Behind the Scenes of Suite (#2)
This is a follow-up on my Suite BTS #1 blog post where I talked about the concept behind my film collaboration with cellist Jack Overall. Definitely read that post first if you haven’t done so already.
Colours, Light, Shadow
The colours of the film in the beginning of the flashbacks were skewed towards the warm and saturated side. The intention was to highlight the warmth and connection between Joan and Barry during happier times. As the the flashbacks progress, the colour temperature becomes increasingly blue, and shadows begin to separate Joan from the rest of her surroundings.
Dishwashing during happier times
One example of this use of shadows can be found in the scene where Barry is packing up Joan’s belongings. Barry is lit through a window with late afternoon sun. Although there is some warmth in the lighting, the colours are generally muted. Meanwhile, Joan is in the background, lit only by the flashing TV. The shadows isolate and disconnects her from Barry.
Barry packs Joan’s belongings
Another example of our use of shadows on Joan.
For the scenes in the present day, I opted for natural lighting. The colours in these moments are fairly neutral and unassuming. I wanted to present our heroes doing something innocuous and mundane, with no reference to the the turmoil that have brought them here.
Joan and Barry – present day
Considerations of dress and what type of clothing the characters would wear was a topic of discussion I had with Jack and the actors. It made sense to us that Joan’s clothing would be looser and easier to put on as time progressed since Barry would likely be helping her dress – and comfiness and ease would be a priority. Barry’s attire at home is comfortable, homely, and well-worn.
For the present day journey down the corridor, we felt that Barry would want to dress Joan in something bright, special, and dignified. This is a poignant day after all. He would also want to match Joan’s attire, hence the well-worn suit and tie.
The Mural
Production Days
We filmed over two days. The first day was in the Mural Hall at Abbotsford Convent, where we filmed all the ‘present day’ scenes along the ‘corridor’. When considering the suitability of this space for our film, it really ticked a lot of boxes for us such as the light-filled space, the length of hallway, but it was the mural of the cross that really sealed the deal for us. The cross was a perfect nod to Bach and his devotion to Christianity; and of course to Catholics, it’s a symbol of suffering and the death of Christ – a possible point of reflection for Barry as he inches closer towards it with Joan.
Excerpt of the schedule
The second day was dedicated to filming our flashbacks. Our location was a beautiful house in Kingsville that had the cozy feeling we wanted for Joan and Barry. For a couple who showed their love through their simple daily routines, it made sense that their house would be relaxed, comfortable, and unpretentious. It also provided all the locations in the house we needed.
The thing that kept me up most at night was figuring out the schedule for the second day. I knew going in, I was being very ambitious with what we needed to film with the time we had on location. There was the added challenge of frequent changes of attire, hair and makeup and lighting schemes within each space to depict the passage of time. Each time a change needed to happen, it would add time to setup/hair/makeup/wardrobe.
Thankfully we finished on time, due to the dedicated team of production assistants on the day, co-ordinated so expertly by Jack. We also had Lisa Rathgen, our hair and makeup person who was always at the ready, and Hamish Rayner our gaffer who pre-rigged lights ahead of our scenes and made the necessary tweaks to all the lighting setups to help show our passage of time in the spaces.
On top of the amazing crew, I’m so incredibly chuffed that we were able to nab such brilliant seasoned actors to play our leads – Carolyn Masson, and Richard Piper. It was a real joy watching their process getting into character. They elevated what we had on the page, and brought to life our heroes so beautifully.
Congratulations to everyone involved, and big thanks to ANAM for their support and for my brilliant collaborator Jack Overall who is not only a great cellist but a fine production manager!
