Pre Production: Director: Lasse Hallström - Safe Haven

Lasse Hallström

Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all music videos by pop group ABBA, and subsequently became a feature film director. 

Filmography

As you can see, Hallstrom's movies have mostly been romances or films that show strong developing relationships. Hence why I wanted to analyse him as a Director and some of his work because I want to further understand the process of conveying a natural developing relationship. Is it the actors? is it the settings? camera angles? what tips can I learn from watching some of his films?

Starting with Safe Haven, a movie about a woman who runs away from an abusive husband to a new city in attempt to build a new life, upon doing so she stumbles upon a single father who's willing to help her start a new life. They end up bonding but the story takes a sinister twist as the husband eventually catches up to her. 

I wanted to look at how some of the scenes are shot. 

In this scene, The man is trying to persuade the woman to stay as her ex husband makes it known he is after her, he promises to protect her and she refuses. Eventually, he tells her that he loves her and the pair share a passionate kiss. The intensity of this scene is increased because instead of it to be smooth, stable shots as they passionately talk, the shots are purposely shaky and shots are dirty singles or over the shoulder. I realised this increases the passion that is being evoked because it almost illustrates how badly he wants her to stay. This scene would've been a lot different if all the shots where stabilised, it would've been a lot softer and wouldn't seem as though he was THAT passionate about her staying. After he manages to persuade her, they kiss. The kiss starts off with the continuation of shaky movement but as they continue, movement slows down, everything is still and at peace. 

We are then taken further away from the subjects as they embrace their moment, when usually you'd expect us to be closer in order for us to feel what they feel. I like the way Lasse has chosen to illustrate the character's feelings with choice of movement and camera positioning because it's almost as if he's done the opposite of what is expected and it's had a much more real effect. This has opened my eyes to the ways I could shoot my scenes of Isaiah and Lily because my usual idea was to start from far and get up close. But now, looking at this I could experiment with working up close and moving further back as things get intense.

In an interview with Lasse about Safe Haven, He stated that; 

"my interest is to evoke strong emotion... with a love story like this you really want to be authentic with the performances." - Hallstrom
(Youtube,2013)
Julianne hough (Kate) stated that; "its very real and organic working with Lasse, I have grown so much as a person working with him". (youtube, 2013)

It is clear that when approaching the topic of love and connection it is important to make it as real as possible with the settings, that goes for the actors too. I know I must create a working environment where it allows the actors to flow naturally. It seems to me that Lasse puts his focus into actors, he seems to bond with them in a way that makes them feel comfortable enough to really express and fully immerse themselves within the shoot. I will aim to take this approach when working with my actors, since I also want it to be as real as possible.


Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012)

This film is an inspirational comedy that  embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible. It was written by Slumdog Millionaire's award winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy.

In an interview with Lasse, he speaks about how excited he was to be given the script. He said it was the best script he's read in decades. Lasse explains; "its life, love, passion, faith. What really moves us forward, Its a very human story that is bizarre and fun and serious, has a range that is wonderful. I had the most joyful time of my life watching these performers strive,blossom and grow... its nice to be able to put what is on the script, up on the screen and not argue with what should be said. A script that works and dialogue that works is a great start...It is such a unique oppertunity to have a solid basis and have a dialogue that works beautifully already on the page. " - Lasse Hallstrom (2012)

So, it is evident to me that in order to direct work of high standard  you have to have a special connection with the script first. Lasse wouldn't of agreed to direct that film if he had not liked the script so it's evident to me that with this project I have to really dedicate my time equally and focus on creating a good, believable script with flowing dialogue first. Its clear that Directing isn't just about how you show the story with cameras, its about the story itself and making decisions on what content works best. taking inspiration from Lasse's tips, I will pay even closer attention to the script, ensuring it flows well.