Just over two years ago I watched Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives. I had only seen a few of Allen’s films at that point, Annie Hall, and his more goofy Bananas and Take The Money And Run. Like the case with many films I watch, I forgot most of the story and remembered most of the formal elements. Character and story don’t do a lot for me – filmmaking, at its most pure (movement) is what I emotionally respond to, mostly through excitement. Carlo Di Palma’s cinematography was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and to this day still remains as such. I have since seen more of his work (as I have with Allen (mostly films in which they collaborated)), and more than anything, the formal elements of Husbands and Wives comfortably make it their most experimental and interesting work. I think the best way to describe the look is documentarian. There are the obvious similarities in the way in which subjects are framed in both this and documentary film, but it’s the way in which the camera improvises that gives it a real-life urgency. Di Palma makes numerous ‘mistakes’ over the course of the film; quick-pans are clunky, framing is often re-adjusted, there is even one moment where the camera tilts down and shows the floor for a few seconds. But, as I have said in a previous posts, ‘mistakes’ (I’m talking in terms of a more traditional context of cinematography) are often riveting, and certainly are in the case of this film. Husbands and Wives represents a complete departure from Allen’s more ‘clean’ aesthetic, and with this I have two wishes: one, that I had an account of/could be able to hear the conversations between Allen & Di Palma prior to shooting (which I find totally fascinating), and two, that Allen made more films (at least one) that went down this idiosyncratic path. Although the fact that he only made 1 film like this, and that there is really nothing else like it (or that I have come across) makes it all the more special.

I’ve been meaning to re-watch Husbands and Wives for at least a year now as I often remind myself of its unique style. Moreso than ever, as I have a more grounded understanding regarding my own ideas of film aesthetics, and a fresh viewing under such clarity could provide new ideas and insights. I have hit somewhat of a crossroads where I have been shooting things a certain way for a while now, and as a result I have wanted to try something totally new.

Kerry and I rented the EX3 to shoot his short film over a few days, and I treated it as a way of figuring out what I was really going to do with the next few weeks. During a day in which Adelle and Andrew offered assistance, I recommended that after shooting we visit my old house (which is empty) and decide if we want to use the space as the location of our individual work. After a few moments there, it was quite clear that we all felt excited by its potential, with none of us really knowing how we were going to utilise it. I noticed Kerry, Adelle and Andrew were locked into conversation, walking into different spaces, interacting (indirectly) with different sources of light. I felt the urge to whip out the EX3 to capture this, and did so for about 10 minutes.

Despite not watching Husbands and Wives for over two years, I had been talking to Kerry about it and the framing was in the back of my mind. When I turned on the camera, I was consciously or subconsciously (I don’t really remember) working in the spirit of the film. I was improvising; zooming, moving, panning, following, stopping, focussing, pausing, changing at 100mph (or so it felt like). As for what I was actually shooting, it was an incredibly rare moment. None of them really focussed on me or just didn’t care, and as a result I was able to document some truly beautiful moments between them.

We had a few houselights on, a few windows available and a few blinds being drawn, all combining to give each space and person a particular look. As the decision to shoot, as well as the shooting itself was completely improvised (and to an extent, rushed), there are clear ‘mistakes’, but not the type you can get away with. For instance, there are some frames out of focus and poorly exposed (the latter being the main problem). In hindsight, I wish I gave myself another 2 minutes prior to shooting to resolve these issues.

When we were looking over the footage of the day’s shoot, Kerry noticed this file and we both had a look. I didn’t expect much out of it, but I was surprised with how immersive it was. I like how there was no sound; it was pure (silent) cinema – bodies floating in across the screen, action, kinetics. Ultimately, this gave me a lot of ideas regarding framing for future work. I want to re-create it, that is shoot under similar circumstances, though I think it will be difficult to replicate.