An Homage to Jean-Pierre Jeunet

If you haven't noticed yet, a great deal of inspiration has been drawn from the magical comedy Amelie. The camera movement, the colors, the performances - the movie is a modern-day masterpiece and has obviously influenced much of this film's look. In order to merge Jeunet's vision with my own vision, it was important to grab specific frames from the film as an homage as oppose to creating an identical cookie cut-out. Here are some particular frames that really popped out at me, which I hope to recreate in A Note to Etienne with cinematographer Jorge Urbina.

Frame 1: This may be my favorite still of the entire movie. Although the camera movement is moving closer towards Audrey Tautou, I'm particularly fond of the stagnant shot. The dutch angle has a sort of obscurity that's really interesting.

Frame 2: If you haven't noticed, I'm really fond of the high angles looking down. I think a great deal of exposition can be told through body language and production design, and as shown above, it can also be really beautiful.

Frame 3: Yes, another high angle. However, this shot's an over-the-shoulder shot where we see much more than what's being expressed. So much is going on this one screen shot, and you really don't need to know what's actually occurring. Pure genius.

Amorette's Costumes

While we're still several months before yelling the word "action", it doesn't mean we're at a shortage of work. It seems like pre-production is filled with countless errands and menial tasks. There's storyboards to create, locations to be scouted, rehearsals to be had, and careful decisions to be made. However, I think pre-production can be one of the most rewarding phases during the making of a film. Personally, the more intricate the planning, the better the product.

Which brings us to one of my favorite parts of pre-production. The costumes. Below are some image boards surrounding the look I want for Amorette.

Costumes 1: Amorette isn't your typical character. Her mind wanders, she's overly-analytical, and extraordinarily expressive. Her clothes should represent her individuality and creativity.

Costumes 2: Her wardrobe has a lot of vintage selections. She's the type of girl who enjoys going to hand-me-down shops and "digging for burried treasure". When she finds that certain polka dot dress or laced blouse, it makes her that much more original.

Costumes 3: I love the neutral colors in this particular dress. It's not too flashy, yet it's still extremely unique. Especially paired with black tights and a vivid turquoise necklace.

Costumes 4: I love utilizing patterns for Amorette. She's interesting, yet complicated - just like these skirts. Amorette's the type of person who isn't afraid to pair different patterns together. She's comfortable expressing herself through her style.

Merci Bien!

A big THANK YOU to our most recent donors!

• Joey and Sue Samoy
• Joe Hernandez
• Dolores Perez
• Steven Benavidez
• Max and Barbara Ragsdale & Family
• Robert and Mary Perez & Family
• Wendy's Corporation
• Paolo Presta

We still have ways to go until A Note to Etienne is financed, so please support the film and its filmmakers and make a donation. Remember, every contribution is tax-deductible. So technically, you're lending the film a certain donation, and Uncle Sam is paying you back in April.

Donations of $500 or greater accredits you as an Executive Producer. That's IMDB, baby! ;) (P.S. If you help raise $500 or more from multiple sources (near and far), you get the Executive Producer's credit since you're, well, producing!)

Meet the Actress - Amorette

Isabelle Giroux was born in Trois-Rivières, a city in the South of the province of Quebec (yes... French Canada!).  As a young girl, she would play with her friends, recreating film scenarios (The Princess Bride mostly -- the French translation of course) and taping diverse ideas/stories/songs/interviews on her Sesame Street recorder. Through her adolescence, she started singing in the Spanish choir and school shows, which eventually allowed her to study music in other cities. She began writing music, became involved with a blues band, and participated in several contests.  However, it was her personality and natural presence that would garner the most interest.  The way she stood on the stage, delivered a verse, and invoked laughter ultimately allowed Isabelle to shine.  As a result, she decided to take the leap and study acting and performance which would fundamentally captivate an audience. 

Isabelle has professional training from acting coaches, has auditioned for prestigious conservatories in Montreal and Quebec city, and was accepted into the competitive AMDA Los Angeles (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy). She decided to take another leap and go into the unknown once again, and headed to Hollywood in August of 2007.  She graduated from the AMDA Musical Theatre program in December 2008 and has since been leaving her marks within the Performing industry (Short films, Webisodes, Pilots, Music Video, Theatre) -- however, focusing mostly on a Film career. Being a gigantic Amelie fan, she is really excited to be part of A Note to Etienne. She surely loves Audrey Tautou's work, but don't think you'll see Amelie II: She ain't no Audrey: She's Isabelle Giroux!!!

Amelie Stills

The look and feel for this short was ultimately ispired by the stylized french film, Amelie.   True, A Note to Etienne has much more dramatic undertones, however this film will draw Amelie inspiration.   With fluid camera movements, quirky costume design and a complex set design (more on each later), this short will be a showcase for everyone involved.   Its not simply an actor's piece or director's piece, but allows the entire Etienne family to incorporate a valued participation within the film.  It's important to me that this film is a collaboration -- that it's a team effort.  After all, Amelie sure was and it's still one of the most visually prolific and mesmerizing film I've ever seen.

Amelie Picture 1:  If you remember this shot, the camera starts for birds-eye, then moves downward towards Amelie.  It turns nearly 180 degrees and hovers directly above her.  It's a really magical shot and really incorporates the entire mis-en-scene involved.

Amelie Picture 2:  This is such a memorable scene because of the vivid detailing of the lighting.  The blue is really beautiful.

Amelie Picture 3:  Location is really important for this film and 'Etienne'.  I really 

appreciate how they really utilized this backdrop.  

  

Amelie Picture 4:  This shot was spectacular because it's one of the few still shots in the film, yet still has so much movement.  Since it's shot through plexiglass, the director allowed Amelie to write the restaurant specials while Nino watches her intently.  Love it.

Meet the Director of Photography

Jorge Urbina is an aspiring cinematographer from Mesa, Arizona. He began his studies working in theatre production at an early age in both community and school productions. During his college career, Jorge explored all key roles of film production to help strengthen his craft by creating and working on various shorts and features. In 2004, he earned his BFA Degree in Media Arts at the University of Arizona and is now currently employed with The School of Media Arts as a production lab coordinator while working as a freelance cinematographer. His most notable collaborations have been with Benjamin Lopez of Viento Fuego Productions and Patrick Roddy of Amateur Productions. In fall of 2007, Jorge was picked up by Ben to shoot La Venganza, a Spanish language feature, which earned distribution internationally on DVD and broadcast on Cine Mexicano’s satellite network. This past summer, Jorge was hired to shoot Goodboy, a feature film produced and directed by neo noir filmmaker Patrick Roddy. A Note to Etienne marks Jorge’s first collaboration with Elias Benavidez.

Image Boards

Since A Note to Etienne is a "French film", I'm dedicated to creating the short in a visually evocative and stylized fashion.  With visual pieces, it's very important for me to concentrate on the overall picture, yet still put stress on the nuts and bolts of each scene.  Obviously nothing is more important than the story, but I'm aiming for the tone and feeling of this piece to be as sincere and compelling as possible.  Meaning vivid, enchanting colors (blues, greens, reds) and inviting, fluid camera movements (we'll get more into that later).  

Just to give you a visual, here are two other image boards that I came up with to show the "look" I had in mind for this little French film.

Image board 2 - notice how the red from the house pops within the sea of neutral colors.  The juxtaposition between the vivid colors against the natural tones is suppose to symbolize Amorette's imaginative character.

Image board 3 - these images are suppose to articulate the very vintage feel I want for this film.  Since Amorette is a very analytical character, I want her to have a unique feel to her - she's different, yet engaging.