Three Opening Frames

This first photo comes from having to stay in a hotel, instead of with my mom. She received test results saying she was COVID positive ten minutes before I was going to pull into the condo where she was staying. I hoped to create a sense of worry, late at night with an empty bed. I took many different versions of this shot, but I love in this one how the clock feels as if it is under an interrogation lamp. The room seems mysterious and dark, leaning into the questions of what is happening. This gives the audience a certain amount of anxiety.

I think that this image catches much of the feeling I was going for. One thing that would help increase the anxiety would be changing the clock to read 3 or 4am. 7pm or 7am is not a very scary time. Beds are frequently empty at that time. Also I wonder if their would be more anxiety with a made empty bed at 4am.

This second image I just like the vibe. Reflections and mirrors are such fun things to mess with in film and give us uncomfortable and unnatural perspectives. I was going for the audience feeling uncomfortable as if they were the camera position, creepily watching out of their side-mirror. This would be from the perspective of the main character, similar to the climatic moments in other horror films (Silence of the Lambs [1991] for example). It feels slightly voyeuristic, which gives the audience discomfort. In our modern world, we all are probably in more pictures than we could ever imagine. I also tried to color it to give it that pale blue, drained feeling, as if the sun was about to set.

I think it would be more effective if the car was facing the camera. That would up the creepiness factor a lot. I also wish I wasn’t at a bend in the road, so that the only thing in focus would be the mirror and what is in it. The background is too distracting because of how in focus it is.

I have a long love of taking photos of BB-8 and it has made me popular on instagram and with the old ladies in my home ward on facebook. With COVID, I wanted at least one picture with a subject and I choose my droid. I love the concept of him holding up a physical map instead of linking to a satellite or something. That idea makes me giggle and is more upbeat than the other two photographs. I am used to trying to get depth in my still photos with longer lenses and so it was great to experiment moving the camera obnoxiously close to the subject. It feels more intimate that way.

I was going for the inciting incident to a comedy about a lost robot trying to find his way home. Next time, I would have made it lighter and warmer. The blue tint makes it feel a little dangerous instead of fun. I would also reposition the map so it is not on the same focal plane. The text isn’t that important and could distract from BB-8.