#GabiKislat, #AssociateMemberCSC
@gabi_kislat_dop
I really enjoy working with directors and their vision.
One of the most creative and, therefore, satisfying experiences was on Darwinâs Fox, a short film that played at numerous festivals worldwide and won several awards, including Best Film and Best Cinematography. The film is a drama about a father and son who go camping in search of a rare fox. Things get out of hand, and the boy vanishesâintroducing a touch of mystery.
For me, the filmâs success already started in prep: Director Ben Scharf
@dr.sharpwrite (based in Berlin) and I (in Canada) had regular Zoom meetings for months before shooting began. We picked apart the script, analyzed the characters and their development, and explored the overall story. We dove deep, brainstorming and philosophizing. I believe we created a shared language for the film that brought us very closeâdespite being physically so far apart.
Ben is a very intuitive director, always open to ideas and never one to shut you down. We shot for seven days in the forested mountains of eastern Germany, near the Czech Republic border.
We used an Alexa Mini and opted for a set of three Cooke Panchro Classic lenses: 25mm, 32mm, and 40mm, along with a 100mm Tokina macro lens. We chose the wider range to always show the environment. Our close-up lens was the 32mm so that we could capture more of the surroundings while staying close to the actors and catching their expressions in a more nuanced way. The camera movement (beautifully executed by
@jfecke ) transitioned from steady and calm to handheld and slightly destabilized after the boy vanished.
One of the biggest challenges was shooting in a remote location and transporting equipment up into the mountains daily. The crew worked incredibly hard, hauling gear and other necessitiesâthey were real troopers. Shaping lighting was mostly done by bouncing and flagging, but my gaffer
@cineari and grip
@janboroewitsch had fun lighting and blocking light in the cave of the final scene. Color correction was done by
@david.holfelder and I love what he brought to the table.
#darwinsfoxmovie #cinematography #directorofphotography