AT FALLING ROCK | My Site

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© Images by Jason Almendinger

AT FALLING ROCK

After a murder in a small town, a mysterious stranger happens upon a local's bar. Soon the stranger's connection to the patrons becomes more clear as the evening unfolds.

VISUAL PHILOSOPHY

This is a classic revenge film wrapped in a mystery. So there is a lot that's happening on the screen without even a word being spoken. Because there were many nonverbal parts of the film, it was important for the story to be communicated very clearly through the visuals. In order to maintain this visual clarity, I created a philosophy to expand the subtext within the script and influence the performances on screen. This philosophy focused on creating power dynamics within the compositions as well as the relationship between the camera and the characters.

The story begins with a classic western theme of a stranger stepping into a bar in the middle of nowhere. The audience doesn't know the relationship between this stranger to the other characters in the bar. Being a comic book fan, I believe that in order to effectively show a visual philosophy you should be able to watch the scene on mute and still be able to deduce the story dynamics. The man in the checkered shirt is the visual target so I blocked him in a way that forced him to look over his shoulder in order to see the stranger. Visually, this places the checkered shirt man in a vulnerable position. The stranger is behind him. On top of this I chose long telephoto lenses to compress the space between the two men, making them feel very much on top of one another, even though there is considerable space between them.

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This builds up to a moment where the stranger walks up to the counter to play the jukebox so the imposing nature of our stranger is palpable.

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Becoming spooked, the checkered shirt man tries to leave- only to find out his car won't start. He drops his head in defeat. As he looks to his feet he sees a cigarette on the ground and as he looks up he sees the stranger watching him, smoking a cigarette. This visually suggests that the stranger had something to do with the checkered shirt man's car not working and stranding him at the bar.

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As the checkered shirt man returns to the bar to call for help, the power dynamic is deepened as the stranger takes his position again behind the man.

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© All images by Jason Almendinger

As this sequence plays out, there is not a single word shared between the two men, and yet, their relationship can be reliably inferred. This is my idea of concise storytelling. There should be as little air as possible and any additional elements (such as the score) should simply expand what is already there, visually. This is just a single motivated choice from this film that I wanted to share. Have a watch if you'd like to check out the entire film, the password is: stranger. The movie was written and directed by the very talented Chris Borey Boss Level (2021) and Open Grave (2013).

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