Still She Dances is a narrative film adapted from Bart Van Goethem's micro fiction story "The Abused Dancer." I collaborated with a 7-person team over the course of a semester to produce this as a Capstone Course Project. As Director of Photography, I spearheaded the cinematic design and shot list through the curation of mood-boards and storyboards. I wanted to capture a vision of isolation and solitude through long and wide shots and intimate moments with our lead actress.
This film's goal is to encapsulate the feelings of sorrow, perseverance, and the breaking point in an abusive relationship. We wanted our audience to become attached to Emily, but at the same time, ask the question, "Could Grayson be saved in the end? Did she let him die?" As a co-editor and co-sound designer, cuts and audio were placed strategically for every second and frame of the film to ensure effective storytelling and pacing. As co-colorist, I focused on pulling out green and blue tones throughout the sequence to express the cold, gloomy, isolated feelings our characters portrayed.
During production, we used a combination of cameras including a Canon 77D, a Canon 6D Mark II, and a Sony A7IV. Other production equipment included a Zoom H5 Recorder, Boom mic, DJI-Ronin SC Gimble, and GVM 800D-RGB LED Light Panels. Over 100GB of footage deliverables were successfully maintained through the use of well organized file structure methods.
Our initial script during the beginning stages of pre-production filled with our original ideas that we adapted to include more in depth scenes and dialogue during production.
