Production

Production

Production for this movie was fairly simple, I had everything planned out which made it very easy and quick to shoot the movie, another thing that made the production be finished quickly was the factor that the movie was shot in a single location (i.e. the living room of my house) which meant there was no transportation of the camera equipment or any other equipment.

Briefing:

Before we began shooting the scenes, I sat down with the actors and went over the script once again, explained every scene again and did a few dry runs (acted the scenes out without the camera rolling)

After this, I tested all the angles and made sure that whatever angles I had in mind were right for the scene and I finalized the placement of the camera:

But this initial placement was too close and the board ended up exceeding the frame, leaving no room for the hands to be in the frame as you can see:

So I had to move the camera further up, which I did by taping the tripod to the bookshelf:

 We moved the table in order to fit the board into the frame (remember that the board was printed and taped to the table so it was better to move the table rather than risking tearing up the board and starting all over, also to allow for better seating)

And as you can see, this is a better composition, if not the perfect:

(I'd straighten it in the post)

Lighting

The lighting, as I have mentioned earlier, was a very simple 3 Point Lighting set-up, and I made use of the chandelier as the Back Light, Lamps as Key Lights (I attached a piece of white foam board on each so that they reflected light back at the actors), and a Flashlight as Key Lights.

A view of the location, with lights

Here is a labeled view:

But, as I soon discovered, the light coming from the lamp would be blocked as soon as Hasan gets up and leaves and will cause inconsistency in lighting making it very noticeable in the final product. Additionally, the lamps weren't as powerful from that distance and the chandelier ended up overpowering the lamps, so I turned the other chandelier on and the white walls bounced the light around enough to be useable.

Focus:

I feel that what is more important that the lighting is the focus, it helps subtly and subconsciously guide the attention towards in-focus areas. This is a huge tool that allows the filmmakers to control the audience's attention without being physically present, and even without the audience noticing the intended purpose of the convention which is it all the more enjoyable. Summarising it in six words, Focus Is A Very Powerful Tool.

Below you can see how I used this very tool to my advantage. The scene starts with focusing on Rohail which is where the action is happening, where I want my audience to see. But, as we near the moment the cushion falls, the focus very smoothly, but quickly, shift to the background bringing the cushion in focus. This allows me to shift the audience's attention to the action that is about to happen. If it was not in focus, firstly it would very unpleasant. Secondly, observers wouldn't be able to properly comprehend what the purpose of the very scene is, what is going on or figure out the connection with the narrative.

The yellow areas indicate out-of-focus areas (notice the change of time stamps and how short the change is, just over 2 seconds)

Rohail and Kumail in focus

Cushion in focus

Shots and their visual interpretations 

Here, I'll explain why I chose to use specific shots, angles, and editing techniques to achieve the desired interpretation

Establisher:

This is the very first scene of the movie (after opening credits of course). This scene helps set the mood for the movie, it introduces the characters, the start of the narrative and the location. This scene tells the audience that there is a conflict between three people and it has something to do with the Ouija Board placed right in front of them.


Cutaways and Over-The-Shoulder

These scenes show the two lead characters talking to each other. The camera is placed at roughly the same eye-line as the actor near the camera, this helps create a little more realism. The reason for using the OTS shots is so that we can the people looking at each other, using a one-shot will be confusing as it doesn't give a clear sense of where the person being spoken to is at.

Keep in mind that these scenes follow the 180 Degree Rule.


Kumail's One-Shot

Here is an exception where I have shot Kumail in a One-Shot framing. This is because the attention needs to be on Kumail because he is reading the rules, also it roughly serves as Rohail's POV.


Rohail and Kumail Medium Two-Shot

This scene cuts back to a medium two-shot of Rohail and Kumail because now they are both in a similar setting (i.e. getting ready to use the board), so I felt it was better to include them in the same shot, as this also subconsciously symbolizes agreement.

Board Top-Shot

This is just a mainstream top shot (Bird's Eye, if you will). I choose this to remove any distractions and allow the focus to be on the board fully.

OTS and Mediums (again)

As I have already explained here Cutaways and OTS shots were used because the two actors are talking, however, you can the framing is a little odd, there is empty space on the left.

This is because when the cushion falls, Rohail looks to his right (our left) and if that space was covered or equally as much spaced as the left it would create a sense of imbalance:

Low Angle

Here I used a low angle to convey the emptiness of the room, which symbolizes that Rohail is alone, through the empty space around him. Using a low angle allowed me to conceal some of the backgrounds. This also creates an unusual angle, creating a sense of confusion which goes well with the setting of the scene. Moreover, it shows Rohail as a little superior, which conveys that he is still somewhat in control.


High Angle

This is not-very-noticeably higher than the previous angle. This allowed me to capture the out of place furniture while portraying Rohail inferior to the unseen force that caused it all and that he's lost to the force, Zozo.


Rohail's POV and Cutaways

Perhaps the most prominent use of the cutaways is during the scene when Rohail is frantically looking around the room. This allows to show what the subject is looking at, while also allowing to see what the subject is doing.

Moving the camera around fast creates a motion blur that further aids in creating a point-of-view of a freaking out person:

Tracking Shot:

This shot was achieved by moving the camera upwards and roughly keeping the planchette in a consistent frame. This shot is as if the audience is also following the planchette as Rohail picks it up.


Behind the Scenes:

Here are a few clips that show how I directed the actors and how some of the effects were achieved:


Board Top Shots:

Focus Pull

Light Flicker 

Rohail's POV and Kumail Face Reveal

Finishing (destroying) the Board