultimately the actor owns the character, but the director owns the cut/take (hopefully)... Pedro Almodovar says that he doesn't do much coverage in the classical sense but with each take he points the scene in a different direction, allowing him to try out things and choose later. I like this idea: limited coverage yet options within the frame. Its surprising how many directors will own up to result direction in practice on set eg. saying "faster" etc.. but experienced actors often automatically will translate these directions into terminology that works for them. eg "sooner", "i want this to be over". I think its important to be intrigued both by the character and by the actor charged with being that character.

As always you are correct in your analysis .. "i'm talking about traditional narrative, not art cinema though." I dislike the term art cinema but understand why this is the term used. Cinema is classified as entertainment, the entertainment industry... yet good music, literature, theatre, art is rarely consigned to the "entertainment industry". Surely film is about communication, an element of which is entertainment. Would a person like to be defined as "entertaining", as if that were your sole purpose? Imagine if all other art forms accepted so readily that there main purpose were entertainment... Every time i've read your posts david i've been hugely impressed with their clarity of thought and openness of spirit. Your analysis of Pollack's film is entirely accurate. (and i do like some of his films) The film i'm currently working on is "art" cinema, in that it is something that i want to communicate/explore and film is medium through which this feeling/these senses can be transmitted. Can i express it in a few words? No. Are my feelings about the characters ambiguous? yes Yet i agree that its important to simplify things down to basics. I believe in a minimalist simplified elegant "style" , which while directing actors i want to also hold onto whilst allowing the action/life to exist outside the frame/film.

I understand your point, but i think its more important that the director knows and understands the characters wants and needs than the actor. By communicating directly to the actor the specific need the character has to address or what they want in a specific scene, the risk is that this will be foregrounded, and played toward overtly. For the actor to be in the moment can sometimes be a slight misnomer in that often a person is projecting themselves elsewhere in order to avoid the present situation. Of course this is in reality being true to the moment in that it is this moment that their past memories or pathologies causes them to recoil from, their thoughts go elsewhere, they dislocate. Translated into a want you could say "you want to be somewhere else, somewhere quiet and safe". Their thoughts are engaged by the IMAGE of this other place, and their frustration with being in this place and their actions stem from this dislocation. Is it important that an actor understand why their character is doing something? For some actors maybe, but not intellectually...he has to do it intuitively, as a response to his imaginary circumstance. Its said that an actor should be given a clear direction of their want from a scene, changing the want or action verb when the "beat" changes. The risk again is that the actor who say switches from " to threaten", to " to console", to "to amuse" within a scene may do exactly as directed BUT if the actor is conscious of trying to fulfill these wants prior to playing the scene this is not natural behaviour/thinking.. unless the character is a sociopath. Also if the actor is thinking only of these directions and follows them the danger is that as Robert Bresson warns "Words do not always coincide with thought. Earlier, later. The aping of this non- coincidence in films is dreadful." I accept these techniques are useful shorthands and much better than "result direction", but used without engaging the imagination/images/senses they can fall short. Whatever works works...and in casting hopefully you will have found the key to each actor.

i have some difficulty with the idea that "all acting comes from wanting something. It's what you want that makes you do something, not what you think" (sydney pollack), which seems to be the accepted doctrine. (although there are others) Think about that for a moment....is that true? To my mind what is essential in cinema acting is what the actor is thinking (even if it is almost nothing). If a want is too clearly defined the actor can lose spontaneity. In the scenes of our lives we often do not know exactly what we want, and our actions are often in conflict with them even when we think we do. Its this tension,this friction, this anxiety ("the one emotion that cannot be faked") that is truthful and truly in the moment. Personally i like to use images and associations, to trigger thoughts and feelings. For example a couple are having an argument The director tells the man that he WANTS to leave, BUT he doesn't want her to cry (OBSTACLE).. run the scene. OK .. Now add IMAGES, (thoughts) 1) the first night you made love, a small detail.. how she cried after and started to hiccup?.. how vulnerable and beautiful she looked = look at her now , look at you now. Her tears were/are lies, you were a fool, she wont fool you again !! Let her cry after you leave not before. She seemed so beautiful then, you can't look at her anymore. 2) the darkness outside, the open road, oblivion, the door slamming on the past = its too bright in here, overhead lights, too warm, clammy, ugly, naked, confined. OK perhaps this is overdoing it (knowing when to say nothing is important too) but what i'm attempting here is to trigger the actors imagination, their sensory life... thoughts and feelings, their inner world so the do something unexpected, unconscious.. alive. Could this overwhelm the actor? Well perhaps this scene is overwhelming? Backstory, what just happened etc can also help. BUT what you THINK does dictate how you act, how you do something, doesn't it ? I like to ask the actor questions to stir his imagination and guide him to these images/senses ensure his WANTS are not too clean, to sure of themselves. (when necessary) I hope this sparks some debate, as its through conflict and discussion that we can better refine our thoughts and actions. Cheers

I agree Paul, but I wrote the script with the intention of directing! This is a highly visual film (the first draft contained no dialogue) I now have my director's hat on but nonetheless as a director I agree that this opening sequence is crucial and somehow will be "doable", it's a question of how. In script terms the scene is 3rd of page (works better for readers), but always intention that this scene would be roughly 6 mins and set the tone of the film. We will be searching for the right location but as said previously we would be very fortunate to find it. I have a Plan B (breaking it down into elements), but I am also considering other options: compositing, green screen, matte painting etc... cheers.

Thanks for reply. "The stars reflecting on the sea", aspect is the least important really. The sequence begins on the night stars, then down to the sea, dawn breaking over the horizon, shedding light, moving back with the dawn to reveal the outdoor swimming pool overlooking the sea, moving round to see the city, its orange/yellow streetlight humming out their electric riposte to the fading night. What i'm looking for here is natures light v man's artificial city lights. The light of the city "shrinking back" as the dawn rises. (The next scene sees the street lights turn off in dawns early light) Although in the opening sequence there are no characters, later in the film and near film's close there is a character on the diving board over the empty pool. I'm a little dubious as to whether this can be production designed effectively on a sound stage( with moving elements). I would be delighted if it could of course. Would not some digital compositing, green screen, or even matte painting be options? I have no experience of any of these techniques, so again thoughts and suggestions welcome.

i am directing my first feature this autumn/winter. One potential problem arises in the opening sequence, which includes key locations: the shore/beach, an empty outdoor swimming pool/house which overlooks the sea, a nearby city, whilst the sun rises.. As this film will be shot in ireland (and possibly some in belgium) finding the above locations could present difficulties. I am confident we can find a house with an outdoor swimming pool BUT one which overlooks the sea and is near a city will prove difficult maybe impossible. So, given the above scene, which will be roughly 6 minutes screen time, with a moving camera, and a rising sun, is it viable to consider some DIGITAL COMPOSITING or another alternative? Here is the scene, any suggestions greatly appreciated... EXT. SHORE ? NIGHT Night stars reflect on the rolling waves of the sea. The dawn is breaking, shedding light, filtering shades of blue up through the night sky, like a bruise. MOVE BACK with the dawn TO REVEAL an empty swimming pool, covered in leaves, with a low diving board belonging to an empty house for sale overlooking the sea. MOVE around over the shore to the sky above a city. The city?s yellow/orange streetlights hum out their electric riposte to this now fading night. Our budget is approx 1.5m euro. Plan B is to break the sequence down into its components. Although clearly different, i had envisaged the opening sequence to have similar quality to: carlos reygadas' silent light http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez3on9ME-Wc

I suppose what i am thinking about is Preciousness versus Integrity Product versus Art There are filmmakers who will do anything to appeal to a mass audience, and others who will do anything to appeal to festival judges/critics. . You need to be honest with yourself and the film your are making as it will determine the film language you will use and audience it could reach (the first audience is yourself, and hopefully your tastes are not so base nor too refined) 2nd guess yourself but not your fictional audience. BTW like that quote from Alexander earlier.. Orson Welles quote "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations."

i understand the importance of "flexibility", of giving yourself options in the edit, but nonetheless I believe it to be the directors responsibility (on personal projects at least), to find their voice in close collaboration with cast and crew through film. Although film is all too often classified as simply entertainment, it should never be forgotten that film is first and foremost about communication. If all communication were there simply to entertain then we should all run away and join the circus.. <_< Some quotes: "its musicality: repetition, coherence, rhythm, structure. It's all about music. It's ideas translated into light. Its words as colors. Movies mean moving images and don't forget the image part. We've got this whole industry that's proliferating the idea of the word as the basis for filmaking - the word, the text, no, no no. Why does a film have to explain things to you? you don't expect explanations from a bus? or a glass of beer? why should we expect explanations?" (CHRISTOPHER DOYLE vertigo vol 2 no 8 sping/summer 2005) "One does not create by adding, but by taking away." (ROBERT BRESSON Notes on a Cinematographer) "All creative work strives for simplicity", "The true artistic image is always based on an organic link between idea and form" (ANDREI TARKOVSKY Sculpting in Time) "You must always leave the door of the set open because you never know what might come in." JEAN RENOIR It is important not to be too rigid, but equally dangerous is being too flexible. Again it all depends on the film you are making, why you are making it, and on the films you want to make and why. It is never "all about the story", but rather "how the story is told".

Made mistake.. here's the clip from Michael Haneke's "code unknown" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39sKVQvJpgM

I agree, by avoiding cuts the audience gets to "reinvest" in the image. This is an essentially observational style that creates an emotional distance with a sense of longing. There is also a sense of voyeurism, of eavesdropping which lends itself to "omnisicient" or 3rd person narratives, as Michael Nash pointed out. Personally I am very partial to this minimalist approach. For me there should be a reason for every cut, this can of course be simply an aesthetic reason as long as it is in tune with the visual language, tone, rhythm and musicality of the whole. Some examples of this style ... Tsai Ming Liang "what time is there" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irLjuz7NHFc Roy anderson "you the living" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOv_ByfRnu0 Jarmusch's "stranger than paradise" Micheal Haneke "code unknown" http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=F71C...E08A&page=3 Bela Tarr "prologue - visions of europe" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_mz39I88x4...feature=related It all depends on the film you wish to make, how you see the film, on how it moves you, on your point of view, how it feels, where you are and what/where you want to say/see.

Came across this blog a while back so when saw this post thought i'd share it with you. http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/opening_shots_project/ NOTE: we are talking opening shot here not opening sequence right? in truth talking about opening shots alone precludes some wonderful sequences .. Perhaps that would be a more useful topic..? Also opening credit sequences ..? Anyway, the "opening shots" that really imprinted themselves on my psyche (at least the ones that are coming to mind now) RATCATCHER lynne ramsey "a kid wrapping himself in a curtain. For some reason this connected to the fact he was going to die later, it looked kind of like a shroud. It was just a sense of something foreboding, which is what I wanted to do with the sound design as well. We used muted kids' voices, so it has this eerie atmosphere; but literally it's just a kid wrapping himself in the curtain. The image just stuck in my head and it felt right." (Gaurdian interview) NIL BY MOUTH gary oldman. Ray Winstone ordering drinks in a bar, a palpable sense of impending violence. SILENT NIGHT Carlos Reygadas. Sublime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez3on9ME-Wc THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY sergio leone A vast empty Western landscape. The camera pans across it. Then the shot slides onto a sunburned, desperate face. The long shot has become a closeup without a cut, revealing that the landscape was not empty but occupied by a desperado very close to us. In these opening frames, Sergio Leone established a rule that he follows throughout "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." LA DOLCE VITA Federico Fellini.. The hovering Christ statue suspended from a helicopter blessing the City .. LOVES OF A BLONDE Milos Forman.. brash girl with guitar belting out tune to camera in this classic of czech new wave. Deceptively simple and pure.. THE NAKED KISS Sam Fuller . A woman beats the poop out of her drunk pimp with her purse. Jazz plays on the soundtrack, insane bebop. She's shot head on, swinging with the shoe; the first shot is her just pulling back and walloping the guy. Halfway through the fight, he grabs her hair, which all comes off; it's a wig, and her head is shaved. NAKED Mike Leigh. As we hear a woman moaning in either pain or ecstasy, the handheld camera moves down a dark alley, shaking like an there's earthquake, and it stops at the single pool of light, where a man with his back to us has forced a woman against the wall, raping her.. HALLOWEEN John Carpenter. A four-minute single take that builds up to the brutal murder of a teenage girl in a quiet home in a quiet neighborhood by victim's 6 year old brother.. KISS ME DEADLY Robert Aldrich. Before any credit sequence, the film begins with a pair of naked feet running down the middle of a highway in the black of the night. BLUE VELVET David Lynch. Shot of a blue sky as Bobby Vinton croons, ?Blue Velvet.? The camera pans to a white picket fence with roses in front. Know i'm leaving out some that i'll regret later but these are all inspired and inspirational.

As my first feature looks highly likely to receive substantial funding from Belgium, we are strongly considering a Belgian camera crew, as there would be a corresponding belgian spend. (they have an excellent tax deal there btw). I have to admit I wasn't that familiar with current Belgian cinematographers. My initial thought was of the Dardenne Brothers but they work with Alain Marceon who is french (although perhaps he is belgian resident?). My film would share a certain sensibililty if not quite style. Benoit Debie (innocence, irreversible) is in prep for Marilyn Manson's first film (!!), and would most likely either by too busy or too expensive or both ( or perhaps not really right fit anyway) The only other (living + working) Belgian DP i was vaguely familiar with is Yves Cape (flanders, and the new claire denis film White Material) Since mentioning my search for a DP on another forum i've received a number of posts, one from the belgian Olan Bowland (blacksheep), whose work on their website is undoubtedly very impressive and warrants consideration. Of course our belgian co-producers will be able to put forward suggestions (when deal further cemented at cannes), but I thought I'd try and pick a few brains here first. You can check my other posts to get sense of what I'm looking to achieve. (Alwin Kuchler's work with Lynne Ramsey's wonderful Ratcatcher is good reference) (prefer this post to remain in this forum even if perhaps it may fall a little outside its boundaries) Appreciate any thoughts.

here's link to the aforementioned shot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez3on9ME-Wc

Any views on film scores in general.. theories, favorites etc? Is film music, like dialogue, cuts and Close ups. all too often used to bludgeon the audience into passive submission ? Not to sound too rarified but shouldn't a film hold up without recourse to extensive use of the above. Don't get me wrong, there are many films that i love whose extensive score is utterly integral to the film (leone, argenta, keislovski etc)..likewise with dialogue and close ups, but too often they feel like devices covering up the inadequacies of the film or more worryingly the perceived inadequacies of their audience. its unfortunate that when sound was introduced films became known as "talkies", as dialogue is but one instrument that the introduction of sound made available. I have two musicians/sound artists lined up to collaborate on the score of my first feature Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) and Peter Broderick (if curious links below) http://www.myspace.com/machinefabriek http://www.myspace.com/peterbroderick They have collaborated before but this will be there first score for a feature film.. Rutger mixes field recordings, found sounds, classical instrumentation, sine waves, guitar drone, electronic processing and more to create a soundscapes that are as visually stimulating as they are sonically.. for me his music can dissolve into the fabric of the film, creating a certain distortion, a new coloring, a resonance integral to the images. Not lending the image an emotion but a texture, a feeling. Peter is a more classical multi -instrumentalist, harmonic and melodic in nature. Both understand the importance of the silence between sounds, or as someone said, " it was sound that created silence." It is these two forces i want to bring together to create the film's score. I am also looking into acquiring the rights to a couple of pieces of music: Arvo Part .. Fur alina Neu! ... Leb wohl I wondered in anyone here knows how much the rights might be? I would only be using the opening minute of leb wohl, but i'm not sure that this will mean a reduction. Are there are musicians that you would love to hear composing scores for films ? There is an huge amount of talented musicians/sound artists out there whose work i believe deserves a wider canvas.

hi jon, thanks for your input. I havent seen "4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days" yet but its on my list of films to see. It now seems likely that a substantial portion of our budget will come from Belgium, which would require a spend there. We are therefore considering Belgian DPs. I thought of the Darenne Brothers but their DP Alain Marceon is french Benoit Debie would probably be outside our budget and unavailable. Yves Cape is another belgian i'm aware of. On your "broad question": Personally i would want a DP that is "invested" in the project. For me its important that they can "see" where i'm coming from and that we have or learn a common language. Having said that, I subscribe to the tarkovsky tenant that "truth is reached through dispute". I agree however that yes a certain detachment is required on both the part of the director and DP, to ensure we aren't seduced by images that although "pretty" and engaging, are not the "right" images for the film. In the heat of battle it is all too easy to lose sight of the film. The film should inspire the DP and in turn their inspiration further inspire the director and so on throughout the cast and crew, ultimately inspiring an audience (however many of few they may be)

Yeah i did dave cheers... now ill try become a sustaining member as you suggest..

NOTE: this was originally posted in CINEMATOGRAPHERS FORUM and was then moved to JOBS, REELS, RESUMES... I hope its ok that i'm posting here also as really what i'm looking for here is suggestions... thanks I am a writer/director whose DP has become unavailable for my first feature in Ireland. Having built up a strong relationship over the last 3+ years and feeling very much in tune on a project that we are both passionate about and share a vision for, my Hungarian DP has had to commit himself to another feature film. I know he struggled with this decision and I understand and respect his choice. He needs to shoot one feature a year along with commercials, shorts etc or else "he goes nuts". and last year none of his features were made. As he has shared our many false dawns and frustrations, (testing our patience but never wavering in our belief in this film) and knowing that despite our commitment to finally go into production this year, on a budget ranging between 1m and 1.4m euro instead of our initially projected 2m.. we simply could not 100% guarantee production this autumn.. he committed himself to a film that has its budget fully in place and dates locked. There is no hard feelings only best of wishes (laced with mutual regret) I will not share with you the painful details, the near misses, the almost theres, the talent coming and going, over these years.. as i'm sure you know these frustrations well enough. If for whatever reason production becomes delayed yet again and we run into 2009 he would like very much to shoot our film, while at same time he hopes that after these long and frustrating years we can finally get to shoot this film before this year passes. It would pain me to have to delay production again until next year especially if all else is in place. He understands this of course, and naturally once we start looking for a new DP, if would be difficult/unfair to turn back. So as a writer/director with his first feature finally approaching production this autumn/winter.. I am writing here to ask for suggestions. I would of course be simpler to find a DP in Ireland, and there are no doubt many strong candidates, but I have always liked idea of bringing in an "outsider" perspective. Below is a short synopsis of the film SHELTER (name may have to change to FIVE DAYS SHELTER) and some brief notes on cinematography. most likely our new DP will come from ireland, Uk or mainland europe.. I appreciate your taking time to read this and although i am not here looking for applications, I would appreciate your opinions, suggestions, and advice. SHELTER is a highly visual ensemble drama interweaving the lives of several characters in a contemporary urban setting over five days. All the characters live untenable existences of quiet desperation. It is only by letting go of the lies they?ve forced themselves to live, that they can ultimately find release and connect with the ?beauty?, the poetry, that their numbing routines have made them blind to. Shelter looks at the interconnectivity of all things in the face of man's inherent isolation, with themes of human nature and animal instinct, through a language beyond that of words. These lives are portrayed and betrayed by their fleeting interactions with each other and crucially the animals in their lives. This is a unique serious convergent drama revealing the poetry of the everyday. It is this recognition of and connection with the poetry and beauty in and around us that can lift us out of our sometimes despair and suffering. The first draft contained no dialogue. Once I knew I had found the film the characters found their voices. It now has sparse, minimal dialogue and although strong on narrative it works more as a thematic exploration, closer to poetry and music. The script yields its meanings (and asks provocative questions, for it is not morally prescriptive) through its overall conception, metaphorical constructs, structure and tone. If asked to offer examples of films of its kind one could mention aspects of the work of Krzystof Kieslowski, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Terrence Davies, Robert Bresson, Lynne Ramsey?s Ratcatcher, and Leos Carax?s Les Amants du Pont Neuf, amongst others. CINEMATOGRAPHY * A lyrical/heightened naturalism. * Observational, non-intrusive. * Limited coverage. Masters where possible. Plan sequence. Dialogue often offscreen. Laconic minimal style * Camera movement (finding/losing/leaving/abandoning) holding still at end of shot. * Slow deliberate camera moves, giving unsettling edge, a shift in perspective. * Objects obstructing view. * Negative space. * Frames within frames. (doorways. windows, mirrors) * Reflective surfaces * Empty frames, characters entering and leaving. * Abandoning angles. * Detached point of view (anthropological) Limited use of close ups. * Occasional use of macro lenses for intimate scenes * Mixed source lighting. Conflict between natural and artificial light sources. Use available light and practicals. * Light places not faces. * Limited use of fill lighting * Spartan approach, work with darkness, let things fall off, and highlights bloom and blow out. * Musicality, rhythm, repetition, coherence This film has been playing in and on my mind for 4 years, but these haven't been wasted, the film is now much more clearly defined and refined, and will be all the better for the faith held in it for so long... Thanks again for your time.. and BTW.. this is a wonderful forum for informative and inspiring discussions... much appreciated... GER

This topic was originally posted in the CINEMATOGRAPHERS forum, but has obviously since been moved to JOBS, REUMES, SHOWREELS forum. As said in post I was not as such looking for applications but suggestions of and recommendations and opinions on up and coming and more established primarily european based DOPs that you feel might be a good fit with the type of film I want to make. Of course since this is a cinematography forum and especially now that i've been moved to this forum, a number of DOPs have contacted me to put themselves forward. While I really appreciate people's interest, you'll understand that right now we are considering our options and are not as yet accepting showreels. I will, however consider everyone, but as said in original post, we have a number of DOPs already in mind. You'll understand my not wishing to mentions any names. A related query: My PM box only accepts 5 messages and in trying to archive them just now i found that when opened the attachment to my email it came out as an ugly txt with html code etc.. making it hard to decipher.. I dont want to be unable to receive PMs due to being full, nor do i want to delete messages without being able to have them clearly archived.. How do i resolve this affectively? Thanks..

No worries Paul.. Yes there are many excellent european DPs out there... I had an extremely talented one attached. A while ago there was a topic running about "best new cinematographers"... what i guess i'm asking is for opinions on some up and coming european DPs that might seem suited to this type of film. I have a number in mind. I'm not an prolific poster on these forums so I hope that this topic is appropriate to this forum ...

ok clearly my thinking that most members/DPs here were american was mistaken... but rest of my post is true, no kidding

my mistake.. thanks paul, good to hear. . I did say most though... ;)