one-shot of an event: director's statement

Director/DP: Brenna Empey

FILM 4 DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

What is the story of this scene in two or three sentences? In other words, what happens in the scene?

Two people will have their palms read by a palm reader. It’s their first time doing something like this, so they don’t know what to expect.

What is the purpose of this scene in the larger story? (Or, if there is not a larger story, invent the purpose of this scene.)

There isn’t really a larger story beyond what is happening, but I’d like to think that my subjects are curious to learn who they are from another person, someone who can tell them things about themselves just by looking at their hands. Maybe they’ve come to a palm reader as a last hope as they try to get some answers about their lives.

What is the emotion I want to communicate?

I want to communicate unpredictability and surprise, because there will probably be a big difference between what the subjects want to hear and the truth of what the palm reader will tell them.

Why is this scene personal to me? What previous personal experiences does it remind me of? Why do I need to make this scene?

I don’t really know myself and I’m kind of fascinated when other people tell me things about myself. It could be things I already know but didn’t realize, or it could be things that I had no awareness of at all. Palm reading is one of those instances where I feel like I’m learning things about myself and realizing some repressed things about who I am.

What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively and feel at the end of this scene? How do you intend to make sure this will happen?

I want the audience to feel like the subjects have learned unknown things about themselves. It’ll really help that this is the subjects’ first time getting their palm read, which means they’ll probably be pretty reactive to things the palm reader is telling them. In particular, I hope I’ll get some authentic reactions to negative things that the subjects are hearing about themselves, maybe things they would never admit to.

What two visual elements (line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement) will you use to help communicate the emotion of the scene?

I’m going to use color and rhythm in the limited space of the small apartment to communicate the atmosphere of the scene. There’s a big tapestry and an incense burner in the apartment, which are both colorful and will help set the mood. Rhythm will mostly be attributed to camera movement as I move from palm reader, to hands, to subject and back again. I’m going to keep it rhythmic so it doesn’t seem sporadic.

What are some potential obstacles in creating a successful scene? How can you be prepared to overcome these?

Honestly, I’m just afraid that the scene won’t be interesting enough. My beats are dependent on emotion (the subjects reacting to things the palm reader is telling them), and I don’t know if that’ll be enough to keep the audience engaged. Thankfully I have two subjects, so if one of them isn’t very reactive, hopefully the other one will be.