Thursday, May 3, 2012

Amy.

Prepare yourself for The Amy Hoffman...

A few months ago, I randomly met Amy Hoffman through some mutual friends. She was hilarious, and genuine.
As I got to know her a bit better, I began to see an extremely passionate and happy human being. Someone who loves life, and wants you to do the same. Oh, and she's a stellar musician attending Berklee College of Music.
She's telling a pretty good story with her life.

When this project first formed in my head, it looked ENTIRELY different. My initial idea was to create a semi-fiction narrative about creative processes, drawing on frustrations and joys I've experienced this semester in Production 1. After much thought and many changes, I decided to narrow my focus and profile one artist and her creative process: Amy Hoffman.

From there, it moved away from her creative process and towards her contagious personality.

I was really happy with my last portrait, Home, but there were two areas I really feel like I could've improved upon. Therefore, throughout development I had two big goals:
  • Let the story tell itself (no preconceived notions)
  • Infuse personality into the project (who she is, not just what she does)
Amy and I spent a ton of time deciding where to take this project and how to do it. We both agreed it was hard to capture her charisma in under five minutes, but we were determined to do our best, even if it was just a sliver of her personality.

Amy, thanks so much for living a passionate, exciting life. And for being the chillest person ever to work with. Thanks for trusting me with your image and personality. I appreciate the huge chunk of time you took out of your schedule to make this happen. You're gonna do legit things. Sleep well; dream big.




Technical Notes:
The biggest lesson I learned from this project is that stuff can (and will) happen. Even to your actors. Two days after shooting, Amy got into a pretty rough bike accident (don't worry! she's almost back to 100%) when we, and our friend Steph, were biking the Boston Marathon route the night before the race. I had considered shooting a bit more later in the week, but scrapes and crutches don't' work well for comfort or continuity. She rested up and I worked with the footage I already had. Thankfully, it worked out really well.
Expect the unexpected!

Shot on a Canon T2i, lit with 2 Lowel Tota lights. Outdoor shots are on location in the Fens.
Music: "Roads? Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads" by Amy Hoffman

Special Thanks to Rule Boston Camera and the whole gang over there, this couldn't have happened without them!

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