TEST LINK BELOW
I thought it was important before Penelope and myself committed to this project, to see how she translates on camera and if the qualities that I see in her translate to an audience. At this early stage her enigmatic quality does come through. There is a quiet secret and privacy to her. She comes across far more internal than she is in real life. This means that when we shoot the scenes, I need to know how I will direct the action in the scene so that I don’t have to push her to perform in a way that doesn’t feel comfortable for her.
Because she is very small physically and her emotional world is happening close to her chest, I will need to think about how I shoot her, more close ups, slow pans and gentle movements. I already feel that there will be a gentle pace to this piece. She also takes on a very different energy when she talks. Without talking there is a lot going on in her inner world, like with Sam, he didn’t have to do much for us to be engaged watching him. It’s the same with Penelope, she simply has to think and exist as she is and it’s fascinating. It will be a matter of combining locations, good shooting and her music and voice to create the most powerful snippets of life as Penelope. I’ll have to be aware of different elements of her personality I want to explore so that there are separate and contrasting elements to this exploration.
Just from test shooting Penelope I noticed how important the music component is to this investigation process. I’d like to use all original footage improvised and written by myself and Penelope to explore character.
