Jan 2024 - May 2024
TOXSICK delves into the neurological injuries benzo diazapenes cause.
I worked with a remote team based out of the uk, using stock and archive footage for promo materials.
I was chosen to film and go to cannes Marche du film as a representative of the film, with the source of the story - the Executive director-writer.
We crafted story, arranged meetings and learned about film funding + distro as first time makers.
"Le 14 Ans De Tyabala": Guinean Kids rise from a low social Caste to become traditional musicians.
Edited and devised this feature documentary's narrative, guided by my Executive Producer. This project called for cutting of 14 years of footage from different camera op's.
Through French (which i'm a novice in) and the Kids' native tribal language susu, I was reading from body language and intonation to cut for emotion.
Performances and honest interviews from the kids are interspersed with the wisdom of their mentors. This is 'the music of kings', that is in danger of dying out. These kids 'looking for an occupation' have taken up the call.
Working on this was a fascinating journey: I learned about the music that made it to Broadway in the 1960s and was seen by Miles Davis. Made graphic titles, formatted subtitles.
"Womens' Tournament": they come to dominate.
I was given a handful of 30-minute matches to use to craft a piece under a minute long.
The challenge was giving each wrestler somewhat equal time in the spotlight.
I held off on sFX for transitions, because of the rapid pace: The goal was to show just enough of the special moves to entice viewership.
I loved the chance to show these women being ferocious.
"INSTA 360 Show Reel": Get in the ring
This reel I made for internal use, to show off the new use of our 360 camera. At the July show, we tried a new tactic with Capture: getting right inside the ring, underneath the wrestlers. It made our best footage yet.
Resulted in the company applying for grant funding from insta360 to use more of these cameras in our future tv broadcast.
"Musical Seeds": They need us to take care of them.
I was happy to be recommended to this Non-Profit project through my college.
My aim was to show a sense of this small community garden being an idyll, a quiet and enchanted escape, separate from the noise and pollution of the city.
So, as the camera operator I used a misty filter and zoom lens, to recall the look of childhood memories in nature as I remember them.
The challenge was the loud road around this small garden - which called for lots of sound editing. This was recognized though in the award of:
Best Editing, BMCC Film Festival Fall '23.
"Tea Time": What'll remain?
A woman grapples with being alone, her lingering memories are encroaching...closer...
This story is quite special to me and the other women in my life. The piece is a meditation on memory of a failed relationship. We luxuriate in our memories of the past.
The protagonist takes that too far - Into a new routine, an addiction, until the memory can almost be touched.
In editing, the lack of any dialogue called for a very sensitive consideration of space, noise and suspense. There was a balance to be struck with giving the audience a sense of the protagonist's waiting, longing, loneliness, with enough intrigue throughout.
"GQ: Valentin Humbruoch": Shake it into gold
A young man tries to break the stillness of a cloudy day.
This piece called upon my own experience growing up in rural england. The scenery is calming, but also can be deafeningly calm. The cover star Valentin tries to break the silence, recalling Alice in Wonderland, he tries to go into his own dream world.
It's a nice place to be, but the young don't want tranquility.
"Dazed: soo joo cover story": Rebirth
established Haute Couture model SOO JOO establishes herself as a tenacious artist.
Just like the cover story that accompanied it, there is a narrative of a journey out of a cocoon. This is the story of rebirth: learning how to walk, finally standing tall.
My cinematographer had only about 20 seconds to shoot with each look, so we're pretty happy with the outcome.
© Becky Lamming 2023
