The second scene I filmed drew heavy inspiration from the ‘Ghosts’ excerpt within Su Freidrich’s Sink or Swim (1990).
I decided to explore how dialogue/spoken word could be used throughout a scene that has no actors speaking.

My intention was to be able to fabricate intensity and emotion without having given the audience any context of any instances that occur before or after the scene takes place. I was able to do this by simply filming my subject (me) sitting at his computer, typing a message to a friend.

Subsequently, I recorded my voice reading a self-written script in Adobe Audition and layered it over the visuals in order to create an almost monologue/soliloquy type effect. This effect, in conjunction with quick cuts in my editing creates (hopefully) an aspect of intensity and mystery. Additionally, the dialogue does not give much away in regards to what is going on, contributing to the air of secrecy.

Upon reflection, I am not entirely pleased with how the scene unfolded. In my mind I had envisioned something cleaner and more refined, something that probably could have been achieved if I wasn’t, myself, the subject. However, I am quite pleased with its effect, particularly in regards to the time constraint I had put myself under.

I enjoyed creating this scene both during the filming and during post-production. It was a great way to experiment with both using different types of camera angles/shots in conjunction with unconventional uses of dialogue/spoken word. Additionally, it was great to be able to write dialogue and watch it come to life within the scene, it was both challenging to do, but rewarding.

I filmed this scene using my Canon 6D a 24-105mm lens and a 50mm lens. Unfortunately, my tripod broke the day prior, hence the lack of variety of camera angles/shots. Although, this scene is a good preface for future projects I may endeavour to attempt.