How a filmmaker utilizes certain filmmaking techniques holds the power to change the film in immeasurable ways. Achieving the best look and flow of the film requires evaluating things such as lighting, color, and composition and determining how they can be applied. The outcome of these evaluations is a carefully articulated and well-done film that crafts an interesting narrative told not just through storytelling but through every part of the film. Two examples of this are The Hollowing, by Steve Weinzierl, and Brooklyn, by Timur Guseynov, both films that tell their stories well through various cinematography and filmmaking language techniques such as color, lighting, and frame composition.
The Hollowing surrounds a couple participating in a trial drug treatment aimed at repairing and analyzing their relationship. As the film progresses, the man and woman begin to experience increasingly violent and negative symptoms from the drug that impact their interactions and overall behavior. The film culminates with the couple ending the trial and reassessing their relationship after experiencing what they had during it. Brooklyn follows a financially struggling young man who must protect his brother and their newfound dog Brooklyn after the dog’s crime-involved owners come looking for it. After discovering the owner’s malicious intent for the dog, he must figure out a way to defend his family and ensure their survival. Both films uniquely utilize strong and vibrant colors within their most pivotal and impactful scenes, signifying a change in tone.
In most of its early scenes, The Hollowing exhibits a more balanced and less saturated color palette of yellows, light browns, and light greens. However, after the two take the drug, things change in their world and the look of the film. The colors become more saturated as the symptoms of the drug begin to affect the two. Intersplcied and eventually explored mid-film are shots of a curved door with a vibrant red or blue light behind it or of an apple with the same aforementioned lighting. Midway through the film, the two are seen walking towards the curved door and entering the room it beholds, the room with the apple. When the man sees the door and apple, they are lit by a blue light, a nod to his calmer response to the drug in comparison to the woman, who sees the apple, now rotten, lit by a red light, a reference to her more angry demeanor on the drug. In an Adam and Eve similar scene, the audience watches as the man eats the apple, the audience's perception of whose point of view they are in shifts, as the differing red and blue colors symbolize different perspectives as the woman is then handed the now rotten apple only in her eyes, a reference to their relationship and differing views on it. Only in that scene does Weinzierl utilize this lighting, marking its importance and turning point significance within the film. This scene directly influences the climax, both impacting the couple’s already fractured relationship. In a similar fashion, Guseynov’s Brooklyn utilizes a mostly more normalized analog film color palette for its scenes. As the film progresses, it gains a blue tint, signifying an important change from the beginning. By the time the climax of Brooklyn occurs, the film has reached an extremely blue tint, and similar to The Hollowing, one of its more important scenes also has a red lighting tint. In the end, the color palette has returned to its former state with a warm-toned final scene. The usage of these colors marks important moments within their respective films and are greatly powerful tools impacting the tone of the scene.
In addition to the color and light within the film, the compositions utilized within Brooklyn and The Hollowing are also greatly powerful. Guseynov mostly utilizes closer shots for his film, bringing more attention to the characters' dialogue and reactions. However, there exist specific unique moments where the camera is further from the characters, allowing the audience to feel the specialty of these moments. Similarly, Weinzierl also utilizes close-up shots, apart from the aforementioned apple scene. The decision by these filmmakers to utilize closer shots invites the audience to become immersed in the story and feel what the characters are feeling. The transition from these closer shots to wider ones also becomes more dramatic, signaling to the viewer that something important is happening.
The Hollowing and Brooklyn are both standout unique works that utilize various filmmaking elements to carefully craft their stories with great payoff. Both Weinzierl and Guseynov know and use their skills as filmmakers well, creating unique tones and looks for audiences to take in, experience fully, and remember.
The Hollowing and Brooklyn screen at the New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, February 1st alongside other short films including Dinner at Manny’s (Steven Joseph Craig), Disoriented (Maura Garnett), Help Yourself (Hedvig Andersson), and Phantom Limb (Alice Jokela). These films will be available online for 24 hours on this show date as well as in-person at 7pm in Voorhees Hall room 105 at Rutgers University (71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ). Tickets are available for purchase on the festival website here.
The 43rd Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 24-February 21, 2025. The Festival will be a hybrid one as it will be presented online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VoD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. Plus, acclaimed singer-songwriter Renee Maskin will be doing an audio-visual concert on Friday, February 21 at 7PM! The in-person screenings and the Renee Maskin concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program.
For more info go here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalspring2025.eventive.org/welcone
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