ANTHOPOULOS
Australian short filmmaker
Music Composed by Emily Williams.
Trivia:
- Alex Kontozis recorded over 200 takes for Tina's narration.
1) Additional stills
2) Director's statement.
3) Poster
Tree in the Forest has had the longest and most layered production process of any short I have previously completed. I'm proud of the finished product and what I acheived with a low budget.
Below is a general outline of the film, its style and some production choices.
I latched onto the idea as I liked the pace and the creative opportunities limited sound would offer. The script evolved from this concept as I found ways to explore her philosophy and personality.
From conception I consciously distanced the film's themes from the negative, intending to create a simple, positive tale I rarely see in short films. Death is not a motivating plot force and the only conlict is interior. This made the script writing process difficult but worthwhile and I'm pleased with the results.
My intentions in the colourful and dollying introduction was to add some visual interest to what is essentially character establishment.
In sound design, I chose guitar music contrasted with uncomfortable bass toned silences. I developed sound effects that suggest vibration and echoes felt by Tina.
I chose a narrator who would be able to portray Tina's youth and innocence and influenced her performance to maintain this as well as reflect her changing personality. I realised when testing voices that perfection and good diction weren't what I needed and to properly represent her character a more realistic and informal voice was required.
The film is subjective. We hear Tina's thoughts through narration, what she feels through sound and her mood through music.
On two occasions her ability to lip read is presented to the audience as text over lips.
Tree in the Forest is about the heroines delusion and her gradual enlightenment.
The reader perceives events as Tina does and is deliberately misguided by her philosophy. However when the girls attempt to speak to her, the irony in Tina's words is revealed.
Because the inner monologue is conducted in real time, her changes are reflected in her altered narration.
The images track her success (allowance, new guitar and band) and the parallel narration reveals her personal change through visual motifs (headphones, bed dollying) and circular dialogue.
Only on three occasions do the narration and images directly reference each other, being when she mentions her Barbies, empties her basket and the forest shot.
