Pre-Production Portfolio
CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT
RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
This project began with my friend, dancer Selma Stocker, who was on exchange in London at the beginning of the year. She approached me with her concept idea and asked me to co-direct a film with her.
Selma wanted to create a film about Clare, a 60-year-old woman who had rented a room to Selma while she was away in Dhaka researching for her PhD. After living with Clare for a bit, Selma developed a strong emotional connection and felt a deep attachment to her. She envisioned a poetic portrait of Clare, in her element, in London, whom she saw as an extraordinarily beautiful person, both inside and out.
The project was intense from the start. Selma approached me on November 9th, and we planned to film on December 9th, due to Selma's impending departure to LA and Clare's trip to Wales.
Selma's strong connection to Clare inspired her to create this film in London and invited me to join her. However, I had never met Clare and wouldn’t have the chance to meet her before filming, as she was in Dhaka until the shooting days.
The process was further complicated by Selma’s exam period, leaving much of the conceptual development to me. Developing themes and pushing the narrative forward without having met Clare was challenging. However, this allowed me to start from a blank page, free from preconceived notions, and let our growing relationship shape the film.
The question arose: how do you build a connection with someone you do not know and accurately create a portrait of someone you have never met?
Reflecting on this, I realized the film had to be the fruit of our meeting, our confluence. Inspired by Ben Rivers' process in filming "Two Years at Sea," I prepared some scenes and a vague script (responding from the asnwers Clare gave us in our questionnaire), intending to preset clare in a location she is confortable with, our an action or habit she carries and then observe how the story naturally evolves naturally and capture those authentic moments.
We really wanted our meeting, and the filming to shape our film, so our script was really a basis for us to rely on and organize ourselfes, but wasn't something we would want to follow with the edit. It was a basis to start our creative concept, our discussions with Clare, and being able to create a film that reveals the beauty of her person, habits and life - as mundane or extraordinary as they could be.
The themes we explored, which were later enriched by our encounters, discussions, and film experiences, included: cycles of life, the beauty and poetics of the seemingly mundane, reclaiming narratives, and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Please see in the document, the evolution of the conceptual development, the questions that have been raised, and how we have progressed . You will be able to find intentions, and why this has to be filmed
PRODUCTION AND WRITING
CINEMATOGRAPHIC AND SOUND DESIGN RESEARCH
RESEARCH ON CLARE
To research Clare and still provoke genuine scenes without having met her, I proposed sending her a questionnaire. This questionnaire asked about her interests, activities, feelings, and favorite places. The responses would help us construct the basis of a script and a loose structure to follow. This approach allowed Clare to evolve as herself in familiar settings, rather than as a construct of our imagination.
This information was crucial in shaping the film's intentions, conceptual development, and my direction during shooting. It guided the questions I would ask, the themes to explore, and the locations to film. I envisioned our interaction as a transparent relationship, like having tea and discussing life, but with a camera documenting the process. The challenge was to transcend the barrier the camera often creates and ensure Clare felt comfortable and natural in front of it.
The documents above are important to reveal our way to prepare for the filming, our mindset, and how do we want to handle the shoot, and get to learn Clare truthfully.
Three of my main references for research are “Two Years at Sea” (2011) by ben Rivers, “No Home” (2015) by Chantal Akerman and Roma (2018) by Alfonso Cuaron. Collectively those three films have been my main inspiration and exploration in my concept development, film making method, cinematography and sound designing. They helped me explore life cycles, finding beauty in the mundane, and revealing the extraordinary within the ordinary through their unique approaches to cinematography, editing, and sound design.
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Cinematography: Each film employs long takes and static shots, emphasizing a contemplative visual style that allows viewers to engage deeply with the material. They all have a meditative quality, inviting viewers to reflect on the subtleties of the captured moments.
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Sound Design: The use of diegetic sounds, sound motifs, and minimalistic approaches create immersive environments that enhance emotional resonance and authenticity. They inspired me in their style, and the effectiveness to create an emotional and immersive world with digetic sound. The use of digetic sound to portray and highlight deeply emotions, is something I am very interested in editing .
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Thematically: Thos three movies explore the everyday, cycles of life, and the seemingly mundane. These films uncover profound beauty and emotional depth, something I aim to achieve in “Clare”.
Incorporating these techniques, will I believe allow me to capture truthfully Clare and help me highlight and explore the capturing the essence of “ordinary” moments and their inherent extraordinariness. Those research pieces allowed me to explore different filming techniques, how to create a relationship with your actors to provoke authenticity and explore the beauty of the mundane. They were all big cinematographic, sound and themes inspirations that were essential to my project.
CALL OUTS AND CREW
CREATIVE WRITING
LOCATION SCOUTING
SCRIPT, SHOTLISTS and TIMETABLES
Once we had solidified our concept development, ideas, references, cinematographic style, and sound inspiration, it was time to assemble a crew to bring our vision to life. Neither Selma nor I had experience operating a camera, so finding someone interested in working with us was essential. We created a call-out, detailing our intentions, role requirements, areas of interest, and logistical details to truthfully communicate the project.
I found our Director of Photography, Selina Moussa, by coincidence. Selina, a friend I rarely see, happened to meet me for a drink right when we were sending out the call-outs. I told her about the project, and she immediately expressed interest in participating. While I knew she did some photography, I was pleasantly surprised to learn she was currently interning in a production company and had experience working as a DP on various projects. Selina shared some of her work with Selma to showcase her style and creative identity, and then we began prepping for the shoot. Selma and I really appreciated her talent to capture the beauty in "mundane" scenes and provoking deeper emotions from those images.
As our film emphasizes diegetic sounds, capturing high-quality ambient sound during filming was crucial. Unfortunately, neither of us had sound operators in our network. We sent out call-outs to various film courses but found a sound operator in a similar serendipitous manner. While explaining the project to my friend Aster at school, she mentioned her flatmate was interested in exploring sound operating and would discuss it with her. This is how we found Sierra Fofanah, our sound operator.
In the end, we managed to assemble a small but reliable core team. We believed it was important to keep the team intimate to ensure a genuine, shared experience with Clare. This approach fostered a close, collaborative environment that was essential for the project's authenticity. I feel like I was able to bring a talented, invested team, who uplifted the project and who's creative identity added a layer of depth to our project.
Once we had all the research on Clare, our clear intentions, and the ethos for the film, I needed to create a script to organize scenes and locations for shooting, ensuring we could provoke authentic images whilst remaining organized. I started by gathering all my research about Clare, along with Selma’s testimonies and descriptions. I then began writing creatively, freely, and intuitively, allowing me to envision a narrative structure, a cycle, and a poetic encounter. Although these elements were initially fictional, they provided a foundation to build upon with what we had learned about Clare.
Since Selma was very busy, much of the production and writing fell to me. I was initially apprehensive about not capturing the essence Selma felt and saw in Clare. However, we shared a common vision and a poetic sensibility, which guided me in creating a script that provoked the poetics of places and actions, yet remained adaptable to Clare. Writing creatively about someone I hadn’t met was challenging but intriguing. I relied on Selma’s insights, preparing to meet Clare while filming and exploring this dynamic of comparing and contrasting, merging perspectives, and learning about her in real-time.
This process allowed us to let the immediate connection with Clare shape the film and narrative, embracing the beauty of the unknown. The concept development was daunting and confusing at times, particularly with the fear of not portraying Clare’s true essence. However, recognizing that I had not yet met her, the idea of letting our encounter during filming guide the narrative became the most rational and essential approach. This method enabled us to intimately portray and get to know Clare through the camera, capturing her authentic self.
At Only Food Center, we needed to secure permission in advance. We spoke with the store owners, negotiated terms, explained that we were students, and assured them we would not disrupt their operations. We specified a time frame and outlined the actions we intended to film, agreeing to certain conditions.
I went scouting with our DP, Selina. Since she lives near Kennington and is familiar with most of the locations, it was ideal for identifying spots, choosing angles, and planning our compositions. This familiarity helped us capture and plan the visuals effectively, ensuring we could convey the significance of these places in Clare's life.
SCRIPT
SHOTLIST
TIMETABLE
CONCLUSION
All these actions enabled me to write a script as a basis for the filming days, aimed at revealing the poetics surrounding Clare in her everyday life—her cycles, the ordinary, and the extraordinary. This script provided the foundation for creating a shot list and a structured plan for the shooting days and later the editing phase, allowing us to reference specific shots.
The script served as the starting point for our storytelling and narrative construction. I did not expect us to follow it verbatim; rather, it was intentionally vague to provoke scenes and reveal the poetics of Clare's everyday life. Reflecting on this approach, I believe it was successful in its flexibility while still allowing us to create a structured shot list and timetable. This structure helped us stay organized, focused, and efficient, especially in terms of time management.
While writing the timetables and shot lists, I considered all necessary factors: the distance between locations, setup time, potential weather conditions, and light exposure. My experience from last year’s film, "The House," taught me valuable lessons in planning and structuring a film from working with a professional team. These skills allowed me to plan effectively and create comprehensive documents that made coordination with the crew easier, reducing stress and enabling us to explore freely and creatively during the shoot.
This meticulous planning and flexibility allowed us to develop an authentic film and relationship with Clare, provoking genuine scenes of her habits and capturing the poetics that surround her.
MATERIAL SOURCING STRUGGLE
The main challenge we faced in pre-production was material access, which impacted us during both the filming days and post-production.
We had scheduled our shoot immediately after the Loan Store closed and right before we could obtain a long term loan for the Christmas break. I had mistakenly assumed the school would be open later, and even if I had known the actual closing date, our packed schedules left us with no other options. These were the only three days available for filming due to Selma's imminent return to LA and Clare's stay in Dhaka.
This oversight created a stressful situation as we tried to find so many solutions and options, including sending call outs and inquiries at other UAL schools, asking filmmakers friends. With only two weeks until the shoot, changing the dates was impossible. We tried so many different options, from pleading with the Loan Store to exploring rental options, which proved too expensive.
Two days before the shoot, we still lacked proper equipment. Fortunately, our sound operator, Sierra, introduced us to Fat Lama, a company offering affordable short-term rentals. We managed to secure a high-quality camera and sound recording devices at reasonable prices, quite fast. We had to be wary of where the individual located was renting from, their availabilty and their ratings, but we managed to find everything needed in time.
Despite the lower costs (compared to other options), renting equipment through FatLlama still posed a financial strain for us as students. Selma and I had to cover the costs, which, while more affordable than other options, were still significant.
In the end, we sourced all necessary materials just in time, thanks to the efforts of Sierra, Aster, Selina, and myself, who travelled the city the morning of the shoot to collect the equipment.
We were able to shoot with all the essential materials for the camera and sound, though we lacked professional lighting. This technical limitation affected the shoot. For instance, adjusting to the camera settings resulted in some unusable, grainy footage, though thankfully not the critical parts. Without tripods, some shots were shaky, and lighting was makeshift. We relied heavily on natural light, which was challenging in the midst of winter. Interior scenes had to be shot during daylight, but poorly lit rooms still affected some shots. We also struggled a bit at the start with the setting up of the sound equipment and had some battery issues that create situations where we couldn't sound record.
Despite these challenges, the use of natural light aligned with our intention to capture the beauty and authenticity of everyday scenes. While the technical limitations presented difficulties, they ultimately contributed to the film's genuine aesthetic, reflecting the everyday poetics we aimed to explore.
CONCLUSION
Our project began with a thorough conceptual development phase, focused on creating a poetic portrait of Clare—a woman whose life and habits we aimed to depict authentically, and capture her essence through our encounter. We intended to explore themes of life's cycles, finding beauty in the mundane, and capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary. We aim to create an approach emphasizing naturalistic cinematography, thoughtful editing, and evocative sound design to immerse the audience in Clare's world.
In the pre-production process, I took the lead in several key areas. I gathered extensive research on Clare through questionnaires, Selma's insights, research of Slow Cinema and my own creative writing. This groundwork allowed me to develop a flexible script and shot list, ensuring we had a structured yet adaptable plan for filming, facilitating the shooting days. Location scouting with our DP, Selina, helped us identify meaningful places and plan our visual compositions. Despite Selma's busy schedule, we maintained a cohesive vision, focusing on the poetics of everyday life. Overall all this process was challenging, intense - it was a new experience as it was the first time as artists that we all worked together, it was building also a relationship between us three, a creative sharing. I believe we really connected well on this level, were understanding each other and uplifting each other with our area of practice and specific visions.
Challenges arose, particularly with material access. We discovered too late that the Loan Store would be closed during our filming window. This led to a stressful scramble to find equipment, with solutions including call outs to other schools and exploring rental options. Ultimately, we secured affordable rentals through Fat Lama, although this still imposed a financial burden. The lack of professional lighting and other equipment required us to improvise, resulting in some technical issues like grainy footage and shaky shots. However, these limitations also allowed us to emphasize natural light and explore more in depth authenticity in film making, avoiding the traditional tricks of film making. It really submersed us in this way of working.
What went well included the strong conceptual foundation we built, the intimate relation with Sleina espceially in planning shots, filming and creative vision. for location scouting, and the successful adaptation to unforeseen challenges. Securing equipment at the last minute was a significant achievement, demonstrating resourcefulness and commitment and resiliency.
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