A Shot Before Dinner
was my first real attempt at a short film. I don't think it would have happened
without Matt, whose contributions went well beyond a photographic stand
point. Matt's images are the love children of Fellini and Terry Gilliam;
they are seamlessly grotesque, playful, violent, and beautiful. It was Matt's
suggestion to shoot in black and white, and when my original camera fell
through at the last minute (a GL1), Matt brought his unassuming Digital-8.
As we shot well into the night, I wasn't sure how the final look would turn
out, but when all was said and done, I think this was one of those happy
accidents that actually helped the film, as the grainy look we ended up
with fits the theme perfectly. I finished my no-budget short, and it came
out well beyond anyone's expectations. I attribute this to the experience
Matt brought to the production. He upped the ante for a film that could
easily have been written of as shock. -- Eli Kluger, writer/director
Matt's Comments: (as Director
of Photography)
Dark comedies are fun
to shoot as this one was - especially in glorious black & white. The
lighting was very simple, basically a "one source" diffused light
outside the frame, just lighting the actors face. No backlights. The whole
short was shot (no pun intended) in a single evening. The toughest lighting
in the film was actually the last thing we were shooting - the kitchen.
I'm actually surprised it looks decent, as the area was pretty dinky and
hard to put lights really anywhere. I ended up just using a 300w photoflood
scoop without diffusion to create a "hard" look for the scene,
since it ends in a violent climax. The hard shadows and contrast worked,
in my opinion. This was the last thing I shot with my beloved Digital-8
camera, which was damaged (by myself) a few weeks after the shoot.