Filming Hamlet in B&W
Quick note: At the time of this post the project is still in post-production and I can't use the actual dialogue. But I've added creepy music - enjoy!
I recently had the privilege of filming a modern rendition of the Hamlet story in Lisbon, Portugal and would like to share a little about it. I’m going to be creating some videos talking about the lighting I used for the project, but this post is just some information about the project itself.
I love B&W photography and I’ve always wanted the opportunity to make a film in B&W too. I guess all that wishing helped, because I suddenly had two projects back-to-back that we shot in B&W. And this Hamlet piece - it’s dark in more ways than one. First, it’s Hamlet so there’s murder, a ghost and family dysfunction. Second, the direction of the film called for high-contrast images with a background disappearing into darkness.
What we see on screen are Hamlet’s memories. And because they’re memories, the director wanted them to be a little surreal and menacing. With that information I kept the backgrounds dark as much as possible and, more importantly, without form for the eye to grab onto. We wanted to add to the mystery and not have distractions in the background.
There’s not a lot of camera movement because the camera is an observer in this film rather than an active participant. The audience should be face-to-face with exactly what Hamlet sees in his mind. We even break the fourth wall several times to draw the audience in.
On top of that, this is not a traditional widescreen project. Because there needs to be tension, the aspect ratio needed to be tight too. The director chose to film in 4:3 which was newish to me (I’ve filmed in it back in the day, but never for a ‘real’ film). This format came with challenges - not only for blocking, but for the actors themselves. For most of the scenes, there wasn’t a lot of room for the characters to ‘breathe’ or move. This was perfect because we want the audience to feel that claustrophobia too.
The final phase of this project is currently underway. It includes the design of choreography for a dancer from the CDCE who will be a second Hamlet (the other Hamlet is on screen and see here in this brief clip) dancing between two large projector screens upon which the filmed content will be shown. The dancer will be interacting with the moving images.
The combination of cinema and dance together on one stage is a really exciting idea, and I can’t wait to see it all put together by the post-production team and the dance team. It’s always a thrill to see your work on the big screen, but this work will be on two separate screens with a professional dancer in between. What a privilege it was to be part of this and I look forward to sharing some lighting breakdowns very soon.
