Student Filmmakers - June 2008 - (Page 42) Close-Up Linus Roache (L) and Rahul Bose (R) in Before The Rains, an MIP/Roadside Attractions Release. Photo by Alphonse Roy. embrace after death. It is a visual that Sivan used in his film The Terrorist, but he doesn’t just stick to the same ideas. He visually explores new avenues, giving each film its own treatment. “I like every film to have it’s own signature. I don’t think of individual shots. I only look at the film from a whole film point of view. The visual motifs of the film are largely inspired by my cultural influences, our traditional art forms, the way we look at the landscape or the people. All these subconsciously build up. Sivan shot the film in a style reminiscent of pre-Raphaelite paintings. “I like paintings from that period. There are so many elements. I tried to layer the story in such a way that it makes it more interesting on a second or third viewing. There is always something that you can discover.” Visually supporting the story, Sivan’s cinematography – especially his use of rack focus and depth of field – strengthens the dramatic intent of the film by drawing the viewer into the characters and emotion. “The focus pulls are like a slow track where you slowly shift the audience to something that you’d like them to see,” informed Sivan. “To shift focus to something that already exists in the frame is also surprising. All of a sudden you see something that you never saw before. I think a gentle focus shift is a really interesting cinematic device that can be used dramatically or in a very subtle way without making a very demonstrative track or a zoom in.” Sivan made sure that the composition of the frame had something to do with nature. In one scene the leaves of the forest are in sharp focus while the action in the background is strongly blurred, giving the sense that despite being deep within the jungle, the characters are being watched. “That was an interesting way to involve nature,” Sivan commented. “On top of that it is supposedly the sacred grove. When I was shooting, I always kept the landscape in mind as a character that’s also watching and listening.” In some unconventional frames people are kissing and their faces are close and blurred. Sivan didn’t want the camera to be an observer, but rather to be a part of the scene. In a pivotal sequence between 2 studentfilmmakers June 2008
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