Pre Production: Moonlight - (2016)

MOONLIGHT (2016) - Following the portrayal of main character and how the story is told.

I was asked to look at Moonlight as a means of inspiration for story telling conventions by Simon. I wanted to look at how they portrayed the emotions of the character as well as the reoccurring significance of water that is interjected throughout. 

Visuals - When looking at the visual story telling methods, it was clear that moonlight had a theme running throughout. I have noted down some of the main things I noticed when watching.

• Use of slow tracking shots, 1 take interactions where we follow the character from one scene to another.
• Isolation of character is shown through distorted viewpoint, illustrating his mental state as we spend a lot of time in his personal space with the use of close ups. 

• Reoccurring theme of water shown at the start, thus representing his happy time . 

• He is later seen by the beach again with his best friend, seemingly his love interest. You don't see the water but you hear the water and the breeze. 

The theme of water is then revisited again later on in his life when he meets up with the same love interest. The water represents the peacefulness he feels when he's with them.

• There is a continuous use of of "dirty singles" or slight "over the shoulder"shots as we see the character development throughout the film. You get these shots when we are meant to be focusing on the character's expressions. This is a nice touch because you still focus on the central character but get a greater sense of their surroundings as well. In my opinion this emphasises the reality because you're not unnaturally put in the face of the character. That has a different role within this film and therefore the dirty singles are more effective here.

This shines light on a new perspective for me as I wouldn't have thought to use these shot types all through the film. It makes me realise that I shouldn't overuse the CU's. They will lose effect if I continuously use it to show the characters emotions all the time. I need to carefully think about my shot types and the effect they will have. I might take a leaf out of Moonlight's book because I really love the use of these shots.

The Main Character

• The change in the character is evident as we follow him through the hallway, expression is different an we therefore understand how he feels.
• The main character spends a lot of time on his own, internalising his true feelings.
• Character is conflicted but does everything to oppress his feelings, tries to enhance and change his exterior. The second he hears a blast from the past, it's as if his character almost resumes his original state. Evident by the facial expressions.
• What he says doesn't match his expressions, he is lying to himself and others.

Sound; 

• The sound drowns out to dead silence after we see him cry for the first time. This is very powerful as it illustrates the turning point for the character since he usually internalises his pain and doesn't show it to others. But this is when he finally let it out and the audience get to feel that. Instead of the noises to be enhanced, it is taken away. This is great story telling, and it makes me think about how I can illustrate Isaiah's turmoil. When he's at the riverside in his soon to be final moments, would it work better if all sounds drowned out? this is something I will like to experiment with. 

The main thing to pick up on about this film is the way in which it singles out every major turning point within his life, every important moment or change in character is put forward right in your face. The director makes you look at it, makes those elements of significance more pronounced so it's hard to guess what he may be feeling. I like this approach, especially when we get to be up close and personal with the character at times where he may be feeling uneasy. I had not known about moonlight until Simon told me, but it was surprising to see how many similarities this story had with mine. The idea that a boy is hiding his true self and somehow seeks refuge in finding himself whilst somehow always ending up back to a place that represents peace. So after watching this it made me realise how I could make the easter egg theme of the river a more significant occurrence because it can be a really powerful way of showing how the character is feeling. I will go ahead and think about how I can properly portray Isaiah's emotions and not overkill and over use certain elements that I once had in mind.