Shoot Plan: Moving Image

After looking at Rineke Dijkstra portraiture project on the beach, and making the series of embrace portraits on the beach with my brothers I have decided to expand this idea both with the idea behind it and the technical side.

IDEA BEHIND ‘THE HUG’:

  • I would like to experiment more with the idea of an embrace. I feel like physical acts of platonic love between brothers can have so much power, a hug between brothers who used to fight is such an honest and pure act that shows their care for each other.
  • A hug between men can also occur in a fight, in boxing or in street fighting men sometimes hug or lean on each other in between punches.
  • A hug can be a replacement of words, it can be a distraction or a deflection of having to talk about issues.
  • A hug is a common deflection in my family, when people hug, they assume everything is fine between the two of them where as actually talking about the issues would be much more effective, however once two people hug, it gives the impression that everything has been fixed and that they no longer need to address the problem.
  • Sometimes a hug is all you need, support from a family member that you don’t have that much communication with, the support can all just come from a hug, it is a silent act of caring and comfort.

TECHICALLY:

  • Moving image: to capture the movement of a hug, any awkward arms or legs, what do you do with your hands or you head when you hug someone.
  • Performance of the hug: is very important as men often hit each others back when they hug each other, is this due to awkwardness or is it to exert power and dominance as it is close to a hit or punch. Perhaps a hug can be rougher, less of an emotional embrace and more of an emotional struggle, an internal conflict between compassion and aggression, and hug can be misinterpreted.
  • Beach setting: inspired by Rineke Dijkstra and to get the sounds of the water in the back ground as a tranquil diegetic sound (think about other sounds, the boys feet on the floor as they move and walk).
  • Lighting: inspired by Rineke Dijkstra to bring the boys away from the background and isolate them, perhaps at night, lit by flood lights so that they are clear, perhaps having the light and camera stationary and the boys move into the light, embrace then walk out of the light and leave the water to end the scene.