One of my most consuming childhood frustrations was being aware of my own childishness when I was maybe seven- or eight-years-old. My parents, other adults, older kids: they all knew things and could do things that I wasn’t able to—read books with long words, stay up late, get a job, etc.—and it annoyed me hugely and incessantly. In SPAGHETTIFLOWER, the camera is constantly moving—and the actress, Reese, is constantly trudging forward—until the very, very end when she comes up to a strange light and, surprised and maybe enraptured, she drops the load of spaghetti that she was so diligently carrying all this way. I hoped that the plodding dolly would convey a sense of routine and boredom, even as Reese continues diligently with the senseless task of carrying a pile of spaghetti down the street. The shots we cut between are repetitive and numbing after a while; I was interested in reproducing the feeling of childhood habits and monotony. Finally, I started the film mid-trudge, hoping to communicate a sense of endlessness to the kid’s journey: her frustrations but also her industriousness.
Moreover, another part of childhood that I tried to capture was the seemingly huge importance of trivial and trite events and responsibilities to my younger self. When I was little, there wasn’t technically anything really pressing about my life at all—going to elementary school, playing with my friends, making my bed, learning multiplication—but my thoughts and feelings about all these little, commonplace duties and occasions were still adult-sized. Everything felt extremely crucial, even though so much of what I cared about was silly and insignificant when I look back now. In my film, the two most vital elements of the scene that I needed to cut back and forth from were the spaghetti—which is something completely inconsequential that feels important to this little girl—and her trudging feet—which indicate the endlessness of her quest.
1/25/16, 9:51 AM
There's something wrong with your link. I can't find the video anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDP REFLECTION
ReplyDeleteThe thing I feel most strongly about for this film/the biggest thing I learned is in relation to shooting order and general approach. I wish so much that we didn't leave that last shot till the end, and I wish we had had enough time to go to access for something more than just the Lowell kit. Everything kind of went against us near the end: it started raining, the talent was ready to be done, the dog had eaten too much spaghetti, the Lowells were too weak, so we didn't get the shot. Lessons for next time!!
I loved your concept and the repetitive/perpetual nature of the road narrative was interesting to bring to life! I think the car was a great idea from Sariah and it helped the handheld nature of the shoot not to be too distracting to the story. Overall I think we had a good experience for our very first project of the semester!