AGGRESSIVE AESTHETIC
The inspiration for “The Recipe” is best described as a push from within. We all have had that from time to time; that feeling to create or do something but not sure which direction to go or how to even get started. A family recipe, murder and raw-nerve pain were the only ideas I had; but no story in which to place them.
My producing partner and go-to Lead Actress, Crystal Porter-Bazemore joined me in this effort to build a story centered on a family recipe. With the amount of hate and divisiveness in the world I believe Crystal and I were indirectly influenced to create a film that in some way reflected back to the world what we all do to ourselves. So, the story was essentially writing itself. But it wasn’t until Crystal introduced a brilliant subplot that the full shape of how I wanted to tell this story became clear.
The term aggressive aesthetic is how I describe the use of beauty and art to foster conflict. The bone deep and plucking-the-nerve approach to pulling back the layers of this drama is inline with its story. Two women who are at odds with each other about the events that lead to a brutal murder.
The FRAME is my canvas so I am very particular about the lens choice, color selection and light quality. I went with vintage glass, for the most part, employing the Canon FD Cinevised lens set as well as 1979/80 Nikon Nikkors for select shots. I love the characteristics, color reproduction and sharpness of those lenses.
Color and texture are crucial for all my films but this film required a particular chemistry. I believe in using color science; how colors create mood and evoke certain feelings. The color palette is a reflection of fire, healing, confusion, danger and passion. These tones are orange (variants), deep yellow, magenta, forest green, brown, baby blue, and red.
The Blackmagic Pocket 4K coupled with a Metabones XL adapter gave me a wide super (almost full frame) 35mm frame. This allowed me the space to frame the way I envisioned. The pocket 4k (Gen4/5 color science) color from the acquisition image is what I wanted as a base.
An ACES workflow ecosystem was implemented within Davinci Resolve to maintain the integrity of the image from acquisition through post and delivery. From this we have two versions of the film a 2.00:1 aspect ratio VistaVision in P3 color space for DCP presentation (where available) and a Rec 709 4k Full DCI.
Thank you for sharing this info; so much value. As an indie filmmaker, I am inspired by the tools others use to make films & effectively tell their stories. I will be on the lookout for this film. Huge congrats! And thank you sharing. Can't wait for your next blog, bro.
ReplyDeleteGreat info! Excited to see the film. When is your next blog coming out? The technical aspect of filmmaking is something I'm into. I appreciate you sharing your filmmaking tools & processes.
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