Sloan’s initial idea was “80’s middle school space prom,” and while we had to tone down some ideas, I think it hit that awkward prom vibe.
When designing the shots, I planned out getting a side handheld cam for both sides, a zoom lens down the middle (Angineux Optimo 30-90mm), and a handheld cam in front of the stage. We shot this on the Black Magic Pocket 4Ks and had amazing lighting techs. A lot of my favorite shots have a double opacity on them.
The color process was also a longer one, as I experimented with different film emulation styles in Davinci Resolve. I continue to tweak it, but this project helped me get my power grade to wear I have it now. I also played a lot with softening the image and messing the colors up, especially in the shadows. Sloan wanted it to feel as imperfect and vintage as it could.