tommetass
Well-known member
It's that time of year again..
I actually started this project over a year ago, while I was making Ruins Ignite.
*The clip that shows what have shot for now is at the end of this post, if you want to skip all the details.*
The whole thing started with me making a short little video in the local forest called Bokemoa. Just a little horror-esque thing.
Some historical context:
Signe is an actual local legend - she was burned for witchcraft in the 1600s. They erected this statue of her here in Stokke, in the middle of the forest.
I never released it as my brother suggested I make it into an actual film. I liked the idea and started planning right away, even though I was shooting Ruins. But it went through many iterations and the prevailing questions were: What's the story? And how do I shoot it?
First I went deep into the lost-tapes / Blair Witch type of film. That the short clip over here would be the beginning of the film followed by interviews, then a story. And that stayed with me for a long time. I even shot some interviews with the local community here who acted out that they were afraid to go into the forest because it was haunted.
In comes the question of how do I shoot it: It had to be manageable for me as a husband, father of two and working full time (with something completely different.
So I landed on something a little different.
The film follows Terje. He is an executioner working for a sect that believes in the legend of Signe.
Every week, men are brought into the forest and taken onto an open field. Terje waits for them, performs the ritual execution, and leaves.
It's a routine.
We see this happen repeatedly.
But then, one day, the pattern changes.
A woman arrives dressed in the same sacrificial clothing as the men.
Except she isn't being dragged there.
She walks towards him willingly.
And she isn't afraid.
She says things that Terje shouldn't be hearing from her — things that start to make him question what he's actually been doing all these years.
The logline:
After years of carrying out ritual executions for a secretive sect, a methodical executioner is confronted by a woman who arrives willingly, unafraid, and seemingly knows the truth behind the ritual.
Visual Approach:
It's not a dialogue-heavy film. But unlike Ruins Ignite, this one does have some dialogue.
I'm still very much approaching it through visual storytelling rather than exposition.
The idea is that the audience should understand Terje and the ritual largely through repetition, composition, props and small behavioral details.
One of the things I wanted to do with this film was make the visual language reflect Terje himself.
The film is going to be very controlled and static for most of its runtime.
That means use of Tripod, locked-off compositions, deliberate framing, longer takes and very little camera movement.
The idea is that everything feels methodical and repetitive — almost like Terje is performing a job rather than participating in something he believes in.
And then, when something finally breaks that routine, the visual language breaks with it.
I'm trying to make the filmmaking itself reflect the character's state of mind.
This time around I've also managed to get some funding for the project, which has allowed me to put a little more money into props, costumes and practical elements rather than trying to do absolutely everything myself.
I hired the same prop designer as I had on Ruins Ignite and she made us these wonderful symbols.
The symbols are an important part of the story, so I wanted them to feel like actual objects rather than generic movie props.
There are also a number of recurring visual motifs throughout the film — a clock, a notebook, a rifle, a chair, and the symbols themselves.
My hope is of course that the audience will start noticing that these things repeat and gradually understand what they mean.
Production:
I'm keeping the production deliberately small. The main locations are essentially just Bokemoa forest and an open field nearby.
The cast is small, though we do have some extras. 3 other (male) sacrifices, and 2 henchmen, and no complicated stunts. Since we are shooting with live fire, we have a safety guy as well with us (the owner of the rifle).
But yeah... as with my previous film i tried to uphold the mantra: Write what you can shoot.
Camera equipment:
I'm using the Lumix S5ii on this. Which I was excited for and a little nervous, as I don't want the whole thing to look too digital. I used the S5 on Ruins Ignite, which in my opinion felt very "organic". But as you can see in the clip under here, the film emulation software does good job (again in my opinion) to make it feel more organic.
As for lenses: I debated for a long time whether I would shoot this film in anamorphic. But I felt the story and genre (nordic, folk, thriller) warranted a more "normal" look. So I opted for a more versatile lens, the Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8. And quite honestly, I'm so happy I did. It works and it's so nice to go from 28-70 without changing glass all the time.
Where we are now. We have shot at the first location, which is basically the beginning, middle and end.
What's been really interesting is that I'm finding myself using autofocus for maybe 90 % of the time, and I'm having no trouble with it.
You can see what he have shot and edited here (the link is unlisted). I suggest bumping up the volume and listen with headphones.
I'm shooting the last scenes at the field tomorrow (Saturday).
Hopefully I'll have something interesting to show you all when it's finished.
— Tomas
I actually started this project over a year ago, while I was making Ruins Ignite.
*The clip that shows what have shot for now is at the end of this post, if you want to skip all the details.*
The whole thing started with me making a short little video in the local forest called Bokemoa. Just a little horror-esque thing.
Some historical context:
Signe is an actual local legend - she was burned for witchcraft in the 1600s. They erected this statue of her here in Stokke, in the middle of the forest.
I never released it as my brother suggested I make it into an actual film. I liked the idea and started planning right away, even though I was shooting Ruins. But it went through many iterations and the prevailing questions were: What's the story? And how do I shoot it?
First I went deep into the lost-tapes / Blair Witch type of film. That the short clip over here would be the beginning of the film followed by interviews, then a story. And that stayed with me for a long time. I even shot some interviews with the local community here who acted out that they were afraid to go into the forest because it was haunted.
In comes the question of how do I shoot it: It had to be manageable for me as a husband, father of two and working full time (with something completely different.
So I landed on something a little different.
The film follows Terje. He is an executioner working for a sect that believes in the legend of Signe.
Every week, men are brought into the forest and taken onto an open field. Terje waits for them, performs the ritual execution, and leaves.
It's a routine.
We see this happen repeatedly.
But then, one day, the pattern changes.
A woman arrives dressed in the same sacrificial clothing as the men.
Except she isn't being dragged there.
She walks towards him willingly.
And she isn't afraid.
She says things that Terje shouldn't be hearing from her — things that start to make him question what he's actually been doing all these years.
The logline:
After years of carrying out ritual executions for a secretive sect, a methodical executioner is confronted by a woman who arrives willingly, unafraid, and seemingly knows the truth behind the ritual.
Visual Approach:
It's not a dialogue-heavy film. But unlike Ruins Ignite, this one does have some dialogue.
I'm still very much approaching it through visual storytelling rather than exposition.
The idea is that the audience should understand Terje and the ritual largely through repetition, composition, props and small behavioral details.
One of the things I wanted to do with this film was make the visual language reflect Terje himself.
The film is going to be very controlled and static for most of its runtime.
That means use of Tripod, locked-off compositions, deliberate framing, longer takes and very little camera movement.
The idea is that everything feels methodical and repetitive — almost like Terje is performing a job rather than participating in something he believes in.
And then, when something finally breaks that routine, the visual language breaks with it.
I'm trying to make the filmmaking itself reflect the character's state of mind.
This time around I've also managed to get some funding for the project, which has allowed me to put a little more money into props, costumes and practical elements rather than trying to do absolutely everything myself.
I hired the same prop designer as I had on Ruins Ignite and she made us these wonderful symbols.
The symbols are an important part of the story, so I wanted them to feel like actual objects rather than generic movie props.
There are also a number of recurring visual motifs throughout the film — a clock, a notebook, a rifle, a chair, and the symbols themselves.
My hope is of course that the audience will start noticing that these things repeat and gradually understand what they mean.
Production:
I'm keeping the production deliberately small. The main locations are essentially just Bokemoa forest and an open field nearby.
The cast is small, though we do have some extras. 3 other (male) sacrifices, and 2 henchmen, and no complicated stunts. Since we are shooting with live fire, we have a safety guy as well with us (the owner of the rifle).
But yeah... as with my previous film i tried to uphold the mantra: Write what you can shoot.
Camera equipment:
I'm using the Lumix S5ii on this. Which I was excited for and a little nervous, as I don't want the whole thing to look too digital. I used the S5 on Ruins Ignite, which in my opinion felt very "organic". But as you can see in the clip under here, the film emulation software does good job (again in my opinion) to make it feel more organic.
As for lenses: I debated for a long time whether I would shoot this film in anamorphic. But I felt the story and genre (nordic, folk, thriller) warranted a more "normal" look. So I opted for a more versatile lens, the Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8. And quite honestly, I'm so happy I did. It works and it's so nice to go from 28-70 without changing glass all the time.
Where we are now. We have shot at the first location, which is basically the beginning, middle and end.
What's been really interesting is that I'm finding myself using autofocus for maybe 90 % of the time, and I'm having no trouble with it.
You can see what he have shot and edited here (the link is unlisted). I suggest bumping up the volume and listen with headphones.
I'm shooting the last scenes at the field tomorrow (Saturday).
Hopefully I'll have something interesting to show you all when it's finished.
— Tomas
