the CHEST
TREATMENT, CINEMATOGRAPHY AND APPROACH.
THE INTERVIEWS
You'll notice these interviews are shot against a photography backdrop. Typically when using one of these set backdrops, the frame isn't exposed. Shots crafted so the scaffolding is cropped, focusing mostly on the subject.
So why did I choose to include elements of the BTS in the final production? The story of The Chest takes a look at how my grandfather's photography told a part of our family history that he physically couldn't.
As a videographer and filmmaker myself, I am doing that too.
I am capturing part of my family's history in a way that I can't articulate or pass down on my own. Im using artifact to tell the story. This video is a digital artifact for future generations, like my niece and nephew to learn and appreciate a history that was once untold.
The act of capturing these interviews is actually part of the story.
Every shot in a piece tells a story. That's why I've been really intrigued by cinematography and the way stories can be metaphorically folded in.
When it came to the interview, I struggled with whether I would film my subjects separately, or together in the same shot. Both approaches had it's pros and cons.
Technically speaking, interviewing subjects separately is cleaner. It gives me individual pieces to work with
Subjects are more likely to speak over another during group interviews, and this can make it harder to cut bites together in the edit.
Metaphorically speaking, interviewing subjects as individuals visually told a story on its own.
Separate interviews may give the feeling of a family thats apart. Isolated in their own respective worlds,
THE STORYTELLING
THE TITLE
The chest was not just a container, but a family heirloom. My grandfather, who was deaf and could not read or write, was great with his hands. He could fish, he could build. The Chest is one of his creations, built with his bare hands, and ultimately filled with memories. This wasn't just a chest, but the heart of the familly.
