What Made It: “Show” Then “Tell”
A Lockdown Lullaby was produced over three days by Director Adam Warmington, who shot this with his family and created it over a period of three days. Starring his son Dylan as the main character, the film reminds us of the fact that in life, that there are so many rich moments around us that only need to be captured to be appreciated. Here’s what made it.
The main element that makes up the mood of this piece is the sound bed: primarily comprised of the music and the voiceover. A simple electronic melody punctuates a lulling ambient chord progression that provides a reflective soundtrack for the voiceover to dance with. The voiceover is a meditation that begins and ends with the phrases: “Can I tell you a story?” and “Things are kind of weird right now. But also kind of awesome.” These two soundbites form the “Once upon a time” and “The end” that mark a classic fairytale story.
The settings where the film takes place are themselves unremarkable. But since they are shot beautifully and are all representative of where children are spending the majority of their time during lockdown, they become remarkable. We feel like we fully inhabit Dylan’s world.
Yet while the film is shot using primarily verité setups, Warmington takes care to place light sources in ways that will positively influence the cinematography of this intimate piece.
While some of the narration is matter of fact (i.e. detailing the families’ everyday lives), the most striking narration occurs when Dylan gives his opinion from his vantage point of boyhood: “I don’t need school. I can use my brain.” This narration uses the feelings that he has to drive the story through to the end.
One thing I also noticed was that the setting or activity changed on-screen before Dylan’s voiceover comes in. “Show” came before “tell.” So before he talks about fishing, being bored, or howling at the moon with his mom, we get at least one establishing shot of the new place or moment in time where these things happen. This technique is what ties individual moments and sentiments from a boy experiencing lockdown into something to remember.
Is it the epic shooting style? The sound effects? The ingenious story build? Each week, I deconstruct a favorite video of mine and explain What Made It. I’m Mia and I’m a freelance videographer. I make videos under Missing In Action Productions and I love to talk about, collaborate on, and make films.
