still lives - synopsis
filmmaker / photographer michael rababy creates a pure cinematic experience with 'still lives' - a 10 minute short film with no dialog. 'still lives' is the story of a man and a woman falling in - and out - of love, told through black and white still photographs and set to the music of ravel and satie.
credits:
written, shot, directed, produced and edited by michael rababy
producer - jennifer cohn
executive producer - john fitzgerald
associate producer - geoffrey mcneil
co-writer - jeannie long
cast:
jull weber - lead actor (jon)
madison cruz - lead actor (paloma)
alberti popaj - supporting actor (nico)
ilana cohn - supporting actor (helena)
jason pelletier - business associate
jay rondot - paloma’s friend
jessica jensen - business associate
marc richard moeller - drunk guy at bar
samuel child - jon’s bar friend
shannon freyer - paloma’s bistro friend
stephanie stevens - jon’s friend in bar
veronica ashley - paloma’s bistro friend
lernik grikorian - makeup artist; hairstylist
stephanie stevens - wardrobe
alejandro valdes-rochin - editorial consultant
joe gill - technical producer
music by robert f. trucious / composed by maurice ravel and erik satie
special thanks to:
michael beaudry
nathan cartwright - the hive gallery
sean luhring
rob garrott
todd jones
lisa jenkins
mako
director's statement:
alfred hitchcock once said that many films are uncinematic "photographs of people talking" - and that "we should resort to dialog only when it's impossible to do otherwise." It has been said that in the era of silent films, visual story-telling was being perfected right about the time that sound was introduced.
this concept has taken me a while to really understand. when we see a movie we like, we quote lines to friends. we tend to remember the dialog, but it's really like icing on a cake. the real substance of the story happens in our hearts when we process the meaning of the characters actions.
one of my favorite scenes in film is the opening to 'once upon a time in the west' - hardly any dialog, yet we know exactly who these people are and where the story is going.
la jette by chris marker is a story told through still images, but uses narration to help tell the story. I wanted to take it a step further and see if I can create a story with no narration and no dialog. we fast forward through these people's lives and catch moments where the story is revealed with still images. I chose to include text messages and a website reference to show how people can be isolated through technology.
director’s bio
filmmaker/photographer michael rababy likes taking pictures of people.
raised in southern california, rababy first pursued his passion for filmmaking in high school, learning to shoot and edit video at an early age. he studied photography at the scuolo lorenzo de' medici in florence, italy, later receiving his undergraduate degree in art history from the university of san diego. though not formally accredited in film studies, rababy snuck into J.P. Gorin’s film classes at U.C.S.D. for two years. after school he continued to shoot documentary and street photography, as well as writing and producing commercials for TV networks. in 2003 arenas street published his first book, american bachelor, documenting the window in a man's life between living with parents and marriage. his work can be seen on E!, LA ink, the VICE photo book, Citizen LA, national geographic travel, urb, bpm, the new yorker, business week, fortune, and more.
michael lives in southern california with his record collection, and is working on a feature film script. he is a contributor to vice magazine and citizen LA. He may be found online @ www.michaelrababy.com.
production notes
film vs. digital
still lives tells a story through black and white still images. early into production, I decided that I had to make the switch from film to digital. since the film was shot with natural lighting, the digital camera gave me the flexibility to adjust to different lighting conditions without changing rolls of film for each set-up. we ended up shooting over 5,000 images. then the images that made it into the final cut were color corrected, frame by frame, in photoshop.
I was hesitant to not shoot on film for this project because it had to convey a sense of timelessness. I tried to seek out locations and wardrobe that were not iconic of today, which could help the film resonate with a romantic-era energy - fueled by the piano score. I tested various cameras and filters in the editing process to help achieve the look I wanted. the film also incorporates documentary street photography that I've shot on film over the years.
the hive art gallery
I needed an art gallery to shoot scenes for still lives. we had no budget to work with and I always aspire for authenticity, so I decided to submit a photograph print of mine for a group show at the hive gallery in gallery row / downtown los angeles. luckily, my portrait of an old man looking through a reflection of a parsian cafe made it into the show - so we were able to shoot the scene where jon (our lead) notices paloma (or lead actress) in a verité fashion.
while selecting the piece to submit to the gallery, I wanted to present an image that helped tell the story. throughout still lives, we see images of people alone in the city. In my book, american bachelor, an anonymous bachelor said in an interview "even if it means lowering my standards - I won't end up alone." (pg. 107). perhaps many people secretly feel this way. the image of the older man in the picture presents the face of someone alone - hitting on jon's vulnerability before he sees paloma at the gallery.
watch the film at IMDb or YouTube
soundtrack available on iTunes and Amazon.com:
still lives at the miami short film festival
still lives at the other venice film festival
still lives at the palm springs international festival of short films
