ThreadHouse Production Directors Statement
UCA Broadcast Media, Maidstone TV Studios, Kent, ME14 5NZ
Mama’s Boy
Directors Statement
By Zohaib Ali
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions
My Vision:
Mama’s Boy is a gritty urban drama, the story and script involves a lot of
emotion, drama and suspense. My aim as director is to bring the best
performance out of the cast while portraying the story the writer has written. It is
my job to creatively translate the story to screen while acting as the link
between, production, crew and cast. Being from an urban west London area I
have found my self to relate to the story and really envision it whilst reading the
script. I find myself to really understand this genre and take inspiration from
things around me to be as creative as possible. As a passionate photographer
and someone quite technical I believe it gives me a added advantage as I am
always thinking of new and original way of storytelling.
Cinematography:
For this project I together with our production crew have decided to film on a full
frame canon dslr. The canon 5D Mark iii is a full frame 35mm sensor as
supposed to other crop framed sensors. This gives us the same format as the
35mm film format and most importantly the quality and dynamic range is much
more better then other cameras. Another benefit for which we decided this was
the great quality in the ISO range. Shooting many scenes at night was a clear
issue for this project and being able to film on the 5D mark iii has given us much
better flexibility and control as it allows us to shoot at night and use the high iso
ranges to film with as little noise/grain as possible.
A example of the ISO range
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions
Along with the full frame camera I aim to film on a array of various prime, zoom and telephoto lenses. I am very lucky to have access to various canon L lenses that are of very high quality and price. The main four lenses I aim to film on are the following
• Canon 24-70mm 2.8
• Canon 70-200mm 2.8
• Canon 50mm 1.4
• Canon 18-135mm 3.5
These lenses will give me a good choice on the visual style of storytelling and
the cinematography I aim for with shallow depth of field. With the array of
equipment I can be creative and original with my approach and try out new and
different angles to tell the story. I hope that this will add production quality and
value and result in a creatively produced and filmed program.
The Program will be shot at 24fps at 1080p HD resolution and I have spoken to
our senior camera operator to look into the added option of shooting certain
scenes at 50/60fps to give us the option of smooth slow motion in the edit.
My visual style of story telling will be told in a cinematic way by using creative
techniques such as full steady cam jackets and operators along with tracking
devices, Jibs and other techniques that will push the creative boundaries of
filming. I believe that as this is a gritty urban drama the only way to have the
viewer enjoy and feel part of the program is by getting them as close to the
action and drama as possible hence using techniques such as tight cropped
shots, steady cam shots whilst following actors, hand held shots that bring you
into the action. This will not only portray the story better but give us some really
creative and cinematic shots whilst blurring out background and focusing on the
drama, action and emotion.
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions
Lighting:
As I mentioned earlier the writer of tis drama is telling a story of a young man in
the midst of a life of crime and violence, he is seeking a family as his is in tatters
and at the same time trying to escape the gang life and protect those close to
him. A lot of the drama is based in the streets of south London and much of it at
night. Other parts of the drama are in a flat, various shops and daytime on
various locations.
The lighting I am to use for the different scenarios will be different depending on
time and location but mostly daytime I aim to use natural light with certain shots
using reflectors if I require them.
Scenes in the flat and location will also mainly be practical light that is present
from lamps, ceiling lights and windows but I will have mobile LED lights that can
add as a extra light with diffusers is need be - depending on the situation.
I aim to maintain a natural feel to the project and refrain from heavy-duty
lighting. As a photographer and keen cinematographer I understand that light is
very important in the feel and tone of a image and I aim to portray that on
screen using various lighting techniques. One of the reasons for choosing the
equipment we are using is because of the light constraints we may face and also
help in situations where there may not be enough light available.
The shots I aim to film at night on the streets of south London I will probably use
the natural light available such as cars, street lamps and shops but I am pretty
sure that I will require addition lights for certain shots. For those situations I will
be using a mobile led kit as well as PAG lights from UCA that can give that a little
extra when filming.
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions
Tone & Mood:
The tone of the piece was pretty much set with the story and the emotion and
drama within Mama’s Boy. The program takes you on a journey with this main
character and gives you a insight into what it feels like to be this man. His daily
problems become your problems and your always asking yourself what would I
do if I were him. The violence and emotion portrays a very grey, dark and cold
tone and mood to the program hence I will be keeping with that and insuring I
can creatively produce that on screen. For this the lighting, performance from
cast and direction will be key and I hope the rest will be able to be altered and
retouched in post production with the creative techniques available such as color
correcting and grading.
Performance:
Performance for me as a director is probably the most important thing in a story
such as this. Because it is heavy on emotion and dialogue it will depend heavily
on professional and talented actors to give great performances that are true to
the character being portrayed. A sense of realism to the role will be paramount
because the more natural and real the acting and performance the more viewers
will believe the story and feel emotion towards characters.
My aim as director will be to guide and motivate the cast as much as possible.
Real them in if I feel we are heading astray from the story at any point but also
give them the direction and confidence to give a performance to the best of their
ability if not better.
Sound:
From previous experience with sound issues and problems I have realized how
important the sound design is to a moving image, especially for something like
Mama’s Boy that is very emotion and drama based. I aim to cover all the various
elements with a experienced sound designer and recordist and also in post with
a good detailed soundtrack and design from location sound, foley and a quality
score that brings the program together.
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions
Inspirations:
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions
Filming Style Inspirations:
Mama’s Boy ThreadHouse Productions