(Originally published November 11, 2008)
I decided recently to branch out from journalism, just as an exercise for myself. I wanted to write, produce, and direct a fictional short film, and I somehow managed to do it in a weekend. (Even with the most amateurish of films, getting all the right shots in a weekend can prove pretty challenging, especially if there’s plenty of scripted dialogue.)
What follows is an attempt at comedy. I won’t give away the plot–the film is less than seven minutes long, so it’s not exactly Citizen Kane–but I will tell you what inspired it. The idea came from a conversation I had with my husband, Steve, while we were on a flight to Memphis. He commented on the still popular pre-worn clothing phenomenon and said that while he liked the look of faded jeans and could tolerate off-the-rack old-looking t-shirts, he was completely shocked at seeing a pre-worn Bible at Barnes & Noble, stains and all.
When he told me this, I too was flabbergasted. Pre-worn Bibles? Seriously? Isn’t that kind of ironic in how anti-Christian it is? (I’m a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure that attempting to look more pious than you are is probably a no-no.)
But enough back-story. I now give you my one-camera, no-mic, no-lighting, no-budget (no-talent?) film!
Note added December 8, 2008:
I recently read “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs. It looks like he, too, ran into some strange Bibles when he began research for the book. Apparently there’s actually a Bible available that looks like a Seventeen magazine. I guess people really do want to hide the fact that they’re religious.
Rima Chaddha Mycynek is a writer, reporter, editor, photographer, videographer, former talk show host, and all-around journalism nerd. She currently teaches multimedia journalism at Boston University. [
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1 user responded in this post
Comments posted on the temporary blog I set up while revamping News-Geek.com:
[info]anomie666 (71.184.189.205) wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:34 pm (UTC)
Rima!
This is so freakin awesome
You are a filmmaker. I loved it!
What did you think of the props? I wish I could have done some close-ups on the two fake bible covers, but doing that just wouldn’t have worked with the pacing.
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[info]ngdotcom (98.216.105.86) wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:39 pm (UTC)
Thanks, man! That means a lot.
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[info]anomie666 (71.184.189.205) wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 02:59 pm (UTC)
The props were excellent, but I don’t think you needed close ups on them because it is explained in the dialoge. I think it worked better not having an up close on them because it leaves it a bit of a mystery.
You have very strong artistic talent and I hope you continue to make films. Not only was it good in terms of a story (the writing) but technically, it was very well done (editing/ pacing/ alternating long and short shots/ camera moves).
To shoot that in one weekend with only 1 camera (without coverage) is a real accomplishment. I can’t wait to see more films
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[info]ngdotcom (98.216.105.86) wrote:
Nov. 11th, 2008 04:25 pm (UTC)
You flatter me. Thank you.
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[info]flameswithin (69.132.40.244) wrote:
Nov. 18th, 2008 04:08 am (UTC)
Hehehe, that’s pretty cool, Rima! I’d love to see more of these
Was the music in the beginning from American Beauty? The editing in the main hallway scene was a bit weird at first. It took a few cuts before I realized you were showing different people in different apartments being talked to at different times. Also, lol, was putting the hall light behind steve’s head an intentional choice to make it look like a halo? If so, well cone
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