https://vimeo.com/166967708
DOP/Co-editor/Colourist : McKenna Fernandez
When planning for the composition on Neanderbaby, I knew I wanted to show Tara often isolated in the frame.Â
I think the point of this film is to show a character try to give their life a purpose, and in doing so they lose everything. She loses her brother, which prompts her to want to do something significant. After being inseminated with a neanderthal, she loses her job, her mom’s support, her home, her money, support from the medical team, and her independence. I chose to isolate her in the frame with a lot of space around her. When she is with other people, they are usually positioned above her to show their power, or they are far apart in the frame to show the disconnect. For shots like the blue insomnia scene, clinic, or living room scene, I used a tripod. But, as Tara becomes less stable, I used a shoulder rig or handheld. The shakiness and tight frame heighten the emotion and show her losing her grip.Â
I also used this in The Heart when he has a flashback while chopping vegetables. The shakiest shot is the double mirror shot when she realises her nose is bleeding from the pregnancy. I don’t know how effective it was because it might look like a mistake or like I did not have a tripod on hand. But, even if it was poorly executed, the thinking was there at least. I also used a shoulder rig a lot for long realistic shots. Thom insisted on this because he liked the shoulder rig shot from My Song Music Video. I justified this by trying to replicate Andrea Arnold’s realism style in Fish Tank. But, I don’t think it was fitting for this film.
I used a lot of stylistic gel lighting for the scenes not in the clinic.
 In the living room scene, I used three neo rotos with colour gels. One hot pink roto set to the SFX fire on 35Hz, one bright blue set to the SFX tv on 50Hz, and one orange roto from a high angle acting as the hallway light. This added the effect of a tv being on in a dark room while also casting different tones onto the character’s faces. I used similar two tones light techniques in the insomnia scenes and the final baby POV shot. In contrast to the flooding white lights, I used for the clinic scenes. I also often lit the scene through windows to act as natural light or to cast through curtains. I used this for The Heart to mimic a street light and decided to use it again. For Neanderbaby, I used this during the 360 argument scene, dolly shot up the stairs, the morning silhouette shot, and the bedroom phone call scene. I found this technique was effective because I could make nice shadows on the face as if the light were coming through the mesh curtains, and also for hiding the lights in the 360 shot.
For Neanderbaby, I wanted to use a similar style to Lynne Ramsay. She tends to make social realist films about one character, using cinematography alone to show theiremotional transitions. I used Morvern Callar as a reference for the blue and orange toned lighting. I tried focusing on the details with this film. For instance, the close shot of her collarbone with sweat and the trashed dining room table with the newspaper “Heavens Above - woman pays tribute to stillborn son”. This attention to tiny detail is something Ramsay does in all of her films, and it’s something I want to try and continue with. The trashed table shot was also a purposeful reference to Jurassic Park. It’s reluctantly one of my favourite movies and I wanted to give it a cheesy monster film feel at the end. That scene is now cut and it’s changed to a POV. But, I still like the idea.
This film took everything out of me. My producer and my director didn’t care about this film or me. I am only saying this because it has gotten to this point. They pushed me too far. I am unhappy with every aspect of this film. It’s very bad. But, it’s a learning experience. I will not let myself be put in this position again in the future. Â
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