Xanthe Young: Joe's Encounter with Sarah

Before the second filming session I put together a very rough cut of the short scene where Joe is rejected by Sarah just to get a feel for what the film would look like and what I was aiming for.

I’ve opened with a few panning shots of Sarah playing her ukulele fading into one another. I think it presents Sarah as a soft innocent character, I want to stress that the antagonist isn’t any of the girls it’s Joe’s own social incompetence probably due in turn to his sudden lack of confidence ultimately brought about by Fern- the unseen villain of the piece. Essentially it’s about something Joe is lacking, a personal dissatisfaction which makes a romantic relationship between himself and Michael – the only person he’s portrayed as genuinely comfortable around – actually possible.

Aside from that quick establishment it’s all about telling the story. I used the shot zooming out from Sarah bringing Joe and Michael into focus even though its quite clumsy visually in principle I think it’s the ideal transition. There is a brief shot- reverse-shot sequence between the two followed immediately by one between Sarah. I realised when I put the two exchanges together how well this works in establishing the shift in Joe. When he speaks with Michael they stand very close together using very few words to convey meaning and the camera position puts them on the same level despite their height difference. With Sarah Joe has to look down on her. It’s pleasantly ironic that although the low-angle ought to portray Joe as empowered Sarah clearly has all the control.

I also chose a tight close-up on Joe when he starts to become flustered, the warm lighting and facial expression hopefully give the audience that idea of heat rising uncomfortably to your face. I also sped up the zoom on Sarah’s face when she frowns to better suggest the speed with which Joe can alienate women. I hope either consciously or subconsciously this comes across.