23/12/2024
(Part 2 Of “Crocodile Tears” with )
What was your approach and vision?
In developing the visual language of the film, we began,carefully studying the characters and locations before exploring the aesthetics. My approach is to embrace and enhance the elements we discover or create on location, working closely with our production designer, Jafar Shiddiq. From the director’s visual treatment, I collaborated with Tumpal, who referenced several painters during the development process to shape the film’s look.Since the real locations of Jonggol and Cikarang inspired Tumpal’s script, it was crucial to capture their textures and the passage of time they represent. We chose the 2.39:1 aspect ratio to effectively convey the relationships between the characters, the crocodiles, and their environment. For visual inspiration, we drew from Andrew Wyeth’s paintings for their texture and the atmospheric, surreal lighting in the works of Ben McLaughlin and Thijmen van Kooij for the night scenes.The visuals were designed to evolve alongside in the film, the night scenes were crafted to feel strange and otherworldly. I proposed using lighting design, camera movement, and lens depth of field to distinguish these moments from the day scenes. As the narrative progressed, the day scenes also began to feel increasingly surreal. By gradually decreasing the depth of field during daytime sequences, we emphasized the growing isolation of the characters. By the film’s conclusion, both day and night scenes merged into the same surreal aesthetic, blurring the lines between reality and illusion for the audience.
How did you feel when your film is screened in BIFF and what was it like returning to BiFF for you? (Post in too long, answers in comments below 👇🏽)
