Filming & Creative Decisions

As we approached to Bucharest, I realized I had only a couple of hours to shoot and follow the storyboard so I went and met with Sara to the first location which was the cafe. We had all our props ready with the nails she wore, the rings she had, all the accessories were set in place and we ordered a coffee for her to hold during the shots, as we planned. When we arrived we took a lot of experimental shots of her doing more footage such as holding her cup of coffee, yawning, looking around, simple actions so that I could get enough footage for a possible montage for the intro of the music video. I really wanted to capture how there are other people around us but she is just revolved in her own life so I took videos of the people around the cafe. 

 I took care to consider the mise-en-scène of each shot: how Sara was positioned, how the props interacted with the environment, and the arrangement of people around her. I really liked the environment of the cafe and we felt comfortable to film scenes here as it was busy but not that loud for us to get distracted. We continued with following the script and filming shots in the bathroom of the cafe, where we realized that we didn't need a change of clothes as it wasn't necessary and didn't fit my vision anymore.

CREATIVE DECISIONS & CHANGES

What I liked was how events unfolded naturally, if I had a new idea that wasn't part of the storyboard, we adapted to it very easily and improvised. I especially liked how things turned out for the bridge of the song, since during planning I wanted it to be very intense and that's where the climax is supposed to show and where it's supposed to highlight her metamorphosis, as well as acceptance to who she truly is. 

Spontaneously, an idea came to me where as Sara was sitting on the bench, I wanted a close up scene of Sara's feet dancing to add more to quirky personage.  From one of the movies I really enjoy "La La Land", I was really inspired by the dance scene because it added movement and personality. Afterwards, we took advantage of the park being empty and an idea came to me where she should be holding onto the lamp and sort of swinging around it, while still feeling conflicted. The idea immediately reminded me of the classic 1952 film "Singin in the rain", however in this case Sara is not singing nor happy, but in a deep state of revelation. Here, the composition and camera angles were chosen so that Sara remained the clear focus, with the background slightly out of focus to draw attention to her emotions. I also paid close attention to the overall visual style, taking inspiration from the way directors like Wes Anderson use colour and composition to create mood and atmosphere.

Other shots, like the subway dance, were carefully planned, but I learned as a director that not everything goes according to plan. Sometimes you have to adapt the micro-elements within a shot,  to make sure they still fit the story, keeping that narrative flow. Towards the end, I included the storyboarded shot of Sara waiting at the crosswalk because it reflects the song title, that she doesn’t follow a strict plan, but change is coming. When Sara ran across as the light was turning red, I decided to keep it, showing her uncertain but now more confident pace. Overall, I’m proud of both the planned scenes and the new ideas I added, and that everything still made sense and added meaning to the song.

  

CHOOSING FONTS & CREDITS

At the very beginning of the video, I included the Summit logo over the opening shadow shot. I wanted it to appear quickly with a glitch animation t to make it slightly edgy. The text around it is white and has a fingerprint-style vibe, which I liked because it gave a personal and unique feel. 

The next shot is in the café, where Sara is sitting. I added a funky font for the credits here, and I darkened the shot so the bright colors of the text stood out. I made each letter in the text have a different color to make it playful and visually engaging. I used the Eveleth font and timed the words to the song when it says “She’s not gone yet but she’s leavin’”, making the text disappear one by one. This keeps the rhythm connected to the music and I felt it added more energy to the scene.

For the next shot, Sara is drinking in the café. I wanted the credits to appear quickly here because this part of the video isn’t very thrilling visually, and adding the credits keeps the audience engaged without dragging the video’s pace. I included “Starring Sara Oancea” in the same Eveleth font with a white outline, experimenting with colors before I settled on orange and blue, since they are opposites on the color wheel. I felt studying color analysis and pallets really helped make this process more easily as I recognized what stood out better, aesthetically. 

Finally, I included “Directed by Antonia Beintez” when Sara wasn’t on screen, recording people in the café, maintaining the same font style "Eveleth" in order to be consistent. I made it yellow because it fit with the filter and color palette, and it was a natural moment to credit myself without distracting from Sara or the main action. This way, the credits feel integrated into the video rather than separate from it, while keeping the style consistent, colorful, and playful.